New Bosques Montanos de Huamantanga y Chorro Blanco Regional Conservation Area Protects Cloud Forests and Water Supply in Cajamarca, Peru

The new Bosques Montanos de Huamantanga y Chorro Blanco Regional Conservation Area (RCA), established on March 14, 2026, protects 34,650 acres (14,023 hectares) of cloud forest and Amazonian headwaters in the northern Peruvian department of Cajamarca. 

Huamantanga’s high-altitude cloud forest landscape is enveloped in thick mist and low-hanging clouds that settle over a dense green canopy. The terrain is rugged and steep, featuring prominent rocky outcrops and clear water streams that form small waterfalls as they descend through the mountains. The interior of the forest is tightly packed with diverse vegetation, including a variety of ferns, moss-covered branches, and flowering epiphytes such as orchids. This moist environment provides a habitat for a range of specialized wildlife and threatened species that are part of the Cordillera Real Oriental ecoregion, including the Endangered gray-breasted mountain-toucan (Andigena hypoglauca) and Peruvian night monkey (Aotus miconax), Vulnerable spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), and the Critically Endangered palm Ceroxylon parvifrons, among others. 

Bosques Montanos de Huamantanga y Chorro Blanco is the fifth RCA to be established in the department of Cajamarca and it is located between the Interandean Dry Forests of Cutervo and the Páramos y Bosques Montanos de Jaen y Tabaconas RCAs, strengthening connectivity in this Andes-Amazon transition landscape as the climate warms and microhabitats are pushed to higher elevations. The area protects critical headwaters that supply water to over 200,000 inhabitants, including the populations of Jaén and Bellavista. Before the establishment, deforestation threatened these water sources which could have long term consequences on the water supply to these towns. 

“This declaration is the result of a shared vision with local communities who understand that protecting the forest also means protecting their own way of life,” comments Iván Mejía, project manager for Nature and Culture International. “From the beginning, this has been a collective effort where conservation and the well-being of the people go hand in hand,” he emphasizes.

Currently, efforts are underway to establish a management committee that will bring together public and private institutions and the local population surrounding the conservation area. This multi-stakeholder group will coordinate long-term conservation efforts, including efforts to combat emerging environmental threats.

Acknowledgements: 

This achievement was promoted by the Regional Government of Cajamarca with technical support from Nature and Culture International and supervision by Peru’s National Protected Area Service – SERNANP. Financial support was provided by the Andes Amazon Fund, the CUIDAR project: Rights, Water and Resilience, the Biodiverse Landscapes Fund Andes Amazon Project and the Conserva Aves project through Profonanpe. Andes Amazon Fund’s financial support for this project was generously provided by the Wyss Foundation.