Study Area

The TNR

The protected areas at the centre of this proposal are the Tambopata National Reserve (TNR), created in 2000 with an area of 274,690 hectares, and the Bahuaja Sonene National Park (BSNP), first created in 1996 and subsequently extended in 2001 with a current area of 1.09 million hectares.

Both protected areas supersede the Tambopata Candamo Reserved Zone (TCRZ) which was created in 1990. Both derive their name from the Tambopata River, which the local native Ese'eja people call Bahuaja. This river is born high up in the Andes in the Sandia region of Puno and subsequently flows into the Madre de Dios River at Puerto Maldonado.

 
Biodiversity

With 84 of the 104 known life zones on the planet, Peru ranks among the first in the world in biodiversity. It is the first in birds, with 1,701 species, second in primates with 34 species, third in mammals with 361, fifth in reptiles with 297 and fifth in amphibians with 251. The Tambopata-Candamo National Reserve is a paradise of megadiversity.

Biodiversity inventories have provided ample evidence that Tambopata is arguably the most diverse corner of Amazonia and Puerto Maldonado was officially recognised by the Peruvian government as the Biodiversity Capital of the nation in 1994.  Tambopata is home to approximately 7% of the world's bird species (~600) and 4% of the world's mammal species (~160). 

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Threats to Madre de Dios

With 75,000 people, Madre de Dios is the least populated, least developed area of Peru, and 90% of its forests are still intact.  However, a number of threats are currently endangering these forests, including:- 1) timber extraction; 2) alluvial gold-mining; 3) unsustainable farming practices, like cattle ranching; 4) inappropriate or over-ambiguous natural resource extraction laws; 5) oil and gas prospecting; and lastly 6) uncontrolled tourism development, particularly in and around protected areas.

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