Amazon Conservation

Bordering on Brazil and Peru, the Pando region has vast intact forests and a traditional economy based on harvest of Brazil nuts and other non-timber forest products. However, threats from cattle ranching and expansion of the agricultural frontier are growing (the impact of these threats in neighboring countries is demonstrated dramatically by the map in the Other Documentation attachment). Successful implementation of the project will protect 2.2 million acres of lowland rainforest and directly support livelihoods of 18 Amazonian communities and provide benefits to an additional 17. This initiative targets one of the world’s most critical conservation priorities, as the Amazon harbors our planets’ largest remaining wilderness area and our greatest biodiversity. These forests regulate regional climate while preserving globally important carbon stocks. We have confirmed presence of priority species for conservation, including threatened species such as jaguar, giant river otter, and tapir, along with over 60 other mammal species and hundreds of bird species. Tahuamanu Biological Station alone is home to 13 confirmed primate species, one of the highest known concentrations of monkey species in the world (by comparison, the country of Costa Rica has 4 primate species). The Amazon is also a center of cultural diversity, and the indigenous and rural communities throughout Pando are the region’s most important forest guardians. Providing these communities with tools to manage the forests on which they depend and to strengthen their forest friendly livelihoods improves both community wellbeing and forest protection. Demonstrating this in Pando’s existing protected areas will serve as an effective and efficient conservation model with potential for broad replication.