Author: Elise Fontcuberta

Continuation of the SAF Project (3rd phase)

Less than two months after the previous stage, the Peruvian Amazonian landscapes have been deformed by the torrential rains that have fallen. It is impossible to reach the village by foot as before, you will have to navigate the flooded roads by boat.

On 7 March 2022, the third stage of the agroforestry project began with about twenty inhabitants of the village of Mahuizo and a guest from the village of Nueva Florida. It was with a team of 5 people from Envol Vert that the 6 days of training were given.

It is important to note that 2 new major axes were discussed. 

The first is economic alternatives. The aim was to show that there are economic alternatives to cutting wood in particular. Two proposals for processing products from the nursery were presented: the first, a camu-camu jam made with the inhabitants (with the sterilisation of the containers); the second is aguardiente (alcoholic drink) made from sugar cane via a video from a local producer based in Chazuta in the region of San Martin. 

The second is citrus grafting (vegetative reproduction method). Grafting consists of implanting the tissues of a plant (e.g. bud), taken from another plant. The aim is for the plant to continue to grow by becoming one with the first plant and to take on its characteristics in order to be stronger, more productive and more durable. The practical part took place in the participants’ plots to encourage them to continue practising and master the technique perfectly!

In parallel, the usual but equally important activities continued. Diagnostics, which are carried out individually with each farmer in anticipation of designs (to choose where to put each plant). 

There was also a lot of organisational work in the nursery, in which the children took part and which made it possible to take stock of what had worked well and what had not, in order to identify mistakes and avoid making them again. 

Finally, training courses on compost and micro-organisms were held with a group that is always very active.

This is the end of a beautiful project which will be concluded (in beauty) at the end of April… but that will be for a future article…

Visit to the Concession

During the week of 21 February, a group of Concession stakeholders visited the Yanayacu-Maquia Concession to greet the authorities of the different communities, to see the work of the Mahuizo participants in the agroforestry project and to visit the forest guards and praise their work. This outing was also an opportunity to formalise the handover and the creation of new posts at Envol Vert.

A group composed mostly of people visiting the concession for the first time:

• Daisy Tarrier, director and founder of Envol Vert.
• Marion Imbert, new coordinator in Peru for Envol Vert
• Milenka Rojas Ramirez, new CCYM coordinator for Envol Vert
• Charlène Lainé, former coordinator of Envol Vert Peru and CCYM
• Lotty Morey, president and founder of Biodiversité Amazonienne

They boarded the Odin in Pucallpa and spent a night on the Ucayali River before arriving in Mahuizo in the morning. This was an opportunity to tour the village and visit the SAF project nursery with Marcial, the project manager, and other participants from the group who had been invited to participate in phase 3 of the project.

They then visited other local communities and spoke with the authorities of Santa Lucia, Selva Alegre and Nueva Florida as they gradually made their way to the entrance of the Concession.

Accompanied by Ivan, the group was able to visit the various garitas, especially in Chonta, Bolainal and Camungo. Long days, often in the rain, travelling by boat through the lush biodiversity of the concession, and being able to see whole groups of monkeys passing overhead.

A word from Lotty: “I am delighted that the director of Envol Vert found the Mahuizo nursery “the best in Peru of all Envol Vert’s projects” and also that she was able to see the difficulties of the actions and the scope of the Yanayacu-Maquîa Conservation Concession“.

Marion thus replaces Charlene in her role as Envol Vert’s Peru coordinator, and Milenka takes on the brand new position of Envol Vert’s CCYM coordinator, both for a 2-year period for the time being.

Launch of the Agroforestry project in Mahuizo

About twenty inhabitants are busy in Mahuizo: they have been carrying earth, shovels and wheelbarrows for several days to build the “Vivero Agroforestal de Mahuizo“. This nursery is the one of the agroforestry project in which they have decided to participate, and it will allow them to recover Camu-Camu, Aguaje, Toronja, citric and Caoba plants at the end. From December 2021 to April 2022, the participants will come to the four-week agroforestry training programme launched by Biodiversité Amazonienne and Envol Vert.

For the first time, this programme is offered to a community living near the Yanayacu Maquia Conservation Concession. The aim is to train them in agroforestry so that they can cultivate their plots by adding the benefits of trees to their usual crops. Agroforestry makes it possible to combine agriculture and trees to obtain considerable economic, social and ecological benefits. Agroforestry allows for better soil protection, diversification of crops and therefore food, improved production, creation of carbon sinks… It offers an important economic alternative to the inhabitants living near the Concession.

The first two stages of the project have been a great success. The group is enthusiastically involved in the work of building the nursery and in the training provided by the forestry engineer Maximo. Many children are also involved in the project, curious and eager to help. 

The Yanayacu Maquia Conservation Concession and AMPA’s San Martin Network

On 18 and 19 November, the great Amazonia Que Late virtual meeting, organised by AMPA, was held to pay tribute to the work of its partners and their crucial role in the protection of the Peruvian Amazon rainforest.

Biodiversité Amazonienne participated in this great meeting, represented by Lotty Morey, who gave a testimony of her experience during the seminar “Women in Conservation” (video available here). Her work and commitment were praised by the former Minister of Environment, Fabiola Muñoz, who attended the event. She said that, thanks to Lotty Morey, she had learned and understood the need for regulations to accompany conservationists and publicly thanked Lotty Morey.

