Think Locally, Act Globally: New Conservation Concession in Peru Will Incubate Collaborative Management Practices

Andes Amazon Fund celebrates the creation of the Guardianes de Piedra Conservation Concession, located in the Amazonian region of San Martín in northern Peru. The Conservation Concession spans 6,461 acres (2,615 hectares) of humid tropical forest and hosts an impressive diversity of flora and fauna.

Creating a Biodiversity Haven

The Guardianes de Piedra Conservation Concession is recognized as a fragile ecosystem according to the Forest Zoning of the San Martín region (2020). While the priority species for protection in the Conservation Concession are the White-bellied spider monkey (Ateles belzebuth) and the Razor-billed curassow (Mitu tuberosum), many other unique species call these forests home such as the Military macaw (Ara militarus), the King Vulture (Sarcoramphus papa), the collared peccary (Pecari tajacu), and the Spanish cedar (Cedrela odorata).

Conservation is a Collaborative Process

The Asociación Agropecuaria Forestal y de Conservación Marisol de la Comunidad de Marisol Distrito de Pachiza (ASAFCOMAR) is the primary grantee of this Conservation Concession, and received an agreement for 40 years with the option of renewal. The agreement was signed by all primary actors in the creation and future management of the Conservation Concession: the president of ASAFCOMAR, Sixto Izquierdo Navarro, the representative of the Conservation Area and Environmental Services of the Regional Environmental Authority of San Martín, Roger Ramírez, the Program Director of Amazónicos por la Amazonía (AMPA), Jorge Fachin, the organization PUR Project, and the Conservation Concession El Breo. 

“We as administrators of the Guardianes de la Piedra Conservation Concession believe that we must act locally to change globally; For this reason, we will work on management mechanisms that contribute to more successfully confronting the pressures and threats to which our conservation area is exposed, in order to preserve biological diversity and the ecosystem services it provides to local and regional communities.”

Joint statement by the leaders of the new Conservation Concession

As part of the support provided by our partners at AMPA, the guardians from ASAFCOMAR received basic equipment such as GPS, cell phones, a printer, and a laptop; necessary equipment to continue their important and voluntary work to defend the region.

Acknowledgments

The success of the Guardianes de Piedra Conservation Concession was made possible thanks to the hard work and perseverance of ASAFCOMAR, the Regional Environmental Authority of San Martín, and our partners at Amazónicos por la Amazonía (AMPA).

Learn more and receive updates on Guardianes de Piedra from AMPA (in Spanish) here.