Protection of rainforest in Peru

In September 2019, the Daniel Schlegel Umweltstiftung donated 30.000 euros in order to enable the acquisition of 100 ha woodland in the Peruvian rainforest. Therewith, the local organisation ACELPA – in cooperation with GLS Zukunftsstiftung Entwicklung, Rettet den Regenwald e.V. and Daniel Schlegel Umweltstiftung – managed to take into possession a total of 500 ha rainforest and declare this area a conservation area.

In 2014, Francisco Tananta founded the organisation ACELPA in order to protect the rainforest in his home town Moteloy, close to the place Tamshiyacu next to the Amazonas river, from illegal logging. A huge cocoa company had already destroyed 2.000 ha of woodland, despite prohibition by the national Department of Agriculture (the picture above shows cacao plantations in the area of Tamshiyacu). Tananta’s initiative aims to strategically acquire land and thereby prevent his powerful opponent from extended clearing, blocking their direct access to the Amazonas. Furthermore, ACELPA is increasing political pressure through public presence and cooperations with organisations in Peru’s capital Lima. Since their start in 2014, ACELPA has already managed to acquire and protect 400 ha rainforest, with the cost per hectare being at around 300 euros (including notary and registration). Simultaneously, the group around ACELPA is trained in biodynamic agriculture, which provides a stable income to local farmers and protects the sensitive humus layer in the soil. In so-called model farms, they additionally teach this procedure to other locals and thereby ensure large-scalesustainability in the region. Here, you can gain more insights into the work of ACELPA.

Acquiring and protecting rainforest as well as teaching biodynamic agriculture secures rare trees as well as flora and fauna in Amazonia and promotes the fight against climate change.