The Amazonía Que Late network (in Spanish, “The Beating Heart of the Amazon”), brings together 6 networks in 8 regions of the Peruvian Amazon: San Martin, Amazonas, Loreto, Ucayali, Pasco, Juní, Huánuco and Madre de Dios, with more than 150 community-based conservation initiatives that protect almost 2 million hectares. Biodiversidad Amazónica has been a member of the San Martin network since May 2020. This network offers a space for articulation between the different concessionaires of the Peruvian Amazon, in order to constitute a collective voice. AMPA (Amazónicos por la Amazonía) allows conservationists to exchange and support each other in their work. Through these events, spaces for dialogue, consensus and consultation strengthen conservation strategies to achieve a common goal: to protect Peruvian forests and their biodiversity.

“Sumate al Bosque” Festival

The first edition of the “Sumate al Bosque” festival took place on 30 and 31 October 2021 in the villages of Mahuizo and Selva Alegre (Ucayali province, Loreto region). This event aims to promote the alternatives that exist for conservation, both socially and economically, and environmentally. 
Organised by the association Biodiversité Amazonienne and the NGO Envol Vert, the event was a great success. More than 90 families joined the event and enjoyed the games, exhibitions and tastings offered.

The event presented the work done by different public and private entities in terms of economic alternatives in a concrete, practical and fun way.

• Sustainable aguaje – awareness raising on aguajal conservation, exhibition of similar projects and aguaje climbing demonstration/competition with prizes. Pacaya Samiria Reserve

• Diversified agroforestry – importance of trees, field application and collective work methodology Envol Vert Peru

• Timber and artisanal use – product samples and field application Katahua Peru

• Sustainable fisheries – sustainable management of fisheries resources, examples of similar projects and working methodology IIAP

• Free legal advice –  Derecho para todos

• Conservation and endangered species – photographic exhibition of the concession and the work of the reserve, workshop for children and award ceremony. Envol Vert Peru

• Flavours of the Amazon – tasting of forest products such as jams, oils, chocolates and cocktails 

This event represents the closing of a project that has been carried out for 2 years to raise awareness among community members about the protection of endangered species, while officially launching two field projects dedicated to sustainable economic alternatives: the sustainable use of aguaje and the planting of diversified agroforestry systems with riparian communities.

Yves Rocher Foundation awards ceremony for the winners of the TERRE DE FEMMES 2021 competition

Terre de Femmes has awarded nearly 500 women in 50 countries over the past 20 years. And at the time of the anniversary edition of the prize, it is the president of the association Biodiversité-Amazonienne, Lotty Morey, who is awarded the 2nd prize.

The Yves Rocher Foundation has been committed to preserving biodiversity since 1991, and is launching the first edition of the Prix terre des Femmes, rewarding the commitment of women acting in favour of the environment.

“Lotty is committed on a daily basis to the protection and conservation of the environment of the Yanayacu-Maquia nature reserve, a treasure trove of biodiversity located in the Peruvian forest. Since 2006, Lotty has planted more than 30,000 trees of endemic species with local communities.“

More than just the possession of a prize and the benefit of financial support, Lotty becomes part of a committed community: regular meetings, workshops, gatherings around thematic conferences, mornings of sharing with other structures, the Terre de Femmes community is a form of empowerment for women.

Lotty travelled to France to collect her award together with her co-winners, Naomi Flaga-Madegan and Joanne Boachon.

The replay of the ceremony is available here.

In August the park rangers of the Concession for the Conservation of the Yanayacu Maquia reserve are not resting on their laurels.

Increasingly determined poachers made numerous attempts to enter the area in search of paiche (Arapaima gigas) and other fish species. A dozen of them were evicted during an intervention in the Romaina.

Fortunately, Ivan and his team are not short of ideas and have reinforced the floating barriers, an ingenious system that has already proved its worth and which allows them to gain time to go and look for reinforcements during intrusions.

On the Maquia side the situation is as critical and the police had to intervene to reinforce the work carried out in this area. This intervention is very much appreciated by the rangers and usually has a considerable impact on the determination of the poachers, at least for a few months.

The Peruvian Amazon Research Institute (IIAP) signs an agreement with the Amazon Biodiversity Association (Asociación de Biodiversidad de la Amazonía)

One of the most renowned research institutes in the Peruvian Amazon joins the concession to strengthen activities in the area. This first agreement should lead to specific agreements for the implementation of conservation activities, agroforestry, sustainable fishing and commercialisation of forest products.

“The agreement was signed at the IIAP headquarters in Iquitos by its president, Dr. Carmen García Dávila, and the president of Biodiversidad Amazónica, Lotty Del Carmen Morey Amacifuén. The objectives of the agreement also include the promotion of environmental education, the formulation of cooperation projects and capacity building, in order to promote the integral sustainable development of the Amazonian population, especially in the provinces of Requena and Ucayali”.

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The Conservation serving the local economy

The Concession team is busy launching economic alternatives projects, an ideal opportunity to celebrate the transition from the work done over the past two years on endangered species conservation.

For the past two years, Steffanny Bashi, a forestry engineer from Envol Vert, has been going into the field to promote the protection and recovery of threatened tree species such as mahogany and cumula. After several visits to the CCYM, Steffanny has succeeded in establishing a relationship of trust with the communities bordering the reserve. These numerous workshops on conservation awareness, recognition of threatened trees and identification of sustainable economic alternatives related to these species provided an opportunity to meet and continue activities. In addition to the economic alternatives identified, her work has highlighted the needs and desires of the communities, a work that has helped to broaden the scope of possible socio-economic development projects in favour of conservation.

This October will see the first conservation-related economic alternatives Féria in the CCYM. This will be an ideal opportunity to present the many sustainable business opportunities offered by the reserve to the local inhabitants in a more formal and entertaining way, while at the same time reinforcing learning about endangered species. We hope that this event will respond to their request and motivate the inhabitants to work together for the conservation of this exceptional site.