Strengthening and Expanding Peru's Regional Conservation Areas Network

Grantee: Andes Amazon Fund

Subgrantee: Conservación Amazónica

Geographic Focus Peru, Amazon Basin

Duration: February 2025 –
February 2028

About the Project

Andes Amazon Fund (AAF), in partnership with Conservación Amazónica (ACCA) and other Peruvian organisations, is launching a national training initiative to support Peru’s 32 Regional Conservation Areas (RCAs). These subnational protected areas, which span over 3.6 million hectares (8.9 million acres) of biodiverse ecosystems, play a critical role in conservation and sustainable development for local communities.

Building on over a decade of work with regional governments, local communities, and the national protected areas agency (SERNANP), AAF is expanding its impact by offering a comprehensive training programme focused on:

Use of the latest conservation technology to enhance protected area monitoring
Forest fire prevention and response
Sustainable livelihoods and community-based conservation
Financial sustainability for RCA management

The programme will combine in-person field courses and virtual sessions tailored to the specific needs of each RCA. Active participants can also apply for small grants to acquire conservation equipment and to develop business plans for community-based livelihood initiatives that reduce forest threats.

In addition to strengthening existing RCAs, the project will help to strengthen the newly-formed network of regional conservation areas of Peru and support the technical and social outreach needed to establish up to three new regional conservation areas, further expanding Peru’s protected area network.

RCAs are created through a rigorous, participatory process that includes community involvement in governance and management. This initiative will help ensure long-term support for these areas, enabling local actors to protect critical habitats while promoting inclusive, sustainable development.

About Andes Amazon Fund: Since 2014, Andes Amazon Fund (AAF) has worked with more than 40 local Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) partners to conserve the biodiversity, ecosystems, and environmental integrity of the greater Andes and Amazon regions of South America. AAF supports the creation and expansion of protected areas and the legal recognition of Indigenous lands with an integrated approach where nature and local communities can flourish. AAF also seeks to ensure effective management systems are in place for the newly designated areas and to identify longer-term financing options for their protection. To date, AAF has supported the creation of new conservation areas spanning more than 46 million acres (19 million hectares) in over 200 sites in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Colombia. Once these areas are established, AAF provides start-up funding as well as technical assistance as they seek public and private financing mechanisms to ensure the continuity of the management of these areas.

About Conservación Amazónica: Conservación Amazónica (ACCA) is a Peruvian NGO created in 1999. For more than a decade, it has supported the conservation of over 400,000 hectares of priority ecosystems for conservation in Cusco and Madre de Dios and contributes to the management of the most important protected areas in southern Peru. ACCA is a leader in applying the latest science and technology in favour of conservation. Owners of three world-class biological stations, cutting-edge scientific research is conducted, and innovative technologies are tested such as acoustic monitoring, camera traps and environmental DNA analysis, to improve biodiversity monitoring and evaluate ecosystem health in the face of climate change. With the participation of native and local communities, ACCA provides training in the use of satellite technology and field devices, such as drones, to improve the context for territorial protection and also offers support for sustainable livelihoods. Through AmazonTEC, a large annual event organised by ACCA, international experts and local practitioners exchange their experiences regarding the development and application of new technologies to conserve the Andes-Amazon.

In addition to ACCA, four other Peruvian NGOs will participate in the project including ProPurús, Nature and Culture International, Instituto del Bien Común, and Centro para el Desarrollo del Indígena Amazónico.