Friends of ACA:

BOTANY OF THE LOS AMIGOS CONSERVATION AREA

"Aside from understanding the species as they occur locally at Los Amigos, we must have information about their overall distribution in tropical America in order to better understand and manage the distribution, variation, and viability of their genetic diversity and germplasm. This involves a more complete understanding of the species through studies in the field and herbarium".

John Janovec

John Janovec, a botanist at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, has been working with ACA to develop a botanical inventory of the area around Los Amigos, in Madre de Dios, Peru. John's work is invaluable to our longterm ecological monitoring program. He has developed an outstanding database of over 1100 images of the plants and landscapes of Los Amigos.

More recently, John Janovec and team at BRIT and through the international branch, BRIT-Peru, are working to combine investigations of plants and animals, as well as hydrology, climate, and other aspects of the environment.

Read more about the Andes to Amazon Botany Program at their project website: http://www.andesamazon.org.

See the innovative biodiversity database technology being designed and developed by the Andes to Amazon Botany Program team at BRIT in relation to work at the Los Amigos Conservation Area and the Wayqecha Cloud Forest Conservation Area, two sites owned and operated by the the Amazon Conservation Association: http://atrium.andesamazon.org.

ANIA - ASOCIACION PARA LA NINEZ Y SU AMBIENTE

"If we succeed our children will grow and carry our communities toward a sustained well-being that will allow us to live in an environment where productive activities are integrated into responsible management of natural resources, and where all living species are respected".

Joaquín F. Leguía Orezzoli President

ANIA is a peruvian non-profit organization established by Joaquín Leguía in 1995. ANIA's mission is to promote the growth and identity of children in harmony with the conservation of nature.

For several years Joaquín set ANIA aside to head ACA as our National Director of Projects in Peru. It was with Joaquin's leadership that ACA was able to obtain the Los Amigos Conservation Concession in July of 2001. In the fall of 2001 Joaquín ended his time with ACA in order to devote himself full-time to his true passion. ACA still maintains close ties with Joaquín and the work that he carries out.

Please visit ANIA's site at: www.mundodeania.org

GRUPO INCA

GRUPO INCA is a Peruvian company dedicated to the purchasing and selecting of all grades and colours of Alpaca fibre for exportation purposes. GRUPO INCA is well-known for their vertical integration in the alpaca business, ranging from breeding animals in the highlands (Sierra) and the purchase of fibre, to the production of high quality finished goods that are mainly exported to the world's most demanding markets but also sold locally, through a chain of Boutiques known as ALPACA 111. In 1986, GRUPO INCA made the decision to expand into other areas and gave birth to the AGRO-INDUSTRY DIVISION. The first project was in the production of cactus for cochineal, an important natural colorant. Find out more about their books>>

Please visit GRUPO INCA's site at: www.grupoinca.com

WILDTROPIX, ANDRE BAERTSCHI

ACA would like to give special thanks to Natural History Photographer, André Bärtschi, for sharing his beautiful, award-winning photographs with us.

Scarlet and Blue and Yellow Macaws from Andre's new book, Where the Andes Meet the Amazon (pp. 221).

As a wildlife photographer, André strives to document the undisturbed beauty of tropical nature, but also the devastating effects of its systematic destruction, using his images as a powerful conservation weapon. His work has been published worldwide in a number of nature books and in magazines such as GEO, BBC Wildlife, International Wildlife, Natural History, Smithsonian and National Geographic.

Several of his photos have won awards in the annual BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition and in 1992 he was awarded the top prize in this international contest- the largest and most prestigious of its kind.

Please visit André Bärtschi's site at: www.wildtropix.com