CONAPAC, the Civil Association for Conservation of the Peruvian
Amazon Environment, is an NGO formed in July of 1990, in Iquitos,
Peru, by a group of Teachers, Forestry Engineers, and Employees
of the Travel Agency Exploraciones Amazonicas S.A. -Explorama
Lodges. The purpose of the organization, as stated in the bylaws
registered with the Peruvian government, is the conservation of
the Peruvian Amazon Primary Rainforest for the following:
1.- Scientific Investigations and Studies To Learn About The Tropical
Rainforest
2.- Education for the Purpose of Conservation and Defense of the
Amazon Rainforest Environment and Ecology.
In connection with these aims, CONAPAC has as its expressed purpose,
the sponsorship of the following activities:a.-
Rainforest Workshops for adults and children to teach the importance
of the Tropical Rainforest to interested persons both locally
and from other areas of the worldb.-
Rainforest Conservation Education in local river villages and
the training of Teachers in Rural River Communitiesc.-Yearly
organization of the "Adopt -A- School" program which
in 2003 provided school supplies for over 3,700 Rainforest Students
and their teachersd.-
Acquisition and protection of Primary Rainforest Landse.-
Construction and maintenance of the Amazon Canopy Walkway and
the ReNuPeRu Ethnobotanical Medicinal Plant Garden for use in
scientific field studies and in educational programsf.-
Sponsorship of scientific investigations to be conducted by professional
research teams within the areas of Primary Rainforest protected
by CONAPAC.
One of the most interesting aspects of CONAPAC is that although
it is strictly a non-profit organization, it is directly funded
by visitors of a for-profit company, Explorama Lodges, rather
than through solicitation of funds from the public in general
or from other companies. Every guest visiting one of Explorama's
privately owned and protected Primary Rainforest Reserves has
a portion of their tour program costs donated directly by Explorama
Lodges to CONAPAC.Overhead
costs of CONAPAC, such as boats and their related expenses and
the majority of personnel, office staff and office expenses are
contributed by Explorama Lodges so that donations can be used
exclusively for conservation purposes and projects. CONAPAC also
works in cooperation and collaboration with several governmental
and non-governmental organizations, such as the local Peruvian
Public Amazonian University "UNAP", the local Peruvian
Government-sponsored scientific Investigative Institute. ' IIAP",
the Regional Board of Education, "DREL" and Office of
Rural Education Loreto, “OER/L”.CONAPAC
is especially proud of its construction of the AMAZON CANOPY WALKWAY,
the longest such Walkway of its type, with access towers and multilevel
platforms for observation of the flora and fauna at different
levels and habitats. The walkway is 500 meters long, and reaches
36 meters above the forest floor. It passes through many of the
highest trees of this area, and has several spans which are suspended
in emergent trees, above the canopy. CONAPAC workers designed
and constructed the walkway based on a Malaysian prototype and
are responsible for its daily maintenance. The Amazon Canopy Walkway
has made available a portion of the Amazon Rainforest, which is
rarely seen and infrequently studied, easily accessible for scientists
and layman alike.
CONAPAC
has also made possible advanced degree studies by students from
the local University on rainforest topics by providing scholarships
including all transport, meals, lodging and access to protected
primary Rainforest in which to study. Some of the work included
in these studies are the complete ecological study of a lake where
a larger biodiversity of invertebrates has been found than in
any of the surrounding areas, a study of the 13 local vegetative
species consumed by manatee and a project for the reintroduction
of the manatee in an area where they are no longer found, as well
as population studies of ornamental and marketable fish. |