Conservation International Peru

Conservation International Peru
Conservación Internacional Perú
AbbreviationCI Perú
Formation1989
TypeCountry programme
HeadquartersLima, Peru
Region served
Peru
FieldsBiodiversity conservation; protected areas; forest conservation; conservation finance; climate change mitigation
Parent organization
Conservation International
Websiteperu.conservation.org

Conservation International Peru (Conservación Internacional Perú) is the Peru country programme of Conservation International. It began working in Peru in 1989 and is headquartered in Lima, with offices in Pucallpa (Ucayali), Puerto Maldonado (Madre de Dios) and Rioja (San Martín).[1][2]

Its work in Peru has included support for protected-area management and forest conservation in the Alto Mayo Protection Forest (Bosque de Protección Alto Mayo, San Martín) through conservation agreements linked to voluntary-market REDD+ finance, alongside conservation finance initiatives focused on the Peruvian Amazon.[3][4][5]

History

Conservation International began working in Peru in 1989 and established its headquarters in Lima, with additional offices in Pucallpa (Ucayali), Puerto Maldonado (Madre de Dios) and Rioja (San Martín).[1][2]

In September 2023, Peru, the United States and four non-governmental organisations - Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, Wildlife Conservation Society and World Wildlife Fund - finalised a debt-for-nature swap and forest-conservation agreements under the Tropical Forest and Coral Reef Conservation Act (TFCCA), redirecting more than US$20 million in debt-service payments over 13 years to a conservation fund intended to provide grants for forest conservation, improved natural-resource management and sustainable livelihoods in the Peruvian Amazon; Profonanpe was named as the initial grants administrator.[6][7]

In 2023, the Green Climate Fund approved project preparation funding to develop a funding proposal intended to scale communal-reserve co-management with Indigenous organisations in the Peruvian Amazon, listing Conservation International as the accredited entity and CI Peru as the proposed lead executing entity for proposal development.[8]

Activities by location

Conservation International Peru is located in Peru
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Selected programme locations in Peru (1 Lima, 2 Pucallpa (Ucayali), 3 Puerto Maldonado (Madre de Dios), 4 Rioja (San Martín), 5 Alto Mayo Protection Forest)

Lima (national programmes)

Conservation International Peru is headquartered in Lima.[1][2]

National-level conservation-finance and climate-related initiatives linked to the programme's work have included TFCCA implementation structures designed to channel debt-service payments into grantmaking for conservation and sustainable livelihoods in the Peruvian Amazon, with Profonanpe identified as the initial grants administrator.[6][7]

In 2025, TFCCA-linked grantmaking under the Bosques Tropicales fund awarded 19 initiatives, including nearly half led by women.[9] Regional reporting on the fund's calls described eligible landscapes and provinces across southern Amazon regions and set out two funding modalities, including smaller grants for shorter initiatives and larger multi-year grants for landscape-scale interventions.[10][11]

A conservation-finance workstream linked to the programme has included the Alianza Empresarial por la Amazonía (AEA), a platform framed around promoting economic development and supporting entrepreneurship in Amazon regions through partnerships and investment mobilisation.[12] AEA-linked "biocréditos" have been described as financial products directed to micro and small enterprises in biodiversity-linked value chains in Amazon regions, implemented with municipal savings banks and framed around sustainable production and conservation outcomes.[13][14]

San Martín Region (Rioja and Alto Mayo)

Conservation International Peru maintains an office in Rioja (San Martín).[1][2]

Alto Mayo Protection Forest (Bosque de Protección Alto Mayo)

The Alto Mayo Protection Forest (San Martín) covers about 182,000 hectares (1,820 km2) and has been the focus of a conservation and climate-mitigation initiative combining protected-area management with community engagement and incentive-based conservation agreements, generating voluntary-market emission reductions under standards used in the carbon market.[4][15][16]

The programme involved more than 960 beneficiary families.[3]

In May 2017, San Martín governor Víctor Noriega said: "Nadie puede entrar al Bosque Alto Mayo" ("No one can enter the Alto Mayo forest").[5] In 2017, Peru had more than a thousand conservation agreements in protected natural areas.[17]

International investigations into voluntary carbon offsets have linked Alto Mayo carbon-credit purchases to corporate climate-claim strategies and disputes over estimated avoided deforestation relative to the volume of credits issued under the project's crediting approach.[18][19]

Ucayali (Pucallpa)

Conservation International Peru maintains an office in Pucallpa (Ucayali).[1][2]

