Amazon Conservation Association
Encyclopedia
Amazon Conservation Association (ACA) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization
working to conserve the biodiversity of the Amazon Basin
through the development of new scientific understanding, sustainable resource management
and rational land-use policy.
Founded in 1999 by tropical ecologists Adrian Forsyth and Enrique Ortiz, the organization works in close partnership with the Peruvian nonprofit organization Asociación para la Conservación de la Cuenca Amazónica (ACCA), headquartered in Cuzco, and ACA-Bolivia, headquartered in La Paz. ACA and its sister organizations work by conducting scientific research and establishing partnerships with governments, local communities and other conservation organizations to expand the amount of land protected in the region.
A principal objective of the organization is to develop field research sites ranging from high elevation cloud forest
to the lowland Amazon. It is this altitudinal gradient that harbors the greatest known richness of species on the planet. At the ACA field sites university students and researchers are brought to study and observe this diverse ecosystem.
forests, range from several hundred to several thousand acres in size and are given in concession (territory)
to local families for the nut collecting, also known as extraction. This extractive activity represents more than half the yearly income for thousands of families in these areas, and so far has politically justified the protection of the Brazil nut concession areas for extractive purposes. ACA's program offers technical support to castanheiros, helping them map their trees, redesign extractive trails, and earn more by teaching more efficient gathering techniques.
Through its partner in Peru, La Asociación para la Conservación de la Cuenca Amazoncia (ACCA), ACA has helped to increase the number of Brazil nut producers in the department of Madre de Dios
, Peru who have contracts and formal management plans to extract this sustainable resource. In 2006, ACCA assisted 93 small-scale producers gain government approval for Brazil nut extraction in 80598 acres (326 km²) of forest. The organization worked with these producers to map their stands, develop forest management plans, and win 40-year concession contracts with the Peruvian National Institute for Natural Resources (INRENA). Producers were also trained in sustainable forest management
through workshops, meetings, and technical assistance.
, commonly known by its Spanish acronym, CICRA (Centro de Investigación y Capacitación Río Los Amigos) sits on a high terrace at the confluence of the Madre de Dios and Los Amigos rivers, contiguous to the Los Amigos Conservation Concession.
In 2005-2007, CICRA was the most active research station in the Amazon Basin
, hosting an average of 25 researchers and assistants per day. During the same period, it hosted 145 different research projects addressing animal behavior, biogeochemistry
, botany
, conservation biology
, geology
, hydrology
, zoology
, as well as biological inventories of 25 different taxa, ranging from copepods to marsupials. Most research visitors are associated with universities in Peru or abroad, and many receive funding to visit the station through ACA's and ACCA's grant programs. CICRA is also a leading training site for young Amazonian scientists and conservationists. Between 2002 and 2007, the station hosted 19 field courses, ranging from introductory courses on Amazonia to specialized courses on plant identification, ornithology
, and arthropod biology.
. At 3,000 meters above sea level, the Wayqecha Biological Station
sponsors research on cloud forest ecology and climate change and species adaptation. ACA offers a competitive grant program for Peruvian students and international researchers that are interested in cloud forest science and conservation. http://www.amazonconservation.org/home/grants.htm
.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
working to conserve the biodiversity of the Amazon Basin
Amazon Basin
The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...
through the development of new scientific understanding, sustainable resource management
Resource management
In organizational studies, resource management is the efficient and effective deployment of an organization's resources when they are needed. Such resources may include financial resources, inventory, human skills, production resources, or information technology...
and rational land-use policy.
Founded in 1999 by tropical ecologists Adrian Forsyth and Enrique Ortiz, the organization works in close partnership with the Peruvian nonprofit organization Asociación para la Conservación de la Cuenca Amazónica (ACCA), headquartered in Cuzco, and ACA-Bolivia, headquartered in La Paz. ACA and its sister organizations work by conducting scientific research and establishing partnerships with governments, local communities and other conservation organizations to expand the amount of land protected in the region.
A principal objective of the organization is to develop field research sites ranging from high elevation cloud forest
Cloud forest
A cloud forest, also called a fog forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical evergreen montane moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level. Cloud forests often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and...
to the lowland Amazon. It is this altitudinal gradient that harbors the greatest known richness of species on the planet. At the ACA field sites university students and researchers are brought to study and observe this diverse ecosystem.
The Brazil Nut Project
ACA works with castanheiros (Brazil nut harvesters or producers) in the southwestern Amazon to both ensure that local and indigneous populations have a sustainable source of income and provide an incentive to conserve native forests. Land areas that contain castanhais, or Brazil nutBrazil Nut
The Brazil nut is a South American tree in the family Lecythidaceae, and also the name of the tree's commercially harvested edible seed.- Order :...
forests, range from several hundred to several thousand acres in size and are given in concession (territory)
Concession (territory)
In international law, a concession is a territory within a country that is administered by an entity other than the state which holds sovereignty over it. This is usually a colonizing power, or at least mandated by one, as in the case of colonial chartered companies.Usually, it is conceded, that...
to local families for the nut collecting, also known as extraction. This extractive activity represents more than half the yearly income for thousands of families in these areas, and so far has politically justified the protection of the Brazil nut concession areas for extractive purposes. ACA's program offers technical support to castanheiros, helping them map their trees, redesign extractive trails, and earn more by teaching more efficient gathering techniques.
