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Conatura-Perú : Integrating
Conservation of Biodiversity and needs of Indigenous Communities
of Peru |
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Vicuña Conservation: Integrating Science with Local NeedsVicuñas, the beautiful wild members of the camel family that grace the high Andes of Peru, have co-existed and been managed sustainably by Andean peoples for millennia. After the Spanish conquest and demise of the Inka empire in 1532, vicuña populations dropped precipitously from an estimated 2-3 million to 10,000 individuals. Peru instigated strict protectionist measures from the 1960's to the mid 1990's which allowed populations to recover partially. In 1995, legislation was passed that gave Andean communities the right to capture and live-shear vicuñas in order to harvest their valuable fiber, among the finest in the world. This legislation and implementation of a capture live-shearing program, has lead to an important re-encounter of Andean people with the vicuña. Since 1997, Conatura has been leading efforts to conduct scientific research on the interaction between Andean peoples and the vicuña. Our research team is composed of locally trained staff, graduate students from Peru and the United States, as well as scientists trained in anthropology and conservation biology. We have focused our efforts on the following important topics:
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