Andes Amazon Fund celebrates the creation of Cotuhé, Peru’s largest conservation concession. Spanning 491,104 acres (198,743 ha) of Amazon rainforest in Peru’s northern Loreto region, this conservation concession provides critical biodiversity protections for endangered species, safeguards the buffer zone of the 2.1 million acre (nearly 900,000 ha) Yaguas National Park, and secures a bio-cultural corridor,…
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While on the way to the Gaia Amazonas Foundation’s first Intercultural Dialogue event this past October between Indigenous authorities, the Colombian government, and civil society organizations, Andes Amazon Fund Program Officer Peter Oesterling accompanied an overflight of Colombia’s Chiribiquete National Park – whose second expansion of 3.7 million acres in 2018 was supported by AAF.…
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Andes Amazon Fund applauds the creation of the Dowara Kanda Tech Uyapï municipal conservation area in Bolivia. Spanning 61,168 acres (24,754 ha), the new conservation area represents a major victory for the Leco people, an Indigenous ethnicity with roots in the western Bolivian Amazon. The Leco people have fought for years to gain stronger legal…
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Andes Amazon Fund celebrates the creation of the Fuente de Vida municipal protected area, which spans 19,065 acres (7,715 ha) in the El Torno Municipality near Santa Cruz, Bolivia. “Fuente de Vida” translates in English to “Source of Life”, and refers to the new area’s protection of a critical water corridor, which safeguards freshwater sources…
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Andes Amazon Fund applauds the creation of The Gran Manupare municipal conservation area, which spans an incredible 1,118,495 acres (452,639 hectares) of the northwestern Bolivian Amazon. The rainforests of Pando, where the new conservation area is located, are sanctuaries for a huge diversity of species including the endangered giant river otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) and the…
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Andes Amazon Fund celebrates the creation of Las Siete Sabias-Esperanza de Vida, a new protected area in Chocó, Colombia. Sieta Sabias conserves 75,116 acres (30,398 ha) of tropical rainforest along Colombia’s Pacific coast, boosting connectivity within the Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena biodiversity hotspot. Siete Sabias is as much a victory for nature as it is for the people…
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Their paddles created ripples in the murky river, illuminated by a series of headlamps. For a minute, there was only the rhythmic sound of wood moving through water and the buzzing of thousands of insects in the dark jungle along the riverbanks. Magaly Mendoza and her three crewmates, representatives from the Puerto Rico Municipal Conservation…
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On December 14th, 2023, the local government of Sucúa, Ecuador held a vote to establish the Sucúa Municipal Conservation and Sustainable Use Area. In a victory for the region, the motion passed unanimously. The new conservation area covers 43,840 acres (17,741 hectares) of diverse yet threatened Amazonian ecosystems in the province of Morona Santiago, particularly…
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This fall, Andes Amazon Fund Program Officer Peter Oesterling participated in the first “Intercultural Dialogue” event hosted by the Gaia Amazonas Foundation, which convened leaders from various Indigenous reserves across the Colombian Amazon. Many of these leaders represented reserves supported by AAF either through its own grantmaking or in alliance with the Gordon and Betty…
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Andes Amazon Fund celebrates the establishment of the San José de Payamino Municipal Conservation and Sustainable Use Area, created in June of 2023. The new conservation area is located in the northeastern Ecuadorian province of Orellana and spans 134,223 acres (54,318 hectares) of fragile ecosystems. The area will contribute to the long-term resilience and restoration…
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