Creation of National Park protects over 3.3 million acres of Amazon rainforest in Peru

[Bacchus4.0]

https://www.rainforesttrust.org/news/sierra-del-divisor-created/

On Sunday, November 8, Peruvian President Ollanta Humala will approve the creation of a 3.3 million-acre national park at Sierra del Divisor, protecting an immense expanse of Amazon rainforest. The new park—which is larger than Yosemite and Yellowstone National Parks combined — strategically secures the final link in a 67 million-acre Andes-Amazon Conservation Corridor, forming one of the largest contiguous blocks of protected areas in the Amazon, and is vital to protecting one of the planet’s last remaining strongholds for wildlife biodiversity and indigenous communities.

The U.S. nonprofit organization Rainforest Trust in collaboration with Peruvian partner CEDIA (Center for the Development of an Indigenous Amazon) worked with local indigenous communities and Peru’s government to create the new national park. Its establishment ends a nine-year push for protection that has involved numerous NGOs and organizations in Peru and abroad. Rainforest Trust has supported the long-term costs of establishing and protecting the park.

“The Sierra del Divisor is the final link in an immense protected area complex that extends for more than 1,100 miles from the banks of the Amazon in Brazil to the snowy peaks of the Peruvian Andes,” said Dr. Paul Salaman, CEO of Rainforest Trust. “After two decades of collaborating with CEDIA to protect indigenous territories and establish nature reserves, parks and sanctuaries throughout the Amazon of Peru, we have finally completed the centerpiece with the declaration of Sierra del Divisor National Park. This permanent conservation corridor is one of the greatest refuges for biodiversity on Earth.”

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Considered one of Peru’s highest conservation priorities, the Sierra del Divisor has long been recognized for its superlative biodiversity. A brief expedition by the Chicago Field Museum found the Sierra del Divisor home to the highest levels of primate diversity in the western Amazon, as well as an estimated 300 species of fish and 3,500 plant species. The region is a stronghold for large mammal species such as jaguars and tapirs that are in decline throughout their range. It will also provide protection for the Iskonowa, an indigenous tribe living within the new park in voluntary isolation.

[narnian60]

1. Hurray!!!

Great news.