Our Dear Rainforest Protectors,
To put it mildly, what an exciting month we’ve had. The camera traps we’ve installed on our newly acquired land (aka. TapirWasi) have already been a success. We are seeing so many fascinating species that call our protected lands home. In case you missed it, last week our social media accounts featured our first photo of a gorgeously healthy jaguar strolling by our camera. And this week our cameras captured our first video of a tapir. Tapirs are a key species in maintaining the diversity of the rainforest. They are truly the gardeners of the Amazon. As they roam the forest foraging and feasting on fruits, they are also pooping seeds from those fruits – resulting in new plants. In fact, one researcher found 122 different seed species in the dung of one tapir!
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MEANWHILE, IN THE LOWER AMAZON BASIN…
Having successfully reclaimed our 616-hectare brazil nut tree concession in the lower amazon basin it is time to get to work. And there’s much work to do.
Throughout the pandemic, illegal gold miners have been busy taking advantage of our absence. So busy, in fact, that there is now a large cleared area spanning along the Mercedes stream and into our concession (see map). One of our first tasks will be reforesting this area.
Helping with this effort, Gerson, Joice (and their baby Melany) are now living on the concession acting as forest guardians and concession caretakers. Currently, they are living at a temporary camp until we formally launch our forest guardian program. Through this program, we will recruit and train additional rangers from the local area. This will provide an alternative income to those who best know the land’s forest and river-ways.
One of our goals in 2023 is to build a main ranger station and substations throughout our concession. For our main ranger station, we would like to purchase the neighbouring land which sits at the junction where two rivers meet. From this strategic location, we will be able to monitor everyone who comes in and out of the region by boat as there are no roads in the area.
Thank you for continuing to stand with us to protect and defend the Amazon rainforest as one of the most meaningful investments we can make for future generations.
As always, I am available to answer any questions you may have.
Warmest regards,
Jana & The ARC Team.