Unrivaled biological and cultural diversity

Created in November 2004, the 2.5 million-hectare Alto Purús National Park is Peru’s largest park and the central link to one of the largest contiguous network of strictly protected land in the entire Amazon basin—an area almost the size of Costa Rica. Located in southeastern corner of the country near the border of Brazil, the Park and surroundings harbor numerous endangered plants and animals, such as the harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja), the short-eared dog (Atelocynus microtis), and the giant river otter (Pteronura brasiliensis). It holds the world record for mammal diversity, with 194 registered species, as well as over 510 bird species. In addition to being one of the most important and best-preserved refuges for endemic and endangered species in Amazonia, this vast, pristine wilderness has unrivaled cultural diversity. Approximately 3000 people representing ten distinct indigenous groups live in settled communities along remote rivers just outside the Park. And perhaps most remarkably, the Park and its surroundings are home to at least two tribes of uncontacted, nomadic hunters and gatherers, some of the last such people left on earth.

The region also harbors Peru’s largest remaining stands of bigleaf mahogany trees (Swietenia macrophylla), an exceedingly rare timber species and the world’s most valuable. As a result, in recent years the Park and its surroundings have come under siege by illegal loggers. The logging is detrimental to the Alto Purús ecosystem, exploits local indigenous communities, and is an immediate threat to the survival of the uncontacted tribes.

One of the world’s great wilderness areas or a paper park?

The Alto Purús River

In early 2007, Round River completed a comprehensive assessment of the conservation status of the Alto Purús. It entailed on-site investigations of illegal logging and other threats along six rivers that serve as primary access routes to the Park. The results of the assessment are detailed in the report, “The Race for Peru’s Last Mahogany Trees: Illegal Logging and the Alto Purús National Park,” available at the bottom of this page.

Primary findings included:

The number of violent conflicts between loggers and uncontacted tribes has increased dramatically in recent years, resulting in deaths on both sides.

The Park’s access routes and borders lack any effective control or vigilance.

Mahogany from the Park is easily laundered through adjacent logging concessions, which lack effective monitoring or control.

Local indigenous communities are unable to protect themselves from unscrupulous loggers who are targeting their titled lands in addition to the Park.

A proposal currently being considered by the Peruvian government to build a road through the heart of the Park would give loggers unabated access to the heart of the region, resulting in the further exploitation of local indigenous communities and threatening the survival of the uncontacted groups.

Cashinahua men and a felled mahogany tree on the Curanja River

The Alto Purús Protection Project

In September 2007, in close collaboration with Peru’s park service, INRENA, and local indigenous federations, Round River began implementing a project intended to significantly improve the conservation status of the Alto Purús. The project aims to strengthen protection of the Park, the adjacent reserves for uncontacted people, and the titled lands of nearby indigenous communities. In addition, by implementing a series of education, training, and sustainable development measures, we are working to directly engage local people in conservation efforts in order to conserve natural resources and improve their standard of living.