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Peru | Save 450,000 Acres of High-carbon Amazon Rainforest from Deforestation
Acres protected: 491,103 CO 2 equivalents safeguarded: 126 million metric tons
The meandering Putumayo River defines the boundary between Peru and Colombia to its north, and provides essential habitat for numerous threatened species, including the Endangered Amazon River Dolphin and Giant Otter. Within this isolated and carbon-rich forest, we find the stunning 6.7 million-acre region known as the Bajo Putumayo-Yaguas-Cotuhé, named for the rivers traversing it.
With support from RCAF donors, we and partner Frankfurt Zoological Society Peru protected the entire Cotuhé watershed, safeguarding 491,103 acres and more than 126 million metric tons of CO 2 equivalents— which is equal to the annual electricity use of 26.2 million US homes— and linking Peru’ s 2.1-million-acre Yaguas National Park with Colombia’ s 725,120-acre Amacayacu National Park. Combined, these three areas now protect a total of 3.3 million acres along the Peru-Colombia border.
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Colombia | Save Colombian Wildlife from Deforestation
Acres protected: 45,994 CO 2 equivalents safeguarded: 10.8 million metric tons
Tropical montane cloud forests are unlike anywhere else on Earth. Wrapped in near-constant fog and cloud cover, these mountainside forests support incredible biodiversity, often including many endemic species that are found nowhere else. Among these, the Andean cloud forests— where the Amazon rainforest meets the Andes mountain range— may be the most biodiverse of all.
Twenty years of armed conflict kept a large section of Colombia’ s cloud forests largely insulated from development, but deforestation has increased dramatically since a peace agreement was signed in 2016. Within these mountainside forests, we find numerous threatened and endangered species, including the Endangered Black-and-chestnut Eagle, three endangered and endemic amphibians, and a Critically Endangered magnolia tree with a global population of fewer than 100.
Working together, we and our partner— Wildlife Conservation Society- Colombia— successfully protected 45,994 acres of this rare cloud forest, safeguarding more than 10.8 million metric tons of CO 2 equivalents, which is equal to the annual electricity use of 2.2 million US homes.
14 above Amazon River Dolphin | coulanges; Northern Tiger Cat | Rod Williams Black-and-chestnut Eagle | Camilo Robayo