In Ucayali, CI Peru has participated in conservation agreements involving the Servicio Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas por el Estado (Sernanp) through the Reserva Comunal El Sira, its co-management partner ECOSIRA and the Comunidad Nativa Atahualpa de Tabacoa, linked to support for the women's association Wexa Beka, which produces crafts with Shipibo identity near the reserve.[20]

Madre de Dios (Puerto Maldonado)

Conservation International Peru maintains an office in Puerto Maldonado (Madre de Dios).[1][2]

Work in Madre de Dios has included activities in a conservation concession referred to as Rodal Semillero Tahuamanu, framed around monitoring phenology and regeneration and supporting management of seed trees of commercially valuable species including mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) and cedar (Cedrela odorata).[21]

Peruvian Amazon (communal reserves)

A Green Climate Fund project preparation plan included feasibility and options analysis, natural-capital and ecosystem-services assessment and mapping, and consultation and engagement processes intended to support Indigenous participation and communal-reserve co-management design across multiple landscapes.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Quiénes somos". Conservación Internacional Perú (in Spanish).
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Contáctanos". Conservación Internacional Perú (in Spanish).
  3. ^ a b Bruner, Aaron; Rubio Ayllón, José Carlos; Jericó-Daminello, Camila (January 2020). Comparative Analysis of Conservation Agreement Programs in the Amazon (Discussion Paper) (PDF) (Report). World Bank. pp. 15, 19.
  4. ^ a b Alto Mayo Protected Forest Conservation Initiative (Iniciativa de Conservación del Bosque de Protección Alto Mayo): CCB Project Design Document (PDF) (Report). Climate, Community & Biodiversity Standards (CCB). 19 June 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Gobernador Noriega: "Nadie puede entrar al Bosque Alto Mayo"". El Comercio (in Spanish). 10 May 2017.
  6. ^ a b "United States Signs $20 Million Debt Swap Agreement with Peru to Support Amazon Conservation". U.S. Department of the Treasury. 11 September 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Peru and US strike $20 million Amazon-focused debt for nature deal". Reuters. 11 September 2023.
  8. ^ a b Approved GCF Project Preparation Facility application - Scaling the Communal Reserve Co-management Model to Reduce Emissions and Build Resilience of Indigenous People in the Peruvian Amazon (PDF) (Report). Green Climate Fund. 27 November 2023.
  9. ^ "19 iniciativas peruanas son declaradas ganadoras del Fondo Concursable Bosques Tropicales". Profonanpe (in Spanish). 16 December 2025.
  10. ^ "¿Tienes un proyecto para conservar la Amazonía? Fondo de $1,5 millones busca iniciativas en seis regiones". Inforegion (in Spanish). 3 June 2025.
  11. ^ "Tu idea protege la Amazonía? Obtén financiamiento para tu proyecto sostenible". Inforegion (in Spanish). 11 September 2025.
  12. ^ "La Cámara de Comercio de Pueblos Indígenas del Perú y Conservación Internacional firman convenio para promover desarrollo sostenible de la Amazonía". Conservación Internacional Perú (in Spanish). 1 June 2022.
  13. ^ "Biocreditos: los productos y las zonas de la Amazonía a los que están dirigidos". Gestión (in Spanish). 4 June 2024.
  14. ^ "Biocrédito: la primera herramienta verde busca colocar S/ 13.6 millones en la Amazonía peruana". Agraria.pe (in Spanish). 22 March 2024.
  15. ^ CCB Project Implementation Report: Iniciativa de Conservación Alto Mayo (ICAM) (PDF) (Report). Climate, Community & Biodiversity Standards (CCB). 19 June 2012.
  16. ^ Verification report (VCS Project ID 944): Alto Mayo Protected Forest / Alto Mayo Conservation Initiative (PDF) (Report). Third-party verification report (VCS). 2016.
  17. ^ "Perú tiene más de mil Acuerdos de Conservación en Áreas Naturales Protegidas". Gestión (in Spanish). 28 September 2017.
  18. ^ "'Nowhere else to go': forest communities of Alto Mayo, Peru, at centre of offsetting row". The Guardian. 18 January 2023.
  19. ^ "'They came at night': Armed men at Disney forest project razed farmers' homes". SourceMaterial. 20 January 2023.
  20. ^ "WEXA BEKA: la asociación de mujeres que producen artesanía con identidad shipiba". Conservación Internacional Perú (in Spanish). 16 September 2022.
  21. ^ Management of mahogany and cedar in the community forests of Tahuamanu (Madre de Dios, Peru): Final report (PDF) (Report). International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO). 2016.