Long-term interventions by conservation and development projects support successful recovery of tropical peatlands in Amazonia

Euridice Nora Honorio Coronado; Julio Grández Rios; Jhon del Águila Pasquel; Gerardo Flores Llampazo; Cesar Córdova Oroche; José Reyna Huaymacari; Gabriel Hidalgo Pizango; Luis Freitas Alvarado; Ulises Pipa Murayari; Gonzalo Isla Reátegui; Chris López Álvarez; Eva Loja Aleman; Emiliana Isasi-Catala; Joaquin Gutierrez-Sotelo; Frederick Draper; Margarita del Aguila Villacorta; Tim Baker; Dennis Del Castillo Torres; Kenton de la Cruz Gamarra; Daniel Escobedo Guerra; Ian Thomas Lawson; Manuel Martin Brañas; Estela Martinez Gonzales; Jacqueline Ramirez Chávez; Katy Roucoux

doi:10.1002/pan3.70024

Long-term interventions by conservation and development projects support successful recovery of tropical peatlands in Amazonia

Euridice Nora Honorio Coronado^*, Julio Grández Rios, Jhon del Águila Pasquel, Gerardo Flores Llampazo, Cesar Córdova Oroche, José Reyna Huaymacari, Gabriel Hidalgo Pizango, Luis Freitas Alvarado, Ulises Pipa Murayari, Gonzalo Isla Reátegui, Chris López Álvarez, Eva Loja Aleman, Emiliana Isasi-Catala, Joaquin Gutierrez-Sotelo, Frederick Draper, Margarita del Aguila Villacorta, Tim Baker, Dennis Del Castillo Torres, Kenton de la Cruz Gamarra, Daniel Escobedo GuerraIan Thomas Lawson, Manuel Martin Brañas, Estela Martinez Gonzales, Jacqueline Ramirez Chávez, Katy Roucoux

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

1. Rural communities in Amazonia rely on harvesting Mauritia flexuosa fruit, a dominant peatland palm, for their subsistence and income. However, these palms are felled to harvest the fruits, which has led to reduced resource availability due to the pressure exerted by the increasing fruit demand. As a result, climbing has been proposed as a means to harvest the fruits sustainably. However, the long-term ecological and socio-economic impacts of climbing, rather than felling, palms remain unknown.

2. We evaluate whether M. flexuosa populations and fruit production in managed peatland palm swamps have recovered within two rural communities in Peru where climbing to harvest palm fruits was adopted between 1999 and 2002. Since then, these communities have been supported by conservation and development projects.

3. We conducted interviews with community members to assess perceptions of change since the introduction of climbing and carried out forest inventories to estimate changes in two socio-economic indicators (volume of harvested M. flexuosa fruits and income) and three ecological indicators (pole stem density of M. flexuosa, seedling and sapling density, and the sex ratio of adult palms).

4. Our results reveal that the adoption of climbing has improved the health of the forest stands and incomes in both rural communities. Recovery of M. flexuosa populations was supported by local perceptions of increases in stand productivity, improved values of most indicators within managed stands compared to reference data from unmanaged stands in the region, and continuous recovery of degraded stands over time following the adoption of climbing by both communities.

5. Synthesis and applications. We demonstrate how long-term conservation and development initiatives can lead to successful outcomes for rural communities and peatland ecosystems. However, urgent adoption of sustainable harvesting techniques, such as the palm climbing in our study, is needed across Amazonia to safeguard the ecological integrity of peatlands, below carbon storage, and livelihoods. This transition will require long-term collaboration among different stakeholders, affordable management plans, and fair prices for sustainable management for peatland resources.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-16
Number of pages	16
Journal	People and Nature
Volume	Early View
Early online date	6 Mar 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.70024
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 6 Mar 2025

Keywords

Forest management
Livelihoods
Natural regeneration
Non-timber forest products
Parinari
Veinte de Enero

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10.1002/pan3.70024Licence: CC BY

