The Ambassador of the European Union in Peru Visits the Loreto Region to Learn About Conservation Experiences and the Fight Against Wildlife and Timber Trafficking

The Ambassador of the European Union in Peru Visits the Loreto Region to Learn About Conservation Experiences and the Fight Against Wildlife and Timber Trafficking

August 25, 2023 09:53

From August 22 to 25, 2023, the Ambassador of the European Union in Peru, Gaspar Frontini, visited the Loreto region in the Peruvian Amazon. He learned about various conservation initiatives and experiences supported under the framework of the Alliance for Wildlife and Forests, an initiative financed by the European Union to combat wildlife trafficking and promote legally sourced timber.

During his tour, Ambassador Frontini was accompanied by Tatiana García, the EU's Head of Environment and Climate Change in Peru, and by a technical delegation from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

 

The visit aimed to understand the progress that the Alliance for Wildlife and Forests has achieved since its implementation in 2019 with various partners in Peru. At the same time, the visit aimed to discover other conservation activities undertaken by local communities in the Loreto region that make sustainable use of their resources.

 

"The main goal of this mission is to understand the results of an important project we have, which is the Alliance for Wildlife and Forests that is concluding. This is a project that intersects two major priorities for EU cooperation with Peru, which are also two significant challenges for Peru. The first is environmental conservation... and the second is combating organized crime, in this case, trafficking in species and illegal logging," Ambassador Frontini stated.

 

He added, "A more general aim was to come and see the region, its people, its potential, its challenges. It’s one thing to know about reality from Lima through what one can read or hear, and another thing entirely to come directly and see the reality on-site, to speak with indigenous communities, authorities, civil society, producers, and the private sector. It provides a much richer, closer, and direct perspective."

 

About the Experiences Visited

 

Ambassador Gaspar Frontini undertook a four-day trip where he had the chance to learn about various experiences, from community and indigenous initiatives to business endeavors. All have the common characteristic of being sustainable initiatives for the conservation of resources and responsible utilization of wildlife species. This was also an opportunity to meet the authorities in the Loreto region and entrepreneurs who support community initiatives through their businesses.

 

At the beginning of his tour, Ambassador Frontini visited the communities of San Pedro and El Chino in the Tahuayo river basin, situated in the buffer zone of the Regional Conservation Area of Tamshiyacu Tahuayo (ACR CTT). Here he learned about community conservation experiences based on sustainable hunting and fishing. He listened to explanations about species census processes, monitoring, record-keeping, hunting, and fishing with quotas and in established areas, all of which are part of these community initiatives. These activities also enable community members to earn income from the sale of their products.

 

During this part of the tour, Solís Zambrano Fasabi, President of the Artisanal Fishermen Association (APA) PUMA GARZA I, from the El Chino community, said, "Unity is better; from there comes a benefit for everyone," referring to the importance of the APA for his community.

 

 

© WCS. Images of the meeting of Ambassador Gaspar Frontini with APA PUMA GARZA I-community El Chino.

 

 

In the community of El Chino, he also had the opportunity to know the work of the women from the Manos Amazónicas Artisan Association who displayed products made from managed chambira palms, delighting attendees with beautiful artisan works.

 

 

2.Artesanias manos amazonicas

© WCS. Display of artisan products from the Manos Amazónicas Artisan Association.

 

 

The next day, Ambassador Frontini met with representatives of the Maynas Productive and Technological Transfer Innovation Center (CITE Productivo Maynas) that provides technological transfer services to productive units in the agro-industrial, fishing, and aquaculture sectors in the Loreto region. Regarding this visit, the director of CITE Productivo Maynas, Margoth del Rocío Orbe Peixoto, noted: "These coordination and articulation visits are very important for future projects and to continue providing support to the region’s productive units, both financially through projects and technical support."

 

 

© WCS. Ambassador Gaspar Frontini during the visit to CITE Productivo Maynas.

 

 

The Forest Maynas Productive and Technological Transfer Innovation Center (CITE Forestal Maynas) also received a visit from Ambassador Frontini. Here, he learned about the processes carried out for forest control and surveillance to ensure the use of legally sourced timber. These include technology for wood species identification using the Xylotron; a xyloteque with a sample of classified timber species; as well as a remote sensing laboratory and all the work done to obtain information from forest censuses.

 

 

© WCS. Ambassador Frontini receives explanations from CITE Forestal Maynas staff on the identification of timber species.

 

 

As part of his visit to the Loreto region, Ambassador Frontini met with representatives from the Regional Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the East (ORPIO) where he learned about the programs and projects being developed by this organization that brings together 15 indigenous peoples and 21 base federations they represent. Among these programs, the Ambassador received information about the support given under the framework of the Alliance for Wildlife and Forests for the strengthening of the Indigenous Territorial Governance Training Program. Together with the Training Program for Bilingual Teachers of the Peruvian Amazon (FORMABIAP), leaders from the Secoyas, Kukamas, Kichwas, Ticunas, Murui-muinani, Yaguas, and Iquitos communities have received training to become forest custodians.

 

Regarding this visit, Zaira Lizeth Rodríguez López, responsible for the Women’s Program at ORPIO, commented, "The Ambassador’s visit to our institution is very important because he is not only a strategic ally but also provides additional support for the advancement of the institution so that we can continue with our activities, not just to make us visible but to help us all…"

 

 

© WCS. Ambassador Gaspar Frontini with ORPIO representatives at the end of his visit.

 

 

Finally, the tour in the Loreto region concluded with a visit and walk by Ambassador Frontini at the Amazon Rescue Center (CREA) that supports rescue and recovery actions of confiscated wildlife. In this place, the Ambassador could appreciate the management received by the rescued species and learn about the history of manatee exploitation in the Amazon, one of the emblematic species with which this rescue center works.

 

 

6. Embajador en el CREA

© WCS. Ambassador Gaspar Frontini at the Amazon Rescue Center listening to information about the manatees.

 

 

Regarding his visit to the Loreto region, the European Union Ambassador in Peru, Gaspar Frontini, highlighted: "In these days, we have seen many interesting and relevant things that I retain and will retain for the future [referring to the visited experiences]... there are many positive elements... but perhaps if I had to retain one thing, it would be the role of indigenous communities in conservation and forest protection, how they are caring for and managing it to bequeath to future generations despite all the challenges, how they are utilizing it to survive in a sustainable and at the same time profitable manner, to allow for better living conditions in the future."

 

The Director of WCS Peru, Mariana Montoya, commented: "It has been important to have the European Union Ambassador in the Loreto region to acquaint him with the work that WCS, WWF, the European Union, and other partners have jointly undertaken. To firsthand experience everything that has been built in nearly five years of work within the framework of the Alliance and identify how we can continue to complement efforts in the future."

About the Alliance for Wildlife and Forests


The Alliance for Wildlife and Forests is a regional action promoted by the European Union and implemented by WCS and WWF that seeks to combat wildlife and timber trafficking, through the commitment of civil society in strengthening the application of the law and cooperation with and between the authorities of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and tri-border areas with Brazil. 


 


For media contact:


Dora Arevalo. Senior Communications Specialist – AAO Wildlife Anti-Trafficking Program. wcs. darevalo@wcs.org +(57) 3164783045.

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