Frankfurt Zoological SocietyRainforest Protection in the Eastern Andes, Peru--
OBJECTIVE: Securing the species-rich forests and adjacent lowland of the Andean eastern slope.
The tropical part of the Andes is among the 25 "Hotspot" areas for biodiversity and has one of the highest diversities in plant and animal species worldwide. The largest conservation area in the world was established in the last decade in Peru. It encompasses large areas of pristine rainforest and is one of the last refuges were uncontacted indigenous people live. The Eastern Andes Rainforest Protection Program, which covers the conservation areas Manú, Alto Púrus, Tambopata and Bahuaja-Sonene in southeast Peru, has expanded as planned in the last years. FZS gives support to the administration departments of Manú and Alto Púrus to finance park protection, monitoring, tourism management and environment education, of which park protection takes up the largest part of funding. All activities operate under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Peruvian Ministry for Environment, INRENA. In 2008, this MoU has to be renewed for another term of 5 years. The project “Occurrence and Protection of Giant Otters” is part of the Rainforest Protection Program and is therefore not mentioned in detail.