CONSERVATION AND ECOLOGICALLY SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE MANU BIOSPHERE RESERVE
(Project PE0601)
A lot is at stake. The Amazonian rainforests, spread over 1.8 million hectares in the reserve, are home to a number of mammals, birds, freshwater fishes, amphibians,and plants. In one five-kilometre area of Manu Park alone, WWF-funded scientists have so far recorded about a tenth of the world's bird species and more than 1,000 vascular (higher) plant species. The park's Andean area contains some 17 species of endangered fauna, including the spectacled bear, cock of the rocks, condor, puma, and the white tailed deer, as well as timber such as cedar and mahogany. While the lowland Amazonian rainforests account for much of the reserve, there are 12 other ecosystems (life zones) ranging from cloud and dwarf forests to the 4,000-metre high Andean puna (high altitude cold desert). The park also contains upper and middle watersheds of the Manu River with its 37 tributaries, as well as most of the tributaries of the torrential Alto Madre de Dios River originating in the Andes. In addition to this programme, WWF is now focusing on the southern buffer zone to ensure sustainable use of natural resources. About 13,000 people, mostly former immigrants from the Andes, live in the buffer zone. An extra 10,000 migrant workers use the area. Indiscriminate timber extraction has depleted forest resources and increased dependence on subsistence farming, which in turn has degraded the soil. With financial support from ODA and the European Union, WWF is working with the Peruvian Foundation for the Conservation of Nature (FPCN) and local communities to develop an alternative resource management programme for the region. The programme involves supporting land rights for local communities and efforts to develop sustainable resource use. Replanting with native fruit trees and timber species, animal husbandry, house gardens, bee-keeping, fish ponds, and agroforestry are all part of this initiative. WWF is also working with APECO (Asociación Peruana para la Conservación de la Naturaleza) and other local groups on a wide-ranging environmental education programme among native and settler communities, as well as in the formal education sector.
Back to the previous page
|
Copyright 1996, The World Wide Fund For Nature