The Amazon Rainforest Conservancy (ARC) currently cares for 1,416 hectares (3,500 acres) of intact old-growth rainforest in the Region of Ashipal, deep in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon rainforest. ARC’s founders chose this area due to its remoteness; the Ashipal region can only be reached by boat and is a full day’s travel from the nearest town, Puerto Arturo. This is one of the few remaining places on Earth where there’s no cellphone signal and no Internet. We hoped that in this little corner of the Amazon basin would be safe from the chainsaws of the illegal loggers, the machinery from the illegal miners, and the guns from poachers.
Sadly, we were wrong.
The last few times ARC personnel visited our lands we were shocked by what occurred during our absence. In one instance, we arrived to find illegal gold miners setting up a small mining operation. This blatant disregard for private property should not have surprised us; the illegal miners have no regard for the law and are spreading like a plague through the Tambopata jungle.
On our most recent visit, we were alarmed when we walked into a clearing near a border ARC shares with a neighbour. Three of our ancient old-growth hardwood trees had been felled by chainsaws and hauled away. The tree species — Cedro and Tornillo – are being logged to extinction. Of course when we confronted our neighbour, he said he knew nothing about it.
It’s become very clear we must have a constant presence on our land. We need to hire rangers to will live on ARC’s land and patrol it. We need boots on the ground!
We’re asking you for a contribution that will allow us to hire local people to act as guardians of our land. With this campaign, we hope to raise $20,000 in total, and are inviting gifts from between $50 and $500. This will allow us to hire two rangers who will live on ARC’s lands to maintain its extensive trail network and keep out unwanted invaders.
Your donation will help us protect land that would otherwise be deforested due to illegal logging and gold mining, plus you’ll help us save some of the Amazon’s most vulnerable wildlife and tree species.