Save the Bahuaja Sonene National Park

An urgent appeal to all fellow travelers. It has recently come to my attention that the Peruvian Government and a number of large multinationals are planning to reduce the size of one of the country’s key national parks by 200, 000 hectares. If the proposed bill – soon to be deliberated by the Peruvian Congress – gets passed, concessions will be granted to a number of gas companies in the Bahuaja Sonene National Park. As surreal as such a plan may seem, pressure from large wayward conglomerates has led the Peruvian Government to make some very poor decisions in the past, and it is not inconceivable that such a bill could be passed.

Located in the South Eastern department of Madre de Dios, Bahuaja Sonene (sometimes called the Tambopata Candomo Park) has historically been off limits to everyone. It is perhaps one of the most biologically diverse areas on the planet, and is home to a number of endemic and endangered wildlife. The park is also home to an area of Amazonian savannah, the sole of its kind and unique to the area. Recently, members of an indigenous group, thought to be the Mascho Piro, were spotted living north of the park. This sighting makes the existence of indigenous groups living inside the secluded park extremely likely.

Not only it seems will this project endanger the extraordinary flora and fauna found in the reserve (much of which remains undiscovered), but it also seriously risks destroying an already endangered culture and threatening the health of members of indigenous groups who are still believed to be fatally susceptible to such maladies as the common cold.

200,000 hectares. I know it just seems like a figure, but let’s put it into perspective. Comparatively speaking, we’re talking about an area of land about the same size as Luxembourg, just a little smaller than Rhode Island. This isn’t just a few football fields – it is an enormous tract of untouched land. And not just any land either. We’re talking about what is probably the most biologically diverse environment on the planet – and in one fowl swoop, a group of backward greedy institutions would have this reduced by an area the size of a small country.

In a time when global warning is the most prevalent threat to the continued survival of us all, it seems that there are people out there determined to destroy this beautiful planet even further. The destruction of this beautiful park for financial gain – or any other gain for that matter – simply cannot be allowed. An appeal needs to be made to the Peruvian Government as soon as possible. They need to know just how atrocious and devastating this proposed bill will be, and they need to know the extent of the opposition towards it, so that when the bill gets deliberated, the right choices can be made. Currently there is petition online at http://www.salvemoscandamo.com/. I urge everyone to take a minute or two to sign this and get their voices heard. I would also encourage people to oppose the US-Peru Free Trade agreement which will give large US multinationals free reign to plunder the country’s many natural treasures. A petition against the agreement can be signed here - Democracy in Action. If anyone has any further information on this issue, and knows of ways which could help us unite against this bill being passed, please let us know.

Bart

http://www.cat-travel.com/