Honorio-Coronado_2025_PaN_Long-term-interventions-conservation-development-projects_CCBY
Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). People and Nature published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Final published version, 1.15 MBLicence: CC BY

Peatland resilience: Knowledge exchange: Peatland resilience: Knowledge exchange for the conservation and sustainable management of forested tropical peatlands
Honorio Coronado, E. N. (PI)
NERC
13/10/21 → 12/10/24
Project: Fellowship

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Honorio Coronado, E. N., Rios, J. G., Pasquel, J. D. Á., Llampazo, G. F., Oroche, C. C., Huaymacari, J. R., Pizango, G. H., Alvarado, L. F., Murayari, U. P., Reátegui, G. I., Álvarez, C. L., Aleman, E. L., Isasi-Catala, E., Gutierrez-Sotelo, J., Draper, F., Villacorta, M. D. A., Baker, T., Torres, D. D. C., Gamarra, K. D. L. C., ... Roucoux, K. (2025). Long-term interventions by conservation and development projects support successful recovery of tropical peatlands in Amazonia. People and Nature, Early View, 1-16. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.70024

@article{213b4f9b0dfb41d7ad5353cb0344d271,

title = "Long-term interventions by conservation and development projects support successful recovery of tropical peatlands in Amazonia",

abstract = "1. Rural communities in Amazonia rely on harvesting Mauritia flexuosa fruit, a dominant peatland palm, for their subsistence and income. However, these palms are felled to harvest the fruits, which has led to reduced resource availability due to the pressure exerted by the increasing fruit demand. As a result, climbing has been proposed as a means to harvest the fruits sustainably. However, the long-term ecological and socio-economic impacts of climbing, rather than felling, palms remain unknown. 2. We evaluate whether M. flexuosa populations and fruit production in managed peatland palm swamps have recovered within two rural communities in Peru where climbing to harvest palm fruits was adopted between 1999 and 2002. Since then, these communities have been supported by conservation and development projects. 3. We conducted interviews with community members to assess perceptions of change since the introduction of climbing and carried out forest inventories to estimate changes in two socio-economic indicators (volume of harvested M. flexuosa fruits and income) and three ecological indicators (pole stem density of M. flexuosa, seedling and sapling density, and the sex ratio of adult palms). 4. Our results reveal that the adoption of climbing has improved the health of the forest stands and incomes in both rural communities. Recovery of M. flexuosa populations was supported by local perceptions of increases in stand productivity, improved values of most indicators within managed stands compared to reference data from unmanaged stands in the region, and continuous recovery of degraded stands over time following the adoption of climbing by both communities. 5. Synthesis and applications. We demonstrate how long-term conservation and development initiatives can lead to successful outcomes for rural communities and peatland ecosystems. However, urgent adoption of sustainable harvesting techniques, such as the palm climbing in our study, is needed across Amazonia to safeguard the ecological integrity of peatlands, below carbon storage, and livelihoods. This transition will require long-term collaboration among different stakeholders, affordable management plans, and fair prices for sustainable management for peatland resources.",

keywords = "Forest management, Livelihoods, Natural regeneration, Non-timber forest products, Parinari, Veinte de Enero",

author = "{Honorio Coronado}, {Euridice Nora} and Rios, {Julio Gr{\'a}ndez} and Pasquel, {Jhon del {\'A}guila} and Llampazo, {Gerardo Flores} and Oroche, {Cesar C{\'o}rdova} and Huaymacari, {Jos{\'e} Reyna} and Pizango, {Gabriel Hidalgo} and Alvarado, {Luis Freitas} and Murayari, {Ulises Pipa} and Re{\'a}tegui, {Gonzalo Isla} and {\'A}lvarez, {Chris L{\'o}pez} and Aleman, {Eva Loja} and Emiliana Isasi-Catala and Joaquin Gutierrez-Sotelo and Frederick Draper and Villacorta, {Margarita del Aguila} and Tim Baker and Torres, {Dennis Del Castillo} and Gamarra, {Kenton de la Cruz} and Guerra, {Daniel Escobedo} and Lawson, {Ian Thomas} and Bra{\~n}as, {Manuel Martin} and Gonzales, {Estela Martinez} and Ch{\'a}vez, {Jacqueline Ramirez} and Katy Roucoux",

