In the Amazon, a multidisciplinary investigation has begun more than two decades ago, finding some deficiencies and lack of precision in the existent geological maps. By initiative of the Peruvian Amazon Research Institute (IIAP), and in agreement with the Mining and Metallurgist Geological Institute (INGEMMET), in the frame of the Peru – Finland Agreement, BIODAMAZ Project, it was conducted the project for the elaboration of a new version of the geological map of the Peruvian Amazon.

To fulfill the objective, the work team led by the Dr. Hernando Núñez del Prado, the Geological information expert Fernando Lopez and the Engineer Freddy Jaimes, has made an exhaustive revision of the available information and elaborated a database with 18 tables of alphanumeric and spatial data, using the geographical information system ArcGIS. They have incorporated the last advances and geologic knowledge as well as significant old and current data that had not been considered in the previous maps. The result is a geologic map to scale 1:1'000,000 accompanied by a descriptive memory and the proposal for a new estratigraphyc nomenclature to denominate each unit or litologic formation.

The importance of this map are the new contributions on the geologic events that constitute the base to understand the ecological processes and patterns on biodiversity, as well as the social and economical processes. The use of natural resources of the subsoil, as well as the hydrocarbons, the minerals and the sources existing geothermic waters, and inclusive the geo-touristic potential of the region is based in geology. This region also constitutes a great reservoir of surface as well as underground water.

In the new map of the Amazon the different types of sedimentary rocks have been captured, already mapped, sedimentary rocks as gritty, slimes, clays, lenticelar conglomerates and other non consolidate sediments that represent the dynamics of fluvial areas and of lakes to estuary areas.

In the North Amazon it is possible to distinguish extensive outgrows of clays and blue gray slimes corresponding to the sedimentation of a big lake with marine influence, known with the name of Formation Pebas, to which followed channeled sandy sequences, deposited at the present in environments of salty water, estuaries type know as the Formation Nauta. It also exist a very particular sedimentary environments as the deposits known as the fan of the Pastaza in the northwest area and the depression of Ucamara, where the main courses of water converge.

In the Central Amazon there are structural risings corresponding to ancients rocks that have been controlled by flaws; it also exist very particular rocks as tobes and intrusive rocks of igneous nature that are necessary to study and to date, as well as the extensive alluvial deposits of the great Ucayali river.

In the South Amazon massive outgrows of piedmont deposits appears which correspond to the products of the Andean chain erosion, they contains auriferous alluvial deposits; great part of this area presents a not very massive cover of clastic sediments with known marine influence as the Formation Madre de Dios of the Miocene.

An old illusion of regional level is now coming true with the setting in operation of the CI-NRAM.

An interpretation center is an important element for a community, a region, a protected area or a natural reserve, because it is a place where the visitors can learn what they need to know or want to know about important elements it contains such as their main natural attractiveness, its population, the history, the biological and cultural values, among other topics.

The CI-NRAM is a concept of knowledge and functional and multi-purpose infrastructure with the purpose to inform and to interpret the biological and cultural values of this national reserve, to educate, to investigate and to promote proactive attitudes toward the environment and its richness among the visitor and resident population, and at the same time for leisure.

The Center is so much educational as amusing, since its purpose is to promote positive attitudes and behaviors for the conservation and the sustainable use of the biological diversity in this extraordinary area. The visitors will have an opportunity to experience and to enjoy the nature and tranquility, to learn, to relax and to meditate, with great information available to them, through interpretive panels, scale models, natural history models, interpreted trails and other elements. It is available information about geology, soils, flora, fauna, history, culture, uses of the biodiversity, emblematic species, threats to their richness, with enough scientific bases but designed in an interesting and amusing way. A store facilitates the purchase of souvenirs and snacks.

It is located in the Allpahuayo Research Center (CIA) of the IIAP, in the km 26.7 of the Iquitos – Nauta road, inside the NRAM, at about 45 minutes from Iquitos by car. Its located exactly at 200 m from the highway, and it will be administered by the IIAP. It has been developed in the frame of the Peru – Finland Agreement, BIODAMAZ project. 

The BIODAMAZ Diamond is born of prioritized opinions expressed by the main regional and national actors of the conservation and sustainable use of the Amazon biodiversity. 

