Why Fight for the Amazon?

The Amazon rainforest is an incredible ecosystem, but why exactly is it so important? Watch the following short video by ASA contributor William Persson to learn from ASA President Dr. Geoff Gallice why we fight for this amazing natural treasure:

New Book Published: '¡Quién Anda Ahí!'

April 2022 - The Red de Aprendizaje y Conservación (Learning and Conservation Network) has just published an extraordinary new book, '¡Quién Anda Ahí!' (Who Goes There!). The book is the result of a year-long project studying wildlife in the rainforest of Madre de Dios, in southeastern Peru, with the help of local students from elementary and high schools from throughout the region. In it, you can learn all about how camera traps can be used to study elusive wildlife and boost their protection, and, of course, all about the incredible rainforest animals that are otherwise very difficult to observe. Thousands of copies will soon be distributed to schools in the Peruvian Amazon, starting with some of the most remote communities on Earth in Peru's world-famous Manu National Park, where they will be used as a tool to train the next generation of biologists, conservationists, and engaged citizens in the Amazon. Camera trapping for the project was conducted at Finca Las Piedras, the ASA's research and education center in Madre de Dios, and K'erenda Homet, a local reserve near the regional capital of Puerto Maldonado. Congratulations to the authors, Carmen Chávez and Daniela Cafaggi, and all the hundreds of others whose hard work made this amazing new book possible - learn more about the project and download the book for free here!

New butterflies described from SE Peru

January 2022 - ASA collaborator Shinichi Nakahara, along with several ASA researchers and other collaborators from Peru and around the world, have just described a new genus of butterflies from southeastern Peru! The new genus is called Cisandina and contains seven species, two of which were previously completely unknown to science—the other five were known but had their names changed, which happens frequently when new information becomes available about poorly-known species, especially in the hyper-diverse Amazon. The researchers gave one of these two new butterflies the name Cisandina castanya, due to the fact that its range largely overlaps with the Brazil nut ('castaña') corridor in SE Peru. The life history (eggs, caterpillars, and pupae) and host plant of C. castanya, as well as that of the other new species described in the study, Cisandina philippa, are also described for the first time based on work conducted by the ASA at Finca Las Piedras, our research and education center in SE Peru. Read the full study here.

September 2021 - We’re thrilled this month to inaugurate the ASA’s first forest dynamics plot at Finca Las Piedras! The effort was led by ASA Science Advisory Board member Riley Fortier who, along with a team of research assistants, resident naturalists, and interns, tagged, measured, and identified every plant greater than 10 cm DBH within the plot. The dataset the team created will allow us to monitor how the rainforest at Finca Las Piedras changes over time, from carbon storage to tree growth and mortality to phenology, or the timing of plants’ fruiting and flowering cycles. This is among the first plots of its kind in the region and will allow us to monitor and study the impacts of climate change on the rainforest in the southwestern Amazon.

Our Partners

Saving the Amazon is a team effort. These are our institutional partners in the fight for the rainforest: