The Las Piedras Corridor

Junglekeepers operates along the Las Piedras River in the Madre de Dios region of the Peruvian Amazon, a region renowned as Peru’s “biodiversity capital” and one of the most ecologically rich places on Earth.

Nestled within the Tropical Andes/Amazon hotspot, this primary rainforest is bordered by three national parks—Manú National Park, Tambopata National Reserve, and Alto Purús National Park—as well as the Amarakaeri Indigenous Reserve. It is home to 30 Indigenous communities and harbors tens of millions of trees, including the ancient Shihuahuaco, which can grow over 50 meters tall and live for nearly 1,000 years. The forest also shelters an extraordinary range of threatened and endangered species, such as short-eared dogs, macaws, and giant anteaters.

Beyond its biodiversity, the Las Piedras Corridor plays a vital role as a global carbon sink, helping regulate water cycles and weather patterns while safeguarding one of the planet’s most important ecosystems.

Partnership Impact

• 107,000 acres of rainforest protected
• 5 ranger camps established to strengthen on-the-ground protection
• 1 short film produced, The Heart of a Mission, highlighting conservation efforts and impact

Threats

This region faces mounting threats, including extreme weather events, illegal mining, logging, poaching, and unsustainable agricultural practices. The construction of the Interoceanic Highway in the early 2000s further exacerbated deforestation and habitat degradation, intensifying the strain on the rainforest, its wildlife, and the local communities who depend on it.

Often called the “lungs of the Earth,” the Amazon produces over 20% of the planet’s oxygen. Without conservation efforts, continued destruction could have dire global consequences—accelerating climate change, disrupting weather patterns, eroding biodiversity, and endangering Indigenous cultures. Protecting the Las Piedras Corridor is not just a regional priority; it is a crucial step in safeguarding the planet’s ecological future.

Mission

Junglekeepers’ initiatives to protect the forest are through land management programs and the sustainable ecosystem collaborations of projects, actors and communities in the region. To do so, the project has put in place various strategies such as:

• Acquiring and Protecting Threatened Concessions by securing land rights in a sort of long-term lease from the Peruvian government to protect those areas from illegal and destructive activities via their Ranger program.
• Expanding the Ranger Program and enhancing patrols of protected areas by increasing ranger presence, with a focus on including women and Indigenous people, and integrating technology to amplify impact and knowledge.
• Developing Partnerships with Indigenous Communities living along the Las Piedras River to co-create supportive programs and allowing shared knowledge, such as sustainable cooking initiatives or reforestation that contribute to the overall protection and sustainability of the corridor.
• Creating Alliances with Other NGOs operating in the Las Piedras region to strengthen collective efforts in protecting the rainforest, such as Amazon Shelter
• Implementing technology training for rangers and Indigenous remote communities to use technology to expand monitoring, impact and knowledge of the forest, such as drones and SMART program.
• Collaborating with Local Universities to facilitate research projects to deepen understanding of the ecosystem and inform conservation strategies.

Iconic species

Species recorded on the existing protected lands include more than 480 bird species, 11 species of monkeys, and at least 19+ IUCN list threatened and endangered species. Endangered species include the spider monkey and giant otter. Nearly threatened include the Jaguar and Harpy eagle. Some species such as the green anaconda and the iron wood trees have yet to be assessed by the IUCN. The macaws in Peru (especially blue/yellow, scarlet/red/green) are diminishing in number but still not classified as vulnerable. One of the contributing factors to the decrease in numbers is the logging of the ironwood, which the macaws use as nests.