• Capacity for the biotrade – service oriented to investors and managers with the purpose promoting the development of productive chains.
• Research and technological development – serviced directed towards scientists and researchers, in order to contribute to develop research and technology.
• Financial facilitation – to make it easier to search and manage funds for biotrade or projects.
• Capacities for the environmental administration – Provides technical information to contribute with the processes to administrate, planing, evaluate and monitor with higher efficiency the environmental resources

It’s not minor news being able to legalize an economical activity in Peru, a country dominated by the informality. More over when it’s an activity done by the communities of the National Reserve Allpahuayo – Mishana. Recently two important aspects in the life of six traditional communities of the reserve were formalized: the property of their traditional territories and the use of their most important economical resources, the irapay and the poles from white sand forests.

To be issued a title in a protected area, and more over in an area with many superimposed titles, has not been an easy task. Many institutions and organizations have collaborated in this task, beginning with National Authority (Intendencia) of Natural Protected Areas of INRENA, who has given the approval for the entitlement, also the Agrarian Agency of Maynas and The Regional Agrarian Directory of Loreto, both belonging to the Ministry of Agriculture. The leaders of each community, especially the ones of the FRECOTENAMA organization, also carried out an important role, as well as the technical support from IIAP.

Very transcendental achievements were accomplish in relation to the use of resources: creating an historical precedent, the National Authority of Natural Protected Areas of INRENA has approved the permission, requested by the communities settled in the reserve at the right margin of the Nanay river (San Martin, Mishana, Yuto, El Porvenir, 15 de Abril y Anguilla), to harvest for familiar purpose the natural resources from there respective territories. The formalization has become possible through a new modality, called “minor activities”. This means that the use of this resources is authorized not only for self-consumption (for the utilization in the own community), but for the commercialization in a small scale, with the objective of getting necessary resources to satisfy the basic needs of the families.

For the first time in their history, the members of communities from the NRAM will be able to legally sell approved quantities of those products, without fear of been confiscated. This also means that they can negotiate better prices with the buyers, and be able to offer their products directly to the consumers, with no need to be in between middlemen and retailers.

If anybody wants to extract larger quantities of theses products, it will be necessary to be authorized by the whole community, but it will need to have a Management Plan formally approved by INRENA.

Thirty resolutions about international public policies to protect the biodiversity were accounted.  Two weeks of discussions that attracted more than four thousand delegates coming from the entire world, among them 122 ministers or vice-ministers of environment.

 For some of the organizations of the civil society, it was a failure. For most of the government representatives, it was an historical advance.

The fact is that the eight conference of the parties (COP – 8) of the Convention on Biological Diversity of the UNO (CBD), celebrated in Curitiba, Brasil, was the biggest debate carried out by the humanity since the first time the theme aroused, it’s undeniable that the COP – 8 unlocked a calendar that was already hindered for some years and revived the hope  in the implementation of multilateral agreements  capable of stopping the lost of biodiversity in the planet.

One of the decision was that the Work Group about the international regime of access and distribution will carry out two meetings before COP – 9, whit the goal of systematizing the discussion in order to avoid that in Germany happens similar facts than what happened in Curitiba, where some countries tried to go back in the debate. To avoid manipulations, it was also been decided that the Work Group will have two presidents, “one from a developed country, and one from a developing country”.

The main debate continued to be the character of the régime. The developing countries, which are the mayor possessors of biodiversity, want the agreements to be adopted in form of obligatory protocol – which establishes obligations and sanctions to the signatories – and the developed countries; want to avoid the character of obligatory.

The governments will mark the final adoption of the international regime in the COP – 10, that it will be carried out in the year 2010, that year is the end of the term specified by the UNO for implementation of the mandates of the CBD.

Indigenous leaders denounced, during the conference, that they were excluded from the negotiations on an obligatory régime to regulate the access to the genetic resources of the planet, “The natives need to be partners at the same level as the States when the resources are exploited with contribution of traditional knowledge”, said Marcos Terena, coordinator of the indigenous people participation in the eight Conference of Parties (COP – 8).

BIODAMAZ has participated in the COP – 8 informing on its results in different events and with the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) developed a complementary or parallel event to promote the conservation and the sustainable use of the Andean Amazon biodiversity and the related gastronomy.

The National Reserve Allpahuayo Mishana possesses an immense floristic diversity and the native population makes a much diversified use of some of them.

The chambira (Astrocaryum chamabira), is a palm tree from the Arecaceae family that exists in a relative abundance in the NRAM, in ancient times the population discovered its uses to satisfy their needs and to help en the day to day chores: as fruit, as fiber. The chambira as source of fiber needs to have a primary transformation process.

