Accelerate Indigenous Land Titling to Protect Carbon-rich Peruvian Amazon
Support More Work Like ThisSupport More Work Like ThisDeforestation, illegal extraction, and oil development threaten Indigenous ways of life in a biodiversity hotspot.
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Species at Risk
Giant River Otter (EN) Amazon River Dolphin (EN) Common Woolly Monkey (VU)
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Carbon stored
201,812,784 mT *
*(metric tons of CO2 equivalents) -
Partner
Rainforest Foundation US
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550,000 Proposed Acres Conserved by
Land Tenure
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Project Cost: $1,030,605
550,000
Deforestation, illegal extraction, and oil development threaten Indigenous ways of life in a biodiversity hotspot.
-
Species at Risk
Giant River Otter (EN) Amazon River Dolphin (EN) Common Woolly Monkey (VU)
-
Carbon stored
201,812,784 mT *
*(metric tons of CO2 equivalents) -
Partner
Rainforest Foundation US
-
550,000 Proposed Acres Conserved by
Land Tenure
-
Project Cost: £824,484
550,000
In northeastern Peru, the department of Loreto holds the second-largest expanse of Amazon rainforest after Brazil, and it covers more than half the country. Thousands of plant and animal species live here, and Indigenous Peoples have stewarded these lands and waters for generations.
Illegal logging, coca cultivation, organized crime, and oil development threaten the future of the Peruvian Amazon and all who rely on it. With our partner, Rainforest Foundation US, we will support at least 40 Indigenous communities in securing land tenure rights for 550,000 acres in Loreto. These designations will provide legal standing so the Urarina people may sustain their way of life and continue to steward the resources of their ancestral homelands in the Chambira-Marañon river valleys.
The Peruvian Amazon is also vital in the global fight against climate change, as one of our planet’s most important carbon stores. Peru’s expanse of the Amazon rainforest holds more than 33 billion metric tons of CO2 equivalents. It also contains the largest peat deposits in the Amazon Basin. The carbon density in this region is among the highest in our portfolio of projects to date.
Header photo: Giant River Otter, by Henk Bogaard
Explore the Peruvian Amazon
Amazon River Dolphin, courtesy of Juerginho
Giant River Otter, courtesy of Rainforest Foundation US
Common Woolly Monkey, courtesy of Martin Pelanek
Giant River Otter, courtesy of Rainforest Foundation US
The Marañon River, courtesy of Rainforest Foundation US
Loreto, Peru’s largest department (state), shelters
of the Amazon’s bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian species.
Close gaps in a conservation landscape
Our project in Loreto will close gaps in a vast Amazonian conservation landscape adjacent to the 5-million-acre Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, which also includes numerous rainforest areas we have helped safeguard. This project builds on our decades-long commitment to support Indigenous communities in securing land rights, which has contributed to the protection of more than 11 million acres in the Peruvian Amazon.
Using a game-changing approach, Rainforest Foundation US and its Indigenous partners will accelerate the painstakingly long process of land titling. Early engagement with Indigenous associations, proactive identification and resolution of boundaries, and assignment of specialized staff for field- and desk-based operations can reduce the timeline for conservation by months, even years. This accelerated effort will safeguard the rainforest with urgency, before it is grabbed and destroyed.
Secure a safe refuge for endangered wildlife
The rivers that run down the eastern slopes of the Andes Mountains give rise to the mighty Amazon. Wildlife swims, swings, and nests within this landscape, even as the rainforest and rivers face pollution, extraction, and illegal exploitation. Endangered species like the Amazon River Dolphin and Giant River Otter need healthy rivers to survive. Vulnerable mammals with declining populations, like the Common Woolly Monkey and Lowland Tapir, rely on these rainforests to sustain themselves.
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Conservation work is critical, challenging, and can be costly. We work hard to ensure we raise only the funds needed for each project. In the rare case we raise more money than needed or a project comes in under budget, excess monies will be transferred to the Conservation Action Fund. This fund supports our important conservation work throughout the tropics.
Project Modifications
Rainforest Trust conducts extensive research and due diligence on each of the projects that we support, so that once a project is offered for public support we believe it will succeed. We work closely with our project implementers, offer support, and regularly monitor their progress. Given the nature of the work, projects may not progress exactly as intended and may be unable to meet all objectives. To respond dynamically to the needs of our project implementers and the realities of the landscapes in which they operate, Rainforest Trust expressly reserves the right to modify a project as it deems necessary, provided that donor intent is honored by ensuring that that the original project objectives are diligently pursued and that project funds continue to benefit the landscape and species identified in the project overview. Project modifications that we may need to make in certain circumstances include the specific project implementer, the size of the landscape to be protected, the type of protection to be afforded to the landscape, and the development of sustainability mechanisms.
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Partnering to Save Rainforest
Our partners’ ability to work with their governments and build strong connections with local communities ensures the successful implementation of our projects.
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