Nueva York Private Conservation Area Granted to Kukama-Kukamiria Indigenous People in the Peruvian Amazon

The Peruvian Ministry of the Environment formally recognized the Nueva York Private Conservation Area (PCA) on June 30, 2025. The Nueva York PCA spans 8,454 (3,421 hectares) of vital Amazonian flooded forests and palm swamps along the Tigre River in Peru’s Loreto region. The initiative, driven by the Kukama-Kukamiria Indigenous People of the Nueva York Native Community with the technical support of grantee Amazónicos por la Amazonía (AMPA), recognizes the community protection of a portion of the Kukama-Kukamiria Peoples Territory, safeguarding an ecological important area. 

The new conservation area protects valuable wetlands and forests and is strategically positioned between major protected areas including the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve and the Allpahuayo Mishana National Reserve, enhancing a critical biological corridor. The area is characterized by alluvial plains, locally known as “tahuampas,” and has extensions of carbon rich palm swamps dominated by the aguaje (Mauritia flexuosa) and shapaja (Attalea speciosa) palms.

Biodiversity assessments confirm the area’s ecological importance, registering over 60 species of birds, 28 mammal species, and 12 reptile species. Many of these species’ populations are under threat, including the jaguar (Panthera onca), the critically endangered Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis), the pink river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis), the Colombian red howler monkey (Alouatta seniculus), the silvery woolly monkey (Lagothrix lagothricha poeppigii), the yellow-spotted river turtle (Podocnemis unifilis) and the harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja). The forests of the PCA also contain at least 66 plant species of significant value to the local population for medicine and food.

The establishment of the PCA strengthens long-term management of natural resources by the Kukama-Kukamiria Indigenous People of the Nueva York Native Community, protecting endangered species of the Peruvian Amazon. The primary objective of the PCA’s creation was to conserve the valuable flooded forests and palm swamps for future generations to enjoy the environmental services resulting from their responsible conservation. 

AMPA facilitated participatory workshops and fieldwork to document the area’s biological and cultural value and assisted the community through the official recognition process of the Private Conservation Area with Peru’s National Service of Natural Protected Areas (SERNANP).

Acknowledgements: 

This accomplishment was made possible by the Nueva York Native Community and Peru’s National Service of Natural Protected Areas (SERNANP) with technical support from Amazónicos por la Amazonía (AMPA) and financial contributions from Andes Amazon Fund.