Amazon Conservation Association - Los Amigos Research Center of Excellence

Los Amigos Conservation Concession

The Los Amigos Research Center is strategically located at the river mouth allowing us to monitor all activity and travel into the watershed.

Our Los Amigos Conservation Concession is situated on a high point at the confluence of the Los Amigos and Madre de Dios rivers in the southern Peruvian Amazon. Its strategic location at the river mouth allows us to monitor all activity and travel into the watershed. The Los Amigos watershed is about 1.6 million hectares of remote, pristine wilderness that acts as a biological corridor connecting Manu National Park and the Tambopata Reserved Zone. The research center lies at the very heart of the largest expanse of virgin rainforest in the world.

In February, 2000 we acquired title to a 350-hectare property surrounding an old mining camp that had been abandoned for many years. In July of 2001 we achieved our goal of obtaining a longterm conservation concession for the region, allowing us management rights and protection over the entire watershed. In order to make the concession a success, we will push for sustainable community development, increased scientific understanding, training and the development of new natural resource management techniques. more>>

Project Goals

Protect the Los Amigos watershed;

Develop a world-class research center and model private protected area;

Train a new generation of Latin American ecologists and resource managers;

Create sustainable economic and social benefits for the local populations;

Develop new watershed conservation models for Amazonian eco-development;

Develop new ecosystem management understanding and practices;

Monitor and compare the ecological health of pristine ecosystems versus those experiencing logging, mining and agricultural disruption;

Empower a cadre of Peruvians who will act as the long-term guardians, mentors, planners and conservation actors in the region.

The Research Center

Our canopy walkway and platform allow research to be conducted in the rainforest canopy where many species and ecological processes remain largely unknown. It also offers a spectacular view of the palm swamp, floodplain, and adjacent terra firme forest, ideal for birding.

The Los Amigos facilities, located at the edge of the terra firme (high ground), boast a fantastic overview of the Madre de Dios river and adjacent floodplain forest. We have upgraded the old buildings and built new infrastructure to create the research and training center that can now accommodate 50 people. We have also upgraded an abandoned helipad and airstrip to facilitate research access to the site, although most transportation service is currently provided by our motor-powered canoes. Working with teams of local workers, we have constructed a spectacular canopy platform and walkway. We have also cut a system of trails that provide access to the many different habitats of the region, including dugout canoes for use on a nearby oxbow lake. Our water system is spring fed and powered by gravity that uses hydraulic rams to lift it to a water tower and distribute it to the camp buildings. All of Los Amigos' electrical needs are supplied by solar photovoltaic panels. We have initiated permaculture projects around the camp and have established organic gardens to provide much of the fruit and vegetables.

The Region

The view from the Los Amigos research center. The area around Los Amigos supports more than two dozen distinct aquatic habitats ranging from oxbow lakes to flooded palm swamps to deep river channels.

Plant and animal diversity is extremely high around Los Amigos. The site lies within terra firme forest bordering on floodplain forest. The area contains a great diversity of terrestrial and aquatic habitats, including palm swamps, bamboo, oxbow lakes, and various types of flooded and non-flooded forests. Wildlife is abundant, including endangered animals such as giant otters, harpy eagles, spider monkeys and the big cats such as jaguars. The area contains 13 species of primates. For comparison, all of Costa Rica holds only 4 monkey species. Read more about our research programs more>>

Los Amigos Conservation Concession

Project Goals

The Research Center

Visiting the Center

The Region