2 weeks. 2 countries. 3 NEW protected areas.
2 weeks. 2 countries. 3 new protected areas.
As forest loss continues and climate change intensifies, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. At Nature and Culture, we stay motivated thanks to donors like you. Your support allows us to work our hardest to protect some of the most incredible ecosystems in the world.
And we are thrilled to share that hard work pays off.
Join us in celebrating the declaration of three NEW protected areas (in two weeks!) in critical Andean and Amazonian ecosystems. Check out the exciting conservation news below.
Boshumi Regional Conservation Area
Following six years of collaboration with the Peruvian government and local communities, Nature and Culture celebrates the declaration of a new Regional Conservation Area in the Peruvian region of San Martín. Bosques de Shunte y Mishollo – also known as Boshumi – will permanently protect 472,973 acres in a region previously devastated by deforestation.
Boshumi adds to a critical conservation corridor between adjacent parks and protected areas, including the 6.2-million-acre Gran Pajatén Biosphere Reserve. Rich in biodiversity, Boshumi protects almost 2,000 species such as the threatened spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), critically endangered yellow-tailed woolly monkey (Oreonax flavicauda) and Andean cock-of-the-rock (Rupicola peruvianus).
More than 69,000 people rely on water that flows through Boshumi for drinking, agriculture and other activities. Protecting the area will safeguard water supplies from outside threats as well as prevent droughts and floods, both of which are becoming more common with climate change.
The Regional Government of San Martín led this conservation effort with support from Nature and Culture, Asociación Amazónicos por la Amazonia and Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental. Boshumi was created with the generous financial support of the Andes Amazon Fund and Robert Wilson Charitable Trust.
Click here to learn more.
Páramos y Bosques Montanos San Miguel de Tabaconas Private Conservation Area
Together with Peru’s Minister of Environment, Nature and Culture established Páramos y Bosques Montanos San Miguel de Tabaconas conservation area in northern Peru. Encompassing 43,379 acres of threatened forest, San Miguel de Tabaconas is the largest private conservation area in the department of Cajamarca.
San Miguel de Tabaconas adds to a 370,000-acre corridor between the departments of Piura and Cajamarca. The newly established area is important not just for its biological significance – the area contains numerous unique species such as the night monkey (Aotus SP), cedar (Cedrela Montana) and mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque) – but also because it protects critical water supplies for nearby communities, including the headwaters of the Quiroz, Huancabamba, Samaniego, Tabaconas and Chinchipe rivers.
San Miguel de Tabaconas was established with the generous support of World Land Trust. We look forward to continuing to work in the corridor and strengthen the role of local communities in protecting their home’s biodiversity.
Cascales Municipal Conservation Area
In collaboration with the municipality of Cascales, Andes Amazon Fund and the MacArthur Foundation, Nature and Culture created Cascales Municipal Conservation Area in the critical upper Napo River watershed in Ecuador. The new area protects 152,021 acres of threatened forest along the highly diverse eastern slope of the Andes Mountains.
Located close to Cayembe Coca, Sumaco Napo-Galeras and Cofán Bermejo national protected areas, Cascales will establish critical connectivity in the region. Specifically, the area will maintain migration corridors for vulnerable and endangered species, such as the northern pudu deer (Pudu mephistophiles), vulnerable spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus) and jaguar (Panthera onca).
Cascales is one of six municipalities in the Water Route Association, formed to support and promote water-based recreation and tourism on the Napo River. Nature and Culture is supporting the association with large-landscape conservation which includes creating municipal protected areas and establishing a local water fund, similar to our FORAGUA model, that will provide long-term protection to the area’s ecosystems.
These successes are ours to share because of the generosity of people like you. We hope that this bit of news inspires you to continue fighting for nature and culture.