The utility of this palm tree has initially been discovered by the native population, by manually bending technique the fiber is converted in thread and is used to make products like bags, purses, hammocks and the else. This has open the possibility to generate income by selling those products the same community and in the city’s markets.

In this stage is when the project contributes, three priority needs where participatory identified to be developed:

In this small but significant contribution of the BIODAMAZ project made to a group of woman of two communities: Samito y Shiriara, it was possible to increase the income because they have improved the quality of their products with new fabric techniques, designing products with applications of seeds of the area and decorations.

Contributing with this support to the artisans, we think we are holding the right link that will unify subsequent stages, whose actions will lead to better live conditions for the NRAM families

The National Council for the Environment – CONAM organizes since 1996 the National Eco-dialogue, which high-priority objective is to create a shared vision and a national agenda; evaluate challenges and political achievements, and environmental administration.

The Eco-dialogue is a chance, an opportunity to reaffirm the commitments dedicated to the solution of the environmental problems of the country and share experiences and perspectives that leads us to Sustainable Development. This year and for the first time the Amazon Eco-dialogue took place, in coordination with the IIAP.

This VI Eco-dialogue and I Amazon Eco-dialogue was carried out in Iquitos city, during the 22, 23 and 24 of February 2006, and it has had as priority the Peruvian Amazon, a basin of paramount geographical and cultural importance for the world and especially for Peru, since the Amazon territory represents 74% of Peru’s total area.

As a side event to the VI Eco-dialogue it was presented the Fair of Technologies and Environmental Services, that exhibition joined together the most important institutions and business of the sector. BIODAMAZ contributed to that important event with a presentation from our National Director Ing. Hernan Tello, who lectured on natural resources and financing for development. Likewise BIODAMAZ presented a stand showing the most important publications and products that have been elaborated jointly with the communities from the National Reserve Allpahuayo Mishana – NRAM.

To obtain a communal property title is not a simple thing, it implies the establishment of territory limits - in general there exists lands that are in litigation with other communities-, the recognition of the property by neighbors, the elaboration of a cadastre, a socioeconomic study, among other requirements.

Considering the above-mentioned, we think that the title of communal lands is one of the most important factors that need be taken into account to promote community’s development. Before the creation of the National Reserve Allpahuayo Mishana the surrounding communities to the reserve where constituted as riverside towns with municipal and prefecture recognition, both institutions which delegate functions to local authorities recognized as municipal agent and lieutenant governor respectively.

In the process of creation of the National Reserve Allpahuayo Mishana and because of the lack of property titles of a large number of resident families of the towns, they propose to negotiate those titles so they can handle a plot legally and inside a communal territory. In 1995 the Center for the Amazon Native's Development – CEDIA initiates this work in the high basin of the Nanay river. With the Nanay project (IIAP), others towns were added and they propose to be recognized as rural communities.

Is in this process that the BIODAMAZ project reassume the process to obtain titles. In October 2004, the informative meeting was conducted; with the main authorities of the 12 communities from the Nanay basin, which is in the area of influence of the BIODAMAZ project. In the meeting it was made a resume of the times required for the process and the approximate costs. Since then we count with the constant support from the NRAM headquarters for obtaining titles for the communities.

In the year 2005, by means of an agreement with the Regional Direction of Agriculture of Loreto, and with support from their technicians, the field work is done. It was mainly the gathering of information about boundaries lines, technical planes, and the providing of the title resolution. This work is restarted and it is carried out in the communities that are negotiating their titles: San Martin, Tres Unidos (Yuto, El Porvenir, 15 de Abril), Samito, Lagunas, Yarina and Libertad. The BIODAMAZ project contributes in the process by the technical aid and counseling.

For the NRAM communities, the main objective of obtaining titles for their lands, besides of having an important tool that allows them to defend their property and to avoid conflicts with external agents; is to open promissory windows for and organized and legal work, and to a more efficient use of their lands and the management of their natural resources, that are the fundamental base of their economy.

We think that the task of concluding with the process of getting titles for the land for the communities has no precedents at all in natural protected areas.

The communities will have access to markets with more advantages, and not like now, depending on the prices offered by the local merchants that do not take into account the cost of production assumed by the population. Now, they can also establish some associative forms to offer their resources and products accordingly to the demands of the market and beneath previous terms of contracts.