Peru: Yavari Format: Paperback

Conducted during the spring of 2003 in the Yavarí and Yavarí Mirín river valleys in the Amazonian lowlands of northeastern Peru, this survey provides both biological and social analyses offering a deep and multi-faceted picture of the area.

Participating scientists examined four sites along the Yavarí River. At each site, they surveyed a mix of forest types and microhabitats, both in the hilly uplands and on the Yavarís broad floodplain. Their report covers surveys of vascular plants, fishes, reptiles, and amphibians; birds, large mammals, and bats. The report also discusses the findings of a social assets inventory among nearby communities, in which teams used participant observation and conducted semi-structured interviews to quickly evaluate the assets of local communities, and estimate how the communities could be points of engagement for long-term participation in conservation efforts. The survey also reports on the main threats to the area, and offers recommendations for protection, management, and long-term conservation benefits.

Corine Vriesendorp is a conservation ecologist with Environmental and Conservation Programs at the Field Museum, Chicago. Lelis Rivera Chávez is director of the Centro para el Desarrollo de Indígena Amazónico in Peru. Debra Moskovits is vice president of Environment, Culture, and Conservation at the Field Museum, Chicago. Jennifer Shopland is a conservation ecologist and writer with the Environmental and Conservation Programs at the Field Museum, Chicago.