Perú: Reserva Ecológica Inkaterra

Logging

Logging is now a threat to much of the Amazon Basin. It is evident at the IER where there are "highways" behind the reserve and in the rear part of the Madama and Micaela Bastidas communities. Tractors drag out the logs through these areas. The exit route of the logs is through the Transoceánica Highway located 8 km from the community of Madama. Most of the logging is not done by local settlers but by illegal loggers who operate businesses based in Puerto Maldonado. This type of uncontrolled logging in the Amazon basin has increased the list of endangered endemic species. To mitigate this threat, alliances need to be established with the local communities. However, in the baseline scenario, InkaTerra would have a limited ability to establish effective partnerships with the local communities.

Hunting and Fishing

Local communities are hunting and fishing within the reserve primarily for their own consumption. At present, the levels of extraction from local communities are relatively low and are not severely impacting the reserve. However, gold miners and other ‘outsiders’ are also invading the territory for hunting and fishing purposes. Some species, such as red deer, have high reproductive rates and can withstand fairly substantial pressure. But other animals, such as turtles, giant otters, crocodiles, monkeys and many species of bird, have lower reproductive rates and could become endangered if proper management is not provided.

Mining

Artesanal miners who extract gold from the bottom of the Madre de Dios River and other local streams constitute a major threat to aquatic biodiversity. The miners live in small barges anchored near the riverbanks. These barges typically contain a small deck and cabin with a tin or plastic roof to keep out the rain, mounted on two large wooden canoes. Although most miners struggle to make a meager living with homemade equipment and small, family-run operations, poverty and political tensions have lured thousands of mountain dwellers into the Amazon over the past 30 years in pursuit of gold mining.

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Figure 7: Gold Miners
he mining practices involve the use of highly toxic mercury. In fact, after metallic mercury mixes with sediments at the river bottom, it can convert into organic mercury, which is an even more dangerous toxin due to its ability to move through the food chain. A study by the Frankfurt Zoological Society of fish from various rivers in Madre de Dios state has already found concentrations of mercury above legal limits for human consumption in Germany and the United States. The Amazon Conservation Association has found that most, if not all, communities in the state of Madre de Dios suffer from mercury contamination. With regard to biodiversity, the impacts of the gold mining practices have been chronicled in a WWF report published in April 2003. Lucila Pautrat, the report's author, found that along with mercury contamination of wildlife, gold mining produces a myriad of negative environmental effects including oil, gas and noise pollution, aquatic habitat destruction, and an increase in suspended particle matter which can kill fish populations.
According to WWF, the Peruvian government has granted 210,000 hectares, or 5.9 percent of Madre de Dios, to mining concessions. But since the majority of operators do not hold legal concessions, WWF estimates that the actual amount of area under mining exploitation is much higher. It is a difficult problem to address because Peruvian laws governing gold mining are typically not enforced. To make matters worse, the Ministry of Energy and Mines is generally not informed about on-the-ground mining practices because large mining companies usually subcontract the artesanal miners. In the baseline scenario, such mining practices will continue – and likely increase – in the areas in and around the IER. WWF estimates that by 1999 only 10 percent of the state's estimated gold reserves had been extracted. At current rates of extraction this means that hundreds of tons of mercury will be dumped into this part of the Amazon in coming decades. Without GEF assistance, ITA would have a limited ability to find solutions to this problem in and around the IER.

Ecotourism

The impact of the Reserva Amazónica lodge on the IER has been continuously reduced by measures such as training employees on forest conservation practices and improving waste disposal methods. Some of the organic waste is now used as animal fodder by nearby inhabitants and the rest is used as compost. Paper, cardboard, glass and plastic are taken to a small nearby landfill. IFC has found that all of Inka Terra’s operations in Peru – including the Reserva Amazónica lodge – comply with IFC’s environmental and social policies and guidelines. In fact, the Reserva Amazónica lodge is seeking to go above-and-beyond IFC’s minimum requirements. It is committed to turning its facilities into fully eco-efficient operations. The company has entered into a strategic alliance with ITA to ensure that all staff, including maintenance personnel, are trained in the concepts of eco-efficiency. The strategic alliance will allow ITA to ensure that all new infrastructure and trails will be implemented and operated in a manner that respects the ecology of the local environment as much as possible. These actions will be consistent with the certification guidelines for Tourism Sustainability that were established in 1999 by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (Instituto Costarricence de Turismo-ICT). They will also adhere to an additional eco-tourism certification system to be established in Peru. Thus, the ecotourism activities in the IER will not constitute a significant threat to biodiversity in the baseline scenario.

Ecotourism Market Assessment

In recent years, Inka Terra Peru has invested considerable amounts of time and money towards investigating the tourism market. Major efforts to analyze the tourism market were also undertaken as part of IFC’s appraisal process as IFC considered whether to provide a loan to ITP. A brief summary of the results is included below.
The World Tourism Organization estimates that the global tourism industry will continue to grow at an average annual rate of about 4% in coming years. Peru has been achieving – and expects to continue to achieve – a much faster growth rate. Since 1996 the number of foreign tourist visits to Peru has increased at an average annual rate of 10%. Although tourism arrivals declined by 1% in 2001 (as a result of turbulent elections and September 11^th ), they increased by 10% in 2002. In coming years it is hoped that foreign tourist visits will continue to grow at a similar rate due to the Peruvian Government’s major promotion efforts. Indeed, Peru is well-positioned for cultural and nature-based tourism – which, at a global level, have been growing much faster than the overall tourism industry.
The annual number of tourists visiting Peru has exceeded 1 million per year over the past three years. A large percentage of these tourists go to Machu Picchu. For instance, approximately 400,000 tourists visited Machu Picchu in 2001, which was about 40% of the total. Importantly, virtually all tourists that visit Machu Picchu also visit Cusco since it is the ‘gateway’ to Machu Picchu. Many of these tourists – who often have a high willingness to pay – are interested in experiencing the Amazon in addition to Machu Picchu. It is for this reason that the Peruvian Government is interested in promoting Puerto Maldonado as a nature-based tourism destination. Puerto Maldonado offers some of the best ecotourism experiences in the world because of the extraordinary rainforest and biodiversity found within the state of Madre de Dios. And it is also only a short, inexpensive flight away from Cusco. In fact, the Peruvian Government has recently invested heavily in the Puerto Maldonado airport in part because it perceives this strategic opportunity for nature-based tourism development. The Puerto Maldonado airport is now an international airport with better conditions and a longer runway than the Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima. At present there are 8 weekly flights connecting Cusco to Puerto Maldonado (with three airlines).
In recent years, only about 30,000 tourists have visited Puerto Maldonado each year. But the state of Madre de Dios clearly has potential to increase visitation rates to exploit nature-based tourism as part of its strategy for achieving sustainable development. Indeed, tourism visitation rates to Puerto Maldonado have been increased relative to Iquitos, which was historically the prime destination within Peru for visiting rainforest. If appropriate marketing efforts are undertaken, it would be realistic for Puerto Maldonado to eventually attract about 50% of tourists who visit the Inca Trail (125,000 in 2002) as well as 25% of tourists who visit Machu Picchu (an estimated 457,000 in 2002). In sum, there is a strategy opportunity to increase ecotourism in Madre de Dios. By establishing new ecotourism attractions in conjunction with complementary marketing efforts on the part of Inka Terra Peru, ITA can catalyze long-term revenues for community development and forest conservation.