Peru’s indigenous communities use camera traps to protect high-altitude amazonian wetlands and boost wildlife tourism

In Peru’s Alto Mayo Basin, a remarkable conservation success story is unfolding in one of the country’s most unique ecosystems. The Tingana Conservation Concession protects Peru’s highest swamp with Amazonian characteristics, where native moriche palms and towering renaco trees stand as natural barriers against expanding rice cultivation that threatens the surrounding wetlands.

Since 2004, the Association for the Conservation of Alto Mayo Aguajales and Renacales (Adecaram), a local community organization, has managed this critical habitat. In 2023, they launched an innovative camera trapping program that has revolutionized both conservation efforts and scientific understanding of the area. “The cameras are our eyes in the forest,” explains Julio César Tello, Adecaram’s head of research. “They are eyes that warn us and give us information.”

Working alongside Conservation International Peru, the community has deployed eight camera traps that have documented an impressive 66 species over two years. Their footage has captured jaguarundis, margays, neotropical otters, and capybaras moving through the flooded forests. Perhaps most exciting was the rediscovery of the razor-billed curassow, a bird previously thought to be locally extinct.

The camera trap program delivers benefits beyond wildlife monitoring. According to project director Dino Cabrera, the compelling images have expanded scientific knowledge while raising awareness among both local communities and visiting tourists about the critical importance of preserving this unique wetland ecosystem. This community-led approach demonstrates how indigenous knowledge combined with modern technology can create powerful tools for both conservation and sustainable ecotourism development.