Sam and Fanny prepared the second site for the investigation work and even managed to see a group of yellow tailed woolly monkeys one day whilst eating lunch. We also made a two day training seminar for local people interested in working with us in the investigation and as tourist guides.

We have had many visits in the last two weeks. Wagner Guzman from IIAP (Instituto de Investigacion de la Amazonia Peruana), Lorena Durand from SPDA (Socciedad Peruana por Derecho Ambiental) and Luisa Guevara from APECO (Asosiacion Peruana por la Conservacion de la Naturaleza), came together for three days to give talks to the people in the different villages we work with. As these are very well known and respected local environmental institutions, there was high attendance to the talks and people showed a lot of interested in the idea to conserve their forests.

Cesar Bartra From INRENA came to give a talk about the laws and possible alternatives to logging. All of these people promised to visit again soon and to cooperate with the project.

The Ronda is a national network of locally organized communities “police” forces in areas where the national police are practically absent. And now the good part! With our encouragement and advice, the Ronda of the whole of Amazonas region has decided to outlaw -under penalty- the hunting, capture and sale of all wild animals. Out side of native communities almost all hunting is trophy hunting or for the local pet trade, so this is great step for the conservation of all species. We were interviewed for local TV and radio with the president of the regional Ronda to announce this momentous decision.

We finished the preparation of the first study site (and were able to see and hear monkeys every day of the trip) and this month we are planning to prepare the second site so we can start scientific investigation.

On the down side the level of immigration of loggers and pastoralists into the area increased dramatically this month (probably as word has spread about the plan to build a road to the furthest communities) and has already had an affect on deforestation and local wildlife. We are going to concentrate on informing the people of the importance of sustainable and organized development and growth contrary to the current situation.

In La Esperanza we started the environmental education program with the help of volunteers from Lima and Arequipa. They made activities with children and a talk for the adults.

Members of the communities formed, with our help, an association to promote the production and commercialization of locally produced handicrafts and tourism. The inauguration of the association, called ADESBI, was officiated by the founding resident of the community Doña Sulema Montoya.  

We got information of a captive yellow tailed woolly monkey in the neighbouring village of Buenos Aires. The monkey was a sub-adult male tied with a small chain in the middle of a room. He was very scared and was alarm calling. When we came back to rescue the monkey we noticed that he is half paralyzed and can not move his right leg and arm. The owner was willing to let us take the monkey to the IKAMA Peru rescue centre where he is now. Unfortunately, even with the very best care and attention that he gets he is unlikely to survive. This is just the latest of a long list of illegal pets that we encountered in the last few weeks. We hope that the education program will be effective in reducing this.   

We had several visits this month, including Wagner Guzman from the Instituto de Investigacion de la Amazonia Peruana who gave a presentation to the authorities of the five communities. The presentation concentrated on the benefits to communities of preserving their natural resources and ways to help them manage them more sustainably.

Antonio Cervan Picon, an eco-tourism operator, also came to talk to the authorities about the possibility of developing tourism in the area. He will return to do a survey of tourism attractions in La Esperanza and may open an office to help develop tourism.

Ana Mariscal, an Ecuadorian botanist, visited the project for a week. She gave a talk about the importance of reforestation and the dangers of deforestation and gave examples from Ecuador. She also went to the forest with local guides to help identify the different tree species used in the area to make a list of local and scientific names.

The first tree nursery was built on the 22^nd of December in La Esperanza. About 30 people were involved in the cleaning, digging of the beds and fencing, but there is still a lot of work in filling the potting bags. As the schools are on vacation for the next 3 months we are planning to get the children to help in the nursery for a few days.

English lessons started on the 18th of December. There is a lot of interest, which is very pleasing. We also gave hot chocolate and Christmas cake to all our English students after our last lesson before Christmas.

Unfortunately, there are now two mining companies currently working on the lands of these communities. Due to the lack of legal advice available to the communities, agreements were signed with both companies, Corianta and Cerro de la Mina. These contracts are very exploitative for both the communities and the environment, so we are now looking for environmental agencies within Peru who could help the communities with legal advice to ensure better conditions and stricter adherence to laws and guidelines.

During the time in the communities we were able to see the Andean night monkey (Autos miconax), this species is also very rare and little studied. It is another endemic monkey to the same area as the yellow tailed woolly monkey and goes to prove the importance of
preserving this area as a refuge for rare and endngered animal and plant speceis. Finding this species near the communities is a very good sign and we are hoping to start investigations on this species as well.

and check back here soon for regular news updates on Project progress

Thank you