800 000 hectares of the Amazon will be preserved in Peru and Colombia

• Management of forest resources will benefit over 3500 people in both countries
  
• An initiative supported by the European Union was launched with great expectations in Ucayali

Pucallpa. The Amazon in Peru and Colombia comprises a region of high biodiversity. Its large extensions of forests provide environmental goods and services valuable to local, regional and world population.

Unfortunately, despite its importance and fragility, there still exits activities such as illegal logging which constitute severe problems for its conservation and welfare of those living there. It is precisely under these circumstances that the “Living Amazon” project was conceived.

This project promotes a participatory and inclusive work proposal to be developed in Peru and Colombia, with support from WWF Germany and the European Union, and seeks to benefit over 3 500 indigenous and local people from a responsible management of their forests. “The goal is that by 2014 nearly 800 000 hectares of forest are preserved for the benefit of local people”, said María del Pilar Ramírez, who is part of WWF Peru’s team in charge of this effort.

One of the first steps to accomplish this arduous but enthusiastic task was the presentation of the project, which took place last 20 August in Atalaya, Ucayali. This event, led by WWF Peru, was attended by local partners, who stressed the importance of commitment and trust between all stakeholders involved: local, national and foreign.

Francisco de Asís Mendoza, Mayor of Atalaya, used this occasion to reaffirm his administration’s official interest in driving initiatives that promote conservation of the Amazon forest in his jurisdiction. In this way, he committed before the local population, indigenous organizations and representatives of the Agency for Supervision of Forestry Resources and Wildlife (OSINFOR) to support those efforts
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In Peru and Colombia, the Living Amazon team consists of Corpoamazonia; Rights, Environment, and Natural Resources (DAR); SINCHI, SNV, TRAFFIC and WWF.