Through its partner in Peru, La Asociación para la Conservación de la Cuenca Amazoncia (ACCA), ACA has helped to increase the number of Brazil nut producers in the department of Madre de Dios
Madre de Dios
Madre de Dios is a fairly common Spanish designation for the Virgin Mary, literally meaning "mother of God". It can refer to:-Places:* Madre de Dios Island, Chile* Madre de Dios Mine, Chile* Madre de Dios Province, Bolivia* Madre de Dios Region, Peru...
, Peru who have contracts and formal management plans to extract this sustainable resource. In 2006, ACCA assisted 93 small-scale producers gain government approval for Brazil nut extraction in 80598 acres (326 km²) of forest. The organization worked with these producers to map their stands, develop forest management plans, and win 40-year concession contracts with the Peruvian National Institute for Natural Resources (INRENA). Producers were also trained in sustainable forest management
Sustainable forest management
Sustainable forest management is the management of forests according to the principles of sustainable development. Sustainable forest management uses very broad social, economic and environmental goals...
through workshops, meetings, and technical assistance.
Los Amigos Conservation Concession
In 2000, ACA and its local partner ACCA established the world's first private conservation concession, called Los Amigos ("Friends," in Spanish).http://inrena.gob.pe/iffs/conc_conserv/concesiones_conservacion.htm The Los Amigos Conservation Concession lies at the mouth of the Los Amigos River and covers approximately 360000 acres (1,456.9 km²) of old growth of Amazonian forest in the department of Madre de Dios in southeastern Peru.http://cnx.org/content/m11554/latest/ Here, the organization focuses on sustainable forest management, research activities, conservation education in local schools, and natural resource management training for communities. The Los Amigos Biological StationLos Amigos Biological Station
The Los Amigos Biological Station is a research station in lowland Amazonian forest at the base of Peru's southern Andes, at 270 masl in Madre de Dios department. The station's official name in Spanish is Centro de Investigación y Capacitación Río Los Amigos...
, commonly known by its Spanish acronym, CICRA (Centro de Investigación y Capacitación Río Los Amigos) sits on a high terrace at the confluence of the Madre de Dios and Los Amigos rivers, contiguous to the Los Amigos Conservation Concession.
In 2005-2007, CICRA was the most active research station in the Amazon Basin
Amazon Basin
The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...
, hosting an average of 25 researchers and assistants per day. During the same period, it hosted 145 different research projects addressing animal behavior, biogeochemistry
Biogeochemistry
Biogeochemistry is the scientific discipline that involves the study of the chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes and reactions that govern the composition of the natural environment...
, botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
, conservation biology
Conservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
, geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
, hydrology
Hydrology
Hydrology is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets, including the hydrologic cycle, water resources and environmental watershed sustainability...
, zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
, as well as biological inventories of 25 different taxa, ranging from copepods to marsupials. Most research visitors are associated with universities in Peru or abroad, and many receive funding to visit the station through ACA's and ACCA's grant programs. CICRA is also a leading training site for young Amazonian scientists and conservationists. Between 2002 and 2007, the station hosted 19 field courses, ranging from introductory courses on Amazonia to specialized courses on plant identification, ornithology
Ornithology
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds...
, and arthropod biology.
Wayqecha Cloud Forest
The Wayqecha (meaning "friend" in Quechua) Research Center covers 1450 acres (6 km²) of cloud forest habitat, and serves as an ecological buffer for Peru's Manu National ParkManú National Park
Manú National Park is a biosphere reserve located in Madre de Dios and Paucartambo, Cusco. Before becoming an area protected by the Peruvian government, the Manú National Park was conserved thanks to its inaccessibility. The park remains fairly inaccessible by road to this day. In 1977, UNESCO...
. At 3,000 meters above sea level, the Wayqecha Biological Station
Wayqecha Biological Station
The Wayqecha Biological Station is a tropical ecological research station near Peru's Manú National Park. This research station is located in the upper reaches of the Río Cosñipata, an affluent of the Madre de Dios River, in the Paucartambo Province, Cusco Region...
sponsors research on cloud forest ecology and climate change and species adaptation. ACA offers a competitive grant program for Peruvian students and international researchers that are interested in cloud forest science and conservation. http://www.amazonconservation.org/home/grants.htm
Pampas del Heath
ACA-Bolivia works to understand the ecology of the Madidi National Park and the last portion of the pampas ecosystem, home of the Maned WolfManed Wolf
The maned wolf is the largest canid of South America, resembling a large fox with reddish fur.This mammal is found in open and semi-open habitats, especially grasslands with scattered bushes and trees, in south, central-west and south-eastern Brazil The maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) is the...
.