Local communities linked to the Mayunmarca Cloud Forest Regional Conservation Area (RCA) proposal in Ayacucho participated in participatory dialogue and learning spaces where they shared their expectations and contributed their knowledge for the future management of this initiative in their territories. Through community workshops, assemblies, and talking maps, the second stage of the process to establish this new protected area, which seeks to conserve more than 51,000 hectares of Andean-Amazonian forests in central Peru, is continuing.
The National Conservation Area proposal is located in the districts of Anco, Chungui, and Oronccoy, in the province of La Mar, and is home to ecosystems that connect the Andes with the Amazon. Its mountains and cloud forests feed the Churca, Esmeralda, and Chupón watersheds, which provide water to numerous communities and thousands of people, as well as being home to a great biodiversity. This initiative seeks to protect these territories of life, which are essential for water security and climate stability in the region.
Cloud forests on the road to the rural community of Santo Domingo de Huecchues, in the district of Chungui, in the center of the Mayunmarca Cloud Forest Regional Conservation Area proposal. © Reneé Vilchez | Yunkawasi
Informative process with an intercultural approach
Over the last few months, the technical team from the Regional Natural Resources and Environmental Management Office (GRRNGA) of the Ayacucho Regional Government, with the support of Yunkawasi, developed the information process for this proposal and collected social information for the Preliminary Identification Report on Indigenous and Native Peoples (IIPIO), in coordination with the Ministry of Culture.
Field visits allowed for the collection of perceptions from indigenous communities located in this landscape, through tools and spaces characterized by intercultural dialogue, transparency, and respect for local knowledge. A total of 13 locations have been visited so far, with the aim of promoting participatory conservation of the territory, integrating the voices of the communities at every step of this process.
Informative workshop in the rural community of Belén Chapi, home to the Quechua indigenous people, in the district of Oronccoy, province of La Mar, Ayacucho. © Reneé Vilchez | Yunkawasi
A key step toward protecting the Andean ecosystems of Ayacucho
The ACR proposal seeks to ensure the continuity of the territories that sustain communities and a remarkable diversity of fauna and flora. More than 128 bird species have been recorded in this area, seven of which are endemic to Peru, such as the Ayacucho kingfisher (Asthenes ayacuchensis), the black-spectacled bushbird (Atlapetes melanopsis), and Taczanowski’s partridge (Nothoprocta taczanowskii).
As part of the next steps, the technical team is preparing for an ornithological expedition with the communities of Belén Chapi, Santo Domingo de Huecchues, and Unión Libertad de Rumichaca, which will allow for a deeper understanding of the diversity of birds in the proposed ACR and strengthen its value in the local partner communities.
An alliance for the territories of life in the central Andes of Peru
The Mayunmarca Cloud Forest National Conservation Area proposal is in the second stage of its establishment process and is led by the Regional Government of Ayacucho, with the support of Yunkawasi, Andes Amazon Fund, and the Conserva Aves Initiative, through the project “Participatory conservation of the Tropical Andes in the department of Ayacucho.”
Local and provincial municipalities have also joined this initiative and, together with Yunkawasi and the Ministry of the Environment, are implementing environmental education kits to raise awareness and strengthen citizens’ commitment to protecting cloud forests and their biodiversity.
Black-spectacled Bushbird (Atlapetes melanopsis), a bird endemic to Peru whose range is restricted to the eastern Andes in the center of the country, including the Mayunmarca Cloud Forest National Conservation Area proposal. © Joel Ayala
