Mushuk Llacta de Chipaota is located in the buffer zone of Cordillera Azul National Park, a biodiversity hotspot in northern Peru. For the 163 families of Chipaota, the primary source of income is the leaf fibers of the piassaba palm, which are used to make brooms. Because this palm is disappearing locally due to unsustainable harvesting, Rainforest Partnership is collaborating with the community to develop a management plan that will provide the Chipaota community with a steady income without having to cut down more of their forest. Project Updates
THE COMMUNITY
Chipaota is located near the headwaters of the Amazon River, adjoining the northwestern border of Cordillera Azul National Park. It is home to about 1,300 people. The local community, a Kechwa-Lamista indigenous community, has legal title to over 15,000 acres of land.
Chipaota has a primary school with three teachers and a health center, but lacks electricity, running water, and a sewer system.
In the Chipaota basin, the men hunt and fish in the Huallaga River. Most families have small farms with a few chickens, pigs, and ducks. About 60% of the population lives on less than 5 soles ($1.75) per day, and more than half suffer from malnutrition. To the extent that the community has a cash income, it is used for school education and basic healthcare.
CONSERVING THE FOREST: THE PIASSABA PALM PROJECT
The primary source of cash income for Chipaota families is the piassaba palm (Aphandra natalia), a 30-foot palm endemic to this area that produces stiff, wiry fibers used to make brooms. These fibers are located in the palm leaves, so it is possible to harvest them sustainably without losing the trees. Unfortunately, as the population grows and the need for living in a cash economy has increased, Chipaota residents have begun to overexploit the piassaba, taking fibers from younger and younger trees or are taking more from each palm than it can sustain, often cutting down entire groves to maximize the amount of fibers collected. Because the number of productive trees near the community has dropped precipitously, residents now must walk half a day to find them. If current practices continue, productive piassabas will soon be located so far away that it may not be possible for the community to harvest them at all. Faced with the loss of their primary source of income, the people of Chipaota may be forced to encroach into nearby Cordillera Azul National Park or they may have to turn to other, more destructive economic activities requiring cutting many acres of rainforest.
Rainforest Partnership is working with the local community and the government of the Chazuta District to develop a long-term management plan for sustainable harvesting of the piassaba palm. CIMA (El Centro de Conservación, Investigación y Manejo de Áreas Naturales), a conservation organization based in Lima that helps to manage Cordillera Azul National Park and its buffer zone, has been conducting scientific assessment and education programs in Chipaota since 2002. CIMA’s work provides a solid foundation for the success of this project.
Current economic activity focuses on the fibers, but other parts of the tree – the leaves, nuts, and even the heartwood – may be an additional source of income for the community. Rainforest Partnership will research the market potential for these products and help the community establish supply chain links to the manufacturers of brooms and other potential palm products in nearby Tarapoto and other nearby market centers. This will allow the community to gain a better understanding of the technology used to produce the brooms, with a long-term plan for developing capacity for the community to establish its own collective business for piassaba broom production.
COMMUNITY-BASED PARTNERSHIP
Rainforest Partnership’s Peruvian project team of two forestry engineers and an ecologist have established a working relationship with the community of Chipaota over the past two years. During onsite meetings in May 2008, members of the community and representatives of the District of Chazuta conveyed their strong desire to partner with Rainforest Partnership to create a plan to sustainably harvest the palm and in return set aside community-owned land for conservation.
On November 12, 2008, the district of Chazuta formally agreed to work with and provide institutional support to Rainforest Partnership in pursuing this project. To ensure success, the plan will include education for community residents about the growth of the piassaba palm and its role in a healthy forest, including sustainable harvesting techniques.
In Chipaota, decisions are made through community meetings. To ensure proper implementation, Rainforest Partnership is partnering with the community to create a formal organization of community residents. This new organization will have primary responsibility for the implementation of the management plan as well as ensuring the conservation of community-owned land as part of their agreement with Rainforest Partnership. Through this organization, the community will police the forest itself, ensuring that the agreement remains binding.
WHY IT MATTERS
Improving forest management practices will be a communal enterprise that benefits Chipaota both economically and socially, but the project has larger benefits as well. Protecting the integrity of the forest in the buffer zone will, in turn, protect the national park, preserve the forest in Chipaota, and lessen harmful environmental impacts to the area and beyond.
These vital rainforests play a key role in ensuring the continued supply of clean, breathable air for all of us who inhabit this planet. It is up to all of us, here in Austin as in Chazuta, to take care of them.
