Indigenous stewardship of the Manu Landscape

Featured image: Shipetiari villagers patrolling their forests.

 

Regenera’s Guardians — women and men committed to Manu indigenous forest conservation — work hard to protect their territories. Thanks to this courageous action, companies and individuals who are part of Regenera can offset their environmental footprint and do their part for the health of the planet.

A 4am Start: Manu Indigenous Forest Conservation in Action

It is 4 am in the Matsigenka indigenous community of Shipetiari, in the heart of the Manu Landscape. Herlinda Italiano, treasurer of the community and member of the Forest Committee, has been awake for a while and is waiting in the community hall for her fellow workers. Drisela Ríos arrives from her house located at the other end of the forest with her little ones Yosmer and Melody, who insisted on accompanying their mother in what they consider a great adventure. They are accompanied by her brother Javier, who is also in charge of the administration of the ecotourism lodge managed by the community.

On the way they will meet their other companions, who have been assigned the task of carrying out the patrol that they undertake every month to safeguard their extensive territory of 27,000 hectares located in one of the most important biodiversity hotspots in the world: the Manu Biosphere Reserve in southeastern Peru.

In addition to their machetes – indispensable for these long monitoring treks – they carry salt, fishing implements, and baskets that they will later fill to overflowing with wild fruits collected along the way, and then share with their companions back home.

“We as community members have committed ourselves to the conservation of our forests, we don’t log to sell, only for our own use, such as to build houses or communal spaces. That is why our community has good forests, and thanks to them we can be part of initiatives like Regenera that benefit us with resources to lead a better life,” says Rufina Rivera, current head of the community.

Her daughter Herlinda agrees when she says that “thanks to our forests we have good hunting, abundant fish, plants that heal us, and animals that fill us with joy to have, because the trees are for us as humans, they have life and speak to us, and give us everything we need.”

Don Manuel Ríos, who also accompanies the retinue, armed with a shotgun, his bow, and arrows, is a representative of the Ministry of Culture, in charge of safeguarding the integrity of people who live in voluntary isolation. In the event of encountering them en route, he knows the protocol to follow so as not to harm them.

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The Shipetiari Forest Committee on patrol.

27,000 Hectares Under Guardian Protection

Constant monitoring of their territory is one of the commitments made by Guardians of Regenera. In addition, communities in the Manu Landscape carry out many other sustainable activities that allow them to take advantage of their forests without damaging them. One of the most important is ecotourism. Both the communities of Shipetiari and Palotoa-Teparo have tourism businesses and ecolodges that receive more and more tourists. “Tourism has brought us great things, it helps us to connect better with our forest and to proudly show what we have,” says Javier Ríos, of the Shipetiari Tourism Committee. “Visitors come and are amazed by our forests, their animals, their beauty, and that encourages us to provide a quality service, and the income helps us a lot,” he concludes.

Ecotourism and Handicrafts: Conservation Through Community

In addition to tourism, men and women make handicrafts and natural products for sale in markets such as Cusco and Lima, or to offer to visitors. Activities like these strengthen the bonds between community members and provide income without cutting down their trees.

The well-kept forests of the Palotoa Teparo community.

The Forest Gives Back

Back to the adventure, the children have fun playing in the streams and collecting “coconillas”, which they then happily devour. The men have found a good pool and take the opportunity to fish for “pacos” that they will later cook and take back to the community to share. By now, they have reached Coloradito Creek, in the Gallinazo sector, to find that everything is in order, with no traces of intruders or illegal logging. Reassured, they return to the community with baskets full of palm fruits and fish, where they are greeted with joy by their companions. A job well done is worth celebrating. And a rainbow in the sky is perhaps a sign that Nature is grateful for this valuable work.