Perú: Reserva Ecológica Inkaterra

Project Activities

Business Expansion

• 
  Inka Terra will expand its Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel and its Reserva Amazónica lodge by 15 and 12 rooms, respectively, in order to meet the growth in demand for these properties. Inka Terra may also develop two new hotels in Cusco and Puno on the company's existing properties at these locations. Finally, Inka Terra plans to construct a new hotel at Concepcion in Amazonia and a new mid-level hotel, the Machu Picchu Pueblo Lodge, in Aguas Calientes, in order to complement its existing hotels at these locations. IFC financing has been approved for this project component; no GEF funds will be utilized.
  

• 
  Inka Terra will continue to implement a sophisticated marketing strategy in order to maximize occupancy rates at its facilities. IFC has been working intensely with Inka Terra to ensure that the company adequately conveys the extensive offerings of its facilities to tour operators in the United States, Peru, and elsewhere. This past year Inka Terra hired a highly-capable, Wharton-educated individual to handle marketing and sales. As a result, revenues have been increasing considerably. At the same time, Inka Terra has conducted market research that has indicated that many tourists would be interested in visiting its Reserva Amazonica lodge if there were additional attractions, such as a Canopy Walk. This project is therefore appropriately tailored to take advantage of this opportunity to catalyse additional revenues for biodiversity conservation and community development.
  

Forest Management and Conservation Plan

• 
  Forest Zoning & Management Planning: The IER will be characterized using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and divided into usage zones based upon the ecological characteristics of each area. After carrying out considerable on-the-ground assessments, a written Forest Conservation and Management Plan (FCMP) will be drafted that describes how the reserve should be utilized (or not utilized) in each area. It will also allow the reserve to be physically demarcated. Furthermore, the FCMP will contain a detailed plan for monitoring the biodiversity of the reserve. Finally, the FCMP will describe the protocols for guarding the reserve against illegal logging, hunting, and poaching. It will contain detailed provisions for hiring local villagers to patrol the boundaries of the reserve and to report any instances of illegal logging or poaching to ITA. It will also describe the steps that ITA will take to ensure that INRENA and the National Police deal appropriately with any such infractions. In sum, the development and implementation of the FCMP, in conjunction with the community alliances described below, will ensure that the IER is a well-managed reserve.
  

• 
  Biodiversity Inventory: Over the past 25 years, Inka Terra has developed a partial inventory of the IER’s flora and fauna with the help of many visiting scientists. This inventory will be expanded over the course of this project so that comprehensive information will exist for many of the key species found within the reserve, including their ecology and potential sustainable uses. The information gathered through this exercise will be classified and made readily available in a database. This program component will be developed in collaboration with the Missouri Botanical Garden (MOBOT).
  

Community Partnerships for Conservation & Development

• 
  Community Agreements: The project will establish formal agreements with the four local communities concerning conservation and use of the forest. These agreements will include specific provisions for regulating and monitoring hunting, fishing, and tree cutting. They will also describe ITA’s responsibilities in terms of sharing the benefits of the ecotourism activities with the communities. These agreements will help to ensure that the community development and forest conservation activities continue after IFC-GEF involvement ends.
  

• 
  Sustainable Agriculture Program: The project will include technical assistance programs with the four local communities on crop rotation, pest control and soil management (including drainage techniques to avoid damage from flooding). This will require a joint analysis between ITA and the local farmers regarding their agronomic needs and the factors that hinder their agricultural activities. This program will facilitate knowledge-sharing between local farmers and will bring experienced practitioners from other areas to share their best practices. This program will help to prevent the villagers’ need to clear additional forest.
  

• 
  Reforestation Program: The project will establish two tree nurseries in each of the four local communities. Villagers will use the seedlings to repopulate the IER with species of native trees that have been depleted.
  

• 
  F
  Figure 9: Local Farmers
  ish Farming: The project will establish two small-scale fish aquaculture operations in each of the four local communities. Fish farming offers multiple benefits to local communities because: (i) it supports the breeding of native fish species for which there is local demand; (ii) it reduces the need to extract wild fish, which are increasingly laden with mercury; (iii) it promotes food safety by providing an alternative way to generate protein besides hunting; (iv) it generates financial resources for local families; (v) it provides livelihood options for women; (vi) it promotes community-building; and (vii) it intensifies land use, thereby reducing pressure on forests.
  

Fish farming represents an ecologically, economically and socially viable activity for communities located within and around the IER. The reserve offers excellent conditions for fish farming due to the abundance of water found in the swampy forest. The placement, construction, and maintenance of the fish ponds will not harm the local ecology because it will be done in accordance with the zoning system to be established as part of the forest management plan. The average size per pond will range from 100 to 200 square meters. The costs of establishing and maintaining the fish ponds is quite reasonable. The fish food will be derived from fruits and legumes that are available locally; this will not pose any threat to the natural food supply for wild species. The farmed fish will mainly be consumed by local families, but part of the surplus will be bought by Palma Real in order to feed tourists a healthy, mercury-free product. The rest of the surplus will be channelled to the Puerto Maldonado market. Prices will be based on the local market; they should not decline as a result of this project since the production volume will not cause an over-supply.

• 
  Animal Breeding Program: The project will implement community-based programs to breed animals, such as chicken, ducks capybaras, and peccaries, for local consumption. These programs will be based on successful initiatives that have been launched by Conservation International in Madre de Dios and by the Institute for Research in the Peruvian Amazon (IIAP) in Iquitos.
  

• 
  Community Development Fund: The project will establish a Community Development Fund to provide grant funding for small-scale livelihood projects to be proposed and executed by the local inhabitants. ITA will allocate a total of US$ 20,000 towards this Fund over the first four years. Starting in the fifth year, ITA will allocate US$ 5,000 of its revenues to this Fund each year. The Fund will provide grants in order to stimulate diverse initiatives that the local community members believe would enhance their livelihoods in a sustainable manner. Each proposal will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. No GEF funds will be allocated towards this project component; ITA will pay for it through the revenues that it generates via the new ecotourism attractions.
  

• 
  Contingency Fund: As ITA’s revenues increase, it will channel some of them into a small Contingency Fund. This Fund will allow ITA to assist community members to deal with extraordinary hardships that may arise (such as loss of crops due to flooding). The Fund will not give cash to the villagers; rather; it will provide qualifying candidates with the particular materials (e.g., seeds, tools) they need in order to deal with their particular hardship that they face. ITA will only award this type of assistance if/when community members present a compelling case. This Contingency Fund will provide an additional means by which villagers are able to share in the benefits of the ecotourism activities. The GEF is not being asked to contribute towards this project component; it will be paid for entirely by ITA.