115,000 Acre Community Conservation Area Created
In the Amazonas region of Peru, we helped create the Los Chilchos Private Conservation Area, spanning 115,000 acres – the country’s largest reserve.
The Los Chilchos Reserve contains a headwater basin that is critical for the region of Amazonas. It is also home to the emblematic Condores Lagoon and protects the habitat of the endangered yellow-tailed monkey and spectacled bear.
To make this a truly bottom-up and sustainable initiative, we worked alongside the community of Leymebamba, home to 4,000 people. The community is committed to preserving this area and has developed strict communal regulations to protect water sources, use organic products in agriculture, and fight against forest clearing. Hunting of wildlife has also been prohibited.
In April 2013, we were invited to participate in a ceremony organized by Peru’s Ministry of Environment, Manuel Pulgar Vidal, who made special mention of Nature and Culture International’s work with the community of Leymebamba and the local NGO, Ucumari, to create the Los Chilchos Reserve. With the collaboration of many local NGOs as well as the government, this remains one of Peru’s top conservation success stories to date.
