Conserving the
Amazon Rainforest...
Our Mission
The Alliance for a Sustainable Amazon is a nonprofit working to conserve biodiversity and other natural resources in the Peruvian Amazon, for the benefit of all those who live in and depend on the rainforest.
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 our President Dr. Geoff Gallice why we fight for this amazing natural treasure:
News from the Amazon
Study shows that biological field stations provide high return on investment for conservation
March 4, 2024
A new study has shown that biological field stations provide a wide range of benefits to local biodiversity in the tropics. Among these are reduced hunting and deforestation, two of the most important drivers of biodiversity loss in the world's tropical rainforests. The study also showed that these benefits come at a bargain – the field stations included in the study acheived these successes with relatively little investment compared to state-managed protected areas, further highlighting their significance. Finca Las Piedras, the ASA's research and education center located in SE Peru, exists por precisely this reason – by working with our local communities, we too are making progress towards sustainable economies while improving the biodiversity value and ecosystem services of the rainforest that surrounds us.
Read more about the study's findings here.
Leaders from 9 Amazonian countries meet in Brazil for crucial rainforest summit
August 9, 2023
Leaders from all of the countries spanning the vast Amazon basin are meeting this week in the city of Belem, near the mouth of the Amazon River, to discuss the rainforest's future. The meeting, convened by Brazil's environmentally-minded president Lula da Silva, aims to increase collaboration among Amazon-range countries to halt deforestation and resource extraction that are driving the Amazon towards a tipping point. Specific goals of the summit are to reach an agreement to halt deforestation by 2023 and reign in rampant illegal mining, land grabbing, and other criminal activities that are drivng the rainforest's destruction. Coordinating such an ambitous effort among such a large number of diverse nation, which have a range of competing interests, will be a tall order, but given the state of the Amazon it is vital that it succeeds. Click here to read more, and stay tuned for updates.
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon falls by more than 60% compared with one year ago
August 2, 2023
Brazil, which contains the bulk of the massive Amazon rainforest, has recently announced that deforestation there has fallen more than 60% from July of last year, a dramatic decline that offers hope at a critical moment for the Amazon. Although time will tell if the decrease can be sustained, there is little doubt as to the reason for the decline – since Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took control of the presidency at the beginning of the year, he has led a campaign to restore the rule of law in the region, prosecuting land grabbers and driving out illegal resource extractors who were emboldened by the former far-right Bolsonaro administration. Gazetting new indigenous lands and conservation areas, and the creation of the nation's first Ministry of Indigenous Peoples led by Indigenous leader Sônia Guajajara are also key parts of the strategy to reverse the Amazon's decline. Read more here.
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Updates from ASA in Peru
Maculambrysus gallicei, a new species of aquatic bug described from Finca Las Piedras
Our main goal with everything we do is to protect biodiversity in southeastern Peru, and a key way we're working towards that is to study the organisms that surround us at Finca Las Piedras. Oftentimes this means documenting species at the site, or monitoring the impacts of human activities on their population trends. But sometimes, we document something that was previously completely unknown to science; we call these 'new' species. When this happens, it's important to describe the new species, since without a name there can't even be a legal framework for protection, let alone coordinated action should the new species turn out to be threatened upon further examination. Robert Sites, a taxonomist and one of our research partners, has just described a new species of aquatic saucer bug, Maculambrysus gallicei, from a stream at FLP. As Robert notes in his study, the species was not found in surveys of neighboring streams, and so it is currently only known from our property. This highlights not only how much is left to study in the region, but the importance of our work to protect the rainforest, even small parts of which may harbor unique biodiversity.
We're thrilled to start the new year with this amazing discovery! Click here to learn more about this new aquatic insect from FLP.
The Amazon Lab – An exciting new effort to promote science and education in the Peruvian rainforest
Johana Reyes, director of the Alianza Para Una Amazonía Sostenible Perú – the ASA's sister organization in Peru – has just launched the Amazon Lab, an experience that aims to spark curiosity, promote experimentation, enhance collaboration, and advance science in the southeastern Peruvian Amazon. This will be achieved by engaging young people – students ranging from elementary through high school and university – in hands-on activities in the rainforest and under the guidance of researchers working in a variety of scientific disciplines spanning biology, biomechanics and robotics, and environmental engineering. In a region of such incredible biodiversity and endless opportunities for research and education, the Amazon Lab is sure to have a huge impact on the rainforest's future scientists and leaders. Stay tuned for updates as the project gets underway!
The Jungle Biomechanics Lab is coming to Finca Las Piedras
We're excited to announce the launch of the Jungle Biomechanics Lab at our research and education center in Madre de Dios this summer! The JBL is a collaboration between the ASA and the Bhamla Lab at Georgia Tech, with funding from the National Science Foundation, that will bring undergraduate and graduate students from Peru and the USA to the Amazon, where they will learn field biology, biomechanics and robotics in the world's most biodiverse rainforest. The Amazon offers a limitless supply of ideas and potential research topics inspired by millions of years of evolution, and important discoveries are all but guaranteed. The only question is what, exactly, will we discover?
Read more about the Jungle Biomechanics Lab and the Bhamla lab's research here.
New Book Published: '¡Quién Anda Ahí!'
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
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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.
Permanent forest dynamics plot established at Finca Las Piedras
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.
Stay Updated on Our Work
Our Partners
Saving the Amazon is a team effort. These are our institutional partners in the fight for the rainforest:
