A New Way of Thinking

Aside from witnessing the absolutely incredible ecology of the Peruvian amazon and having the privilege learning from a community of indigenous Cocoma, what was most important exposure I got while in Peru was being exposed to a new way of thinking. As an environmental science major I have been exposed to conservation research in terms of academia research and government research. However, I had never been exposed to conservation research as a business model. I believe this is something that is extremely important for a developing young scientist like myself. It does not matter if you agree with viewing conservation as a business or not, it is just important to be exposed to it. How does one fund research? Funding can be achieved through grants; however grants can be short term and unpredictable. Earthwatch is an organization that provides an alternative source of funding. Instead of just providing funds it also provides volunteers for research. At first I was a little skeptical of how this NGO’s business model worked. However, after finding myself part of their program in the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, observing and asking the lead scientist Dr. Richard Bodmer questions about their research, I was impressed by the breadth and capability of the research being conducted. Unlike many research projects I had been a part of or witnessed Dr. Bodmer and his teams research had such a broad definition of conservation. What Dr. Bodmer had was not just a research goal, he had a business plan and long-term goals showing incredible foresight. In terms ecological research Dr. Bodmer was conducting long-term assessment of the health of Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve. He and his team monitored the health and populations of river dolphins, amphibians, primates, fish, caimans, macaws, river otters, manatee, jaguars, tapirs, and wading birds among other organisms. Dr. Bodmer and his team specifically want to understand what the long-term ecological consequences of Climate Change had on Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve. This important long-term research was partially funded and conducted by Earthwatch volunteers as well as from University student programs. In addition Dr. Bodmer also wanted to conserve the History of the Peruvian Amazon. He did this by buying old rubber boom era boats. He repaired this boats and not only uses them to conduct his research but also uses them to provide ecotourism and created a boat museum in Iquitos. Dr. Bodmer also created an Indigenous peoples museum in Iquitos. Prior to creating this two museums Iquitos the fifth largest city in Peru had no museums. He also had bought a building owned by a rubber Barron and converted it into a hotel. He explained to me his plan was to create a way to fund his research because he wanted to collect long-term data. I do not know if I will ever use this knowledge in my career but it was incredible to be exposed to something different.

Species I saw while in Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve:

Common Squirrel Monkey

Red Howler Monkey

Saddleback Tamarin

Cocoi Heron

Great Egret

Great Black Hawk

Green King Fisher

Horned Screamer

Pink Dolphin

Grey Dolphin

Blue Yellow Macaws

Red Bellied Macaws

Anaconda

Black Caiman

Common Caiman

Renaco Tree

Giant Amazon River Turtle

Bullet Ant

Ectatomma tuberculatum

Caña Caña Plant

Cercropia Tree

Black-Collard Hawk

Ponga Tree

Cannonball Tree

Monkey Ladder Lianas

Anhinga

Amazon Kingfisher

Striated Heron

Muscovy Duck

Ringed Kingfisher

Black Squirrel

Green Kingfisher

Red-Bellied Piranha

White-Bellied Piranha

Hoatzins

Armored Catfish

Oscar Fish

Three-Toed Sloth

Jacana

Neotropical Cormorant

Great Egret

Capped Heron

Yellow Headed Caracara

Black Caracara

Osprey