Governments of Colombia and Peru decide to explore the Putumayo River basin

On an initiative of the Governments of Colombia and Peru, the Binational Expedition of the Putumayo River Basin will be carried out between the two neighboring countries. This measure is part of the bi-national commitments signed in the Villa de Leyva 2022 Action Plan, on 14 January. Meeting that brought together the presidents, Iván Duque of Colombia and Pedro Castillo of Peru.

This first Binational Biodiversity Expedition was launched on Friday, April 8 in the city of Iquitos, Peru. The event was attended by representatives of Peruvian and Colombian institutions.

According to the Colombian Ministry of Environment, the objective of the binational work is to know the species that are registered in the Putumayo river basin, “in order to promote their conservation, identify endemic or threatened species and determine suitable species for ecological restoration processes, as well as strengthening of the capacities of local communities”.

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From April 9 to May 1, 47 scientists from the two countries will travel a sector of the middle basin of the Putumayo River, located in the departments of Amazonas (Colombia) and Loreto, Maynas Province (Peru). During the expedition, field sampling of different biological groups of flora and fauna will be carried out, “which will strengthen the information of the biological collections and Amazonian information systems of each country,” said the authorities of the two countries during the launch ceremony of this alliance.

The technical development of the expedition will be carried out by the Amazonian Institute of Scientific Research (SINCHI) of Colombia, which will provide the service of 17 of its researchers from the Universities Nacional and the Valley. For its part, the Peruvian Amazon Research Institute will have 30 researchers linked to the institution and the Universidad Mayor de San Marcos.

Luz Marina Mantilla Cárdenas, director general of SINCHI, said that “our mission will be to strengthen the information pool of biological collections and the Amazonian and biodiversity information systems of each country and thus strengthen the local communities themselves in the knowledge of their resources. We are confident that the results we obtain will be vital for science and general knowledge and that the work of local people will foster the exchange of knowledge, knowledge and experiences,” he said.

During the field phase, the teams will be accompanied by local co-researchers, which would facilitate the exchange and transfer of knowledge by expanding the dialogue between traditional and scientific knowledge. “In this Binational Expedition, not only are binational relations established, scientists will have a bond and a common basis of work over the years,” said Benjamín Marticorena, president of Peru's National Council of Science, Technology and Innovation.

The border area where the expedition will take place is one of the regions furthest from the populated centers of Colombia and Peru, which in turn share a stretch of 1,330 linear kilometers. “This work is essential for sustainable management, but first we need to know what we have in our Amazon and that is why it is essential to start this expedition,” said Peru's Deputy Minister of Natural Resource Development, Yamila Silva Vidal.

For his part, the deputy minister of knowledge, innovation and productivity of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Sergio Cristancho Marulanda, emphasized that “for the Colombian Government, knowledge of biodiversity is of vital importance to establish the proper management of natural resources.”

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