Valor de conservación en bosques de comunidades indígenas: Un estudio de caso en la Amazonia peruana, San Jacinto y Puerto Arturo

The study analyzes the conservation value of forests assigned to indigenous populations of the Peruvian Amazon: San Jacinto and Puerto Arturo in Madre de Dios, communities with different realities in terms of conservation and forest management. Two scenarios prevail here: The San Jacinto indigenous community with 7 033,98 ha of forest, is characterized by disorder and the development of activities that put the community at risk (gold mining), while Puerto Arturo with 3 731 ha is a community committed to the management and conservation of its resources. By means of the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) through the dichotomous logit model we try to define the willingness of the individuals to accept compensation (WAC) on proposed prices of a hypothetical scenario. The results show that the average annual WAC to implement the environmental program was S/ 20,46 (USD 6,30) and S/ 14,84 (USD 4,57) ha/year respectively. The difference of the WAC is deductible and is product of the levels of impact suffered by both communities due to deforestation, mainly gold mining. Also, these values have an indirect relationship between the income of the indigenous population and potential dangers that affect community forests, while education shows a very significant direct relationship in the WAC. Finally, the forest is important by itself for the indigenous population, and they express a positive disposition for its improvement.El estudio analizó el valor de conservación del bosque que le asignan los pobladores indígenas de la Amazonia peruana: San Jacinto y Puerto Arturo en Madre de Dios, comunidades que contrastan realidades distintas en cuanto a conservación y manejo de sus bosques. Para ello se plantea dos escenarios: la comunidad indígena de San Jacinto con 7 033,98 ha de bosque, que expresa el desorden y el desarrollo de actividades que ponen en riesgo a la comunidad (minería de oro), mientras que Puerto Arturo con 3 731 ha es una comunidad comprometida con el manejo y conservación de sus recursos. Mediante el método de valoración contingente (MVC) a través del modelo logit dicotómico se intenta definir la disposición de los individuos a aceptar una compensación (DAC) sobre precios propuestos de un escenario hipotético. Los resultados muestran que la DAC promedio anual para implementar el programa ambiental fue de S/ 20,46 (USD 6,30) y S/ 14,84 (USD 4,57) ha/año respectivamente. La diferencia de la DAC es deducible y es producto de los niveles de impactos que sufren ambas comunidades por la deforestación, principalmente por la minería de oro. Asimismo, estos valores presentan una relación indirecta con los ingresos del poblador indígena y peligros potenciales que afectan al bosque de la comunidad, mientras que la educación muestra una relación directa muy significativa en la DAC. Finalmente, el bosque es importante por sí mismo para el poblador indígena, y manifiestan una disposición positiva para su mejora

Valor de conservación en bosques de comunidades indígenas: Un estudio de caso en la Amazonia Peruana, San Jacinto y Puerto Arturo

The study analyzes the conservation value of forests assigned to indigenous populations of the Peruvian Amazon: San Jacinto and Puerto Arturo in Madre de Dios, communities with different realities in terms of conservation and forest management. Two scenarios prevail here: The San Jacinto indigenous community with 7 033,98 ha of forest, is characterized by disorder and the development of activities that put the community at risk (gold mining), while Puerto Arturo with 3 731 ha is a community committed to the management and conservation of its resources. By means of the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) through the dichotomous logit model we try to define the willingness of the individuals to accept compensation (WAC) on proposed prices of a hypothetical scenario. The results show that the average annual WAC to implement the environmental program was S/ 20,46 (USD 6,30) and S/ 14,84 (USD 4,57) ha/year respectively. The difference of the WAC is deductible and is product of the levels of impact suffered by both communities due to deforestation, mainly gold mining. Also, these values have an indirect relationship between the income of the indigenous population and potential dangers that affect community forests, while education shows a very significant direct relationship in the WAC. Finally, the forest is important by itself for the indigenous population, and they express a positive disposition for its improvement.El estudio analizó el valor de conservación del bosque que le asignan los pobladores indígenas de la Amazonia Peruana: San Jacinto y Puerto Arturo en Madre de Dios, comunidades que contrastan realidades distintas en cuanto a conservación y manejo de sus bosques. Para ello se plantea dos escenarios: la comunidad indígena de San Jacinto con 7 033,98 ha de bosque, que expresa el desorden y el desarrollo de actividades que ponen en riesgo a la comunidad (minería de oro), mientras que Puerto Arturo con 3 731 ha es una comunidad comprometida con el manejo y conservación de sus recursos. Mediante el método de valoración contingente (MVC) a través del modelo logit dicotómico se intenta definir la disposición de los individuos a aceptar una compensación (DAC) sobre precios propuestos de un escenario hipotético. Los resultados muestran que la DAC promedio anual para implementar el programa ambiental fue de S/ 20,46 (USD 6,30) y S/ 14,84 (USD 4,57) ha/año respectivamente. La diferencia de la DAC es deducible y es producto de los niveles de impactos que sufren ambas comunidades por la deforestación, principalmente por la minería de oro. Asimismo, estos valores presentan una relación indirecta con los ingresos del poblador indígena y peligros potenciales que afectan al bosque de la comunidad, mientras que la educación muestra una relación directa muy significativa en la DAC. Finalmente, el bosque es importante por sí mismo para el poblador indígena, y manifiestan una disposición positiva para su mejora

Natural Regeneration After Gold Mining in the Peruvian Amazon: Implications for Restoration of Tropical Forests

Context: Gold mining is the most destructive activity in the natural forests of the Madre de Dios region in the southeastern Peruvian Amazon. Understanding the natural regeneration process of these degraded areas is necessary to develop forest restoration projects in such conditions. Aims: We aimed to evaluate forest recovery and identify the successional and structure patterns of vegetation governing natural regeneration over time. Methods: Structure, composition, richness, diversity, and successional status were evaluated in abandoned artisanal gold mine areas in Madre de Dios, southeastern Peru. Vegetation data were recorded in 61 plots of 250 m2 established in five sites varying from 1 to 19 years of abandonment. Vegetation in abandoned areas was compared with six undisturbed forests evaluated in previous inventories. Results: In the mining lands, tree density and basal area recovered quickly, while species richness and composition were slow. Forest recovery is an initial stage of transition from pioneer to early secondary species until at least 19 years after abandonment. The most abundant and frequent species were the fast-growing species Ochroma pyramidale and Cecropia engleriana. These species could be considered potential candidates to promote restoration plans. Pioneer species represented 63% of the number of species in plots of 1–4 years, 57% in plots of 5–7 years, and 50% in plots of 8–19 years. Early and late secondary species represented 34 and 16%, respectively, of the number of species in plots of 8–19 years. Abandoned mining and reference plots present less than 5% of species in common. Conclusion: Our results highlight a slow natural regeneration process in areas for up to 19 years after gold mining. Species from different successional statuses were identified as potential candidates for recovering vegetation in such areas. Our findings may have important implications for further research focusing on the ecological restoration in tropical forests severely degraded by gold mining