note = "Funding: This work was supported by the NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellowships (grant no. NE/V018760/1 and NE/V018760/2); Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (Grant #5439, MonANPeru network); Concytec/British Council/Embajada Brit{\'a}nica Lima/Newton Fund (Grant ref. 220-2018); Concytec/NERC/Embajada Brit{\'a}nica Lima/Newton Fund (Grant ref. 001-2019); and Wildlife Conservation Society. The research permit that included access to the protected area was granted by SERNANP (RJ-RNPS No. 028-2022-SERNANP-JEF).",

year = "2025",

month = mar,

day = "6",

doi = "10.1002/pan3.70024",

language = "English",

volume = "Early View",

pages = "1--16",

journal = "People and Nature",

issn = "2575-8314",

publisher = "John Wiley & Sons, Ltd",

}

Honorio Coronado, EN, Rios, JG, Pasquel, JDÁ, Llampazo, GF, Oroche, CC, Huaymacari, JR, Pizango, GH, Alvarado, LF, Murayari, UP, Reátegui, GI, Álvarez, CL, Aleman, EL, Isasi-Catala, E, Gutierrez-Sotelo, J, Draper, F, Villacorta, MDA, Baker, T, Torres, DDC, Gamarra, KDLC, Guerra, DE, Lawson, IT, Brañas, MM, Gonzales, EM, Chávez, JR & Roucoux, K 2025, 'Long-term interventions by conservation and development projects support successful recovery of tropical peatlands in Amazonia', People and Nature, vol. Early View, pp. 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.70024

TY - JOUR

T1 - Long-term interventions by conservation and development projects support successful recovery of tropical peatlands in Amazonia

AU - Honorio Coronado, Euridice Nora

AU - Rios, Julio Grández

AU - Pasquel, Jhon del Águila

AU - Llampazo, Gerardo Flores

AU - Oroche, Cesar Córdova

AU - Huaymacari, José Reyna

AU - Pizango, Gabriel Hidalgo

AU - Alvarado, Luis Freitas

AU - Murayari, Ulises Pipa

AU - Reátegui, Gonzalo Isla

AU - Álvarez, Chris López

AU - Aleman, Eva Loja

AU - Isasi-Catala, Emiliana

AU - Gutierrez-Sotelo, Joaquin

AU - Draper, Frederick

AU - Villacorta, Margarita del Aguila

AU - Baker, Tim

AU - Torres, Dennis Del Castillo

AU - Gamarra, Kenton de la Cruz

AU - Guerra, Daniel Escobedo

AU - Lawson, Ian Thomas

AU - Brañas, Manuel Martin

AU - Gonzales, Estela Martinez

AU - Chávez, Jacqueline Ramirez

AU - Roucoux, Katy

N1 - Funding: This work was supported by the NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellowships (grant no. NE/V018760/1 and NE/V018760/2); Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (Grant #5439, MonANPeru network); Concytec/British Council/Embajada Británica Lima/Newton Fund (Grant ref. 220-2018); Concytec/NERC/Embajada Británica Lima/Newton Fund (Grant ref. 001-2019); and Wildlife Conservation Society. The research permit that included access to the protected area was granted by SERNANP (RJ-RNPS No. 028-2022-SERNANP-JEF).

