Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity

The forests of the low jungle, represent the most extensive forested region of the country and extend within the Amazonian plain below approximately 500m above sea level [ ] 181 Machu Pichu, Peru Recovery of wetlands in high mountain ecosystems of Huayana and Pomacocha In the most vulnerable areas of the districts of Huayana and Pomaco- cha, there is a relationship between agricultural and livestock produc- tion systems and the provision of ecosystem services. The decline in the provision of these hydrological ecosystem services causes imbalance in the biological diversity of the area, affecting the development of produc- tive and economic activities and the food security of these communities. The authorities of these districts therefore implemented actions to protect their branches and wet- lands, and priority has been given to undertake actions for the protection and recovery of these ecosystems based on effective social participation as a basis for improving the value of ecosystem services and therefore the surrounding biodiversity. The actions undertaken were the identification and participatory prioritization of wetlands and sub- sequent agreements with the com- munities, taking as the criteria those that would benefit the most; and the development of wetland recovery and restoration activities. The actors involved are the District Municipalities of Huayana and Pom- acocha and the Campesino Com- munity of Huayana and Pomacocha, which are producers of Andean crops and recognized for the conservation of agrobiodiversity. They are officially recognized with administrative au- tonomy, and participated in actively monitoring the execution of the project. The successes have been: • Social recognition of the impor- tance of maintaining harmonious relations between productive activities and the maintenance of strategic ecosystems • Reduction of the vulnerability of local populations and their produc- tion systems in the face of exposure to extreme drought events • Strengthening the organizational capacity of the communities • Recognition of the value of ances- tral and traditional knowledge in the management and maintenance of a sustainable territory • Rescue of ancestral practices around water and land • Direct impact on economic profita- bility due to losses avoided. In summary, Peru planned to protect 40ha of wetlands and managed to protect more than 90ha, with the active participation of the communal authorities and the population in general. Peru T he diversity of landscapes, natural regions, biomes, life zones, ecoregions, ecological levels and ecosystems, is one of the features that define Peru as one of the megadiverse countries of the world and the Andean mountain system therefore has a very important role in understanding the presence and distribution of this enormous diversity. The Andes is the longest tropical mountain range in the world, at 7,250 km, covering seven countries of South America, crossing the Peruvian territory longitudinally and rising rapidly to more than 6,000m altitude, creating a complex combination of climates, soils and microenvironments that sustain a varied biological and ecosystem diversity. Within this framework, a great social and cultural diversity is also configured. Francy45 on flickr