Friends of Tapiche Fund for the Sustainability of the Tapiche Reserve
Dear Friends of the Tapiche Reserve,
About a year ago, Project Amazonas first learned about the Tapiche River and Reserve after receiving emails about it from a number of individuals. Some of you have visited this remote site some 400 km south of Iquitos, Peru, in the past. Others of you have not, but you should. It is a magnificently wild area south of the Ucayali River and located in the Tapiche River watershed. The Tapiche is home to 13 primate species, including the globally endangered red uakari monkey, and has healthy populations of caimans, river turtles, peccaries, tapir, giant otters, 5 species of macaw, and even nesting pairs of crested and harpy eagles, along with at least 320 other species of birds including very poorly known ones like the azure gallinule. The lakes and rivers of the reserve are home to pink dolphins, giant arapaima fish, and even Amazonian manatees, another globally endangered species.
The remoteness of area, and a 10+ year history of protection of the area means that primate populations are abundant and unafraid of humans. Just around the lodge area and without particular effort, 5 or more species of primates (wedge-capped and white-fronted capuchins, red uakaris, red howlers, titi monkeys, monk saki monkeys, squirrel monkeys, etc.) can be observed daily – foraging in trees along the edge of the clearing and traveling through the fringe of river-edge forest between the river and the reserve buildings. The dawn chorus of howler monkeys can be deafening at times.
The Tapiche is vulnerable though. Without a continuous protective presence, hunters, fishers and loggers from the city of Requena (4 hours distant by speedboat, 12 to 18 hours by peque-peque motor) are eager to exploit the rich natural resources of the area – all it would take is a couple of months of neglect before opportunists moved in and the valuable timber trees would be felled, the lakes emptied of arapaima, and the mammal populations decimated for bush meat. Restoring the reserve to its currently near-pristine state would take decades of work and diligent protection. Simply maintaining an active presence at the reserve is far and away the easiest means of protection.
Late in 2022, Project Amazonas received an appeal to take over the management of the reserve. The Peruvian visionary who started the reserve in 2010, tragically passed away in early 2022, and the managers who held things together after his passing had a limited amount of time to remain in Peru. There were only two options – tear down the existing facilities so that they wouldn’t become a base for exploitation of the area’s fauna and flora, or find another party to manage the reserve. We agreed to become involved, and starting in December 2022, took on the financial and management responsibilities of the reserve while still harnessing the experience and knowledge of the previous managers. We admit that it was a bumpy start, with local staff changes at the reserve.
After two years of pandemic shutdown, it has also taken considerable time to build up new usership, and hence new income. Since termites and wood-rot have no respect for viruses, most of the infrastructure is in urgent need of replacement, and in June and July 2023, we built two new tambos (cabins) for guest accommodation, but more needs to be done, with a new kitchen being the next priority, followed by new staff housing. We are also in the process of applying for formal protection status from the regional government, a process which may require formal studies, but which will certainly incur additional costs.
We are asking for your help to get the Tapiche Reserve fully protected and to upgrade the facilities. Currently it is costing about $2,900 per month to cover the basic operating costs (salaries, food for the staff, transport, internet), with any construction costs coming in over and beyond that amount.
We won’t ask for any miracles (but we won’t turn down any either!). If you can commit to any amount per month for a year’s time – be it $10, $25, $42, $100, $500 or $1000 or anywhere in between or beyond, that will enable us to get the Tapiche Reserve on firm financial footing and accomplish the necessary critical upgrades by November/December 2024. Any donations made by US residents would be tax deductible, as would donations from UK residents (if made through the GlobalGiving platform – ask for details). Sending funds via ACH wire transfer or check (for US donors) would mean that 100% of your donation goes directly to supporting the Tapiche. Funds sent via PayPal, GoFundMe or the GlobalGiving platforms will involve some fees, but with GlobalGiving there are possibilities to receive some matching funds for monthly donors. Project Amazonas is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization registered in the state of Florida, and we send funds from the US to the Asociación Civil Proyecto Amazonas, which is our legally registered partner entity in Peru.
We thank you in advance for passing on the word about the Tapiche to friends and associates, and for any level of funding that you can commit to. We look forward to sending regular reports to all donors about news and progress at the reserve – it is truly a special place with a richness of wildlife that we have not encountered anywhere else in 30+ years of traveling to Peru. I hope that you will be able to visit or re-visit the Tapiche and experience the same sense of wonder that I have had during my visits there. Thank you for reading this and for any support that you can provide to protect this unique natural treasure.
Sending funds to Project Amazonas:
BANK WIRE TRANSFERS / ACH
Wire transfers can be sent directly to:
Name of Account: Project Amazonas, Inc.
Bank Address: TD Bank
665 NW 62nd St.
Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33309
USA
+19542026900
Account #: 4345837326
Routing #: 067014822 (domestic wires and transfers)
SWIFT code: NRTHUS33XXX (international wires in US $)
CHECKS
Checks in US dollars from USA or Canadian banks made out to “Project Amazonas” can be sent to:
Treasurer, Project Amazonas
701 E Commercial Blvd, #200
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33334
We can’t accept checks made out in other currencies or from non-USA/Canadian banks.
OTHER OPTIONS
If you prefer to contribute in another way, either financially or in-kind/services, let us know and we’ll happily work with you!