PY - 2025/3/6

Y1 - 2025/3/6

N2 - 1. Rural communities in Amazonia rely on harvesting Mauritia flexuosa fruit, a dominant peatland palm, for their subsistence and income. However, these palms are felled to harvest the fruits, which has led to reduced resource availability due to the pressure exerted by the increasing fruit demand. As a result, climbing has been proposed as a means to harvest the fruits sustainably. However, the long-term ecological and socio-economic impacts of climbing, rather than felling, palms remain unknown. 2. We evaluate whether M. flexuosa populations and fruit production in managed peatland palm swamps have recovered within two rural communities in Peru where climbing to harvest palm fruits was adopted between 1999 and 2002. Since then, these communities have been supported by conservation and development projects. 3. We conducted interviews with community members to assess perceptions of change since the introduction of climbing and carried out forest inventories to estimate changes in two socio-economic indicators (volume of harvested M. flexuosa fruits and income) and three ecological indicators (pole stem density of M. flexuosa, seedling and sapling density, and the sex ratio of adult palms). 4. Our results reveal that the adoption of climbing has improved the health of the forest stands and incomes in both rural communities. Recovery of M. flexuosa populations was supported by local perceptions of increases in stand productivity, improved values of most indicators within managed stands compared to reference data from unmanaged stands in the region, and continuous recovery of degraded stands over time following the adoption of climbing by both communities. 5. Synthesis and applications. We demonstrate how long-term conservation and development initiatives can lead to successful outcomes for rural communities and peatland ecosystems. However, urgent adoption of sustainable harvesting techniques, such as the palm climbing in our study, is needed across Amazonia to safeguard the ecological integrity of peatlands, below carbon storage, and livelihoods. This transition will require long-term collaboration among different stakeholders, affordable management plans, and fair prices for sustainable management for peatland resources.

AB - 1. Rural communities in Amazonia rely on harvesting Mauritia flexuosa fruit, a dominant peatland palm, for their subsistence and income. However, these palms are felled to harvest the fruits, which has led to reduced resource availability due to the pressure exerted by the increasing fruit demand. As a result, climbing has been proposed as a means to harvest the fruits sustainably. However, the long-term ecological and socio-economic impacts of climbing, rather than felling, palms remain unknown. 2. We evaluate whether M. flexuosa populations and fruit production in managed peatland palm swamps have recovered within two rural communities in Peru where climbing to harvest palm fruits was adopted between 1999 and 2002. Since then, these communities have been supported by conservation and development projects. 3. We conducted interviews with community members to assess perceptions of change since the introduction of climbing and carried out forest inventories to estimate changes in two socio-economic indicators (volume of harvested M. flexuosa fruits and income) and three ecological indicators (pole stem density of M. flexuosa, seedling and sapling density, and the sex ratio of adult palms). 4. Our results reveal that the adoption of climbing has improved the health of the forest stands and incomes in both rural communities. Recovery of M. flexuosa populations was supported by local perceptions of increases in stand productivity, improved values of most indicators within managed stands compared to reference data from unmanaged stands in the region, and continuous recovery of degraded stands over time following the adoption of climbing by both communities. 5. Synthesis and applications. We demonstrate how long-term conservation and development initiatives can lead to successful outcomes for rural communities and peatland ecosystems. However, urgent adoption of sustainable harvesting techniques, such as the palm climbing in our study, is needed across Amazonia to safeguard the ecological integrity of peatlands, below carbon storage, and livelihoods. This transition will require long-term collaboration among different stakeholders, affordable management plans, and fair prices for sustainable management for peatland resources.

KW - Forest management

KW - Livelihoods

KW - Natural regeneration

KW - Non-timber forest products

KW - Parinari

KW - Veinte de Enero

U2 - 10.1002/pan3.70024

DO - 10.1002/pan3.70024

M3 - Article

SN - 2575-8314

VL - Early View

SP - 1

EP - 16

JO - People and Nature

JF - People and Nature

ER -

Long-term interventions by conservation and development projects support successful recovery of tropical peatlands in Amazonia

Abstract

Keywords

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Projects

Peatland resilience: Knowledge exchange: Peatland resilience: Knowledge exchange for the conservation and sustainable management of forested tropical peatlands

Cite this