For Immediate Release Contact: Greg Borzo (312) 665-7106 gborzo@fieldmuseum.org Field Museum awarded $5.25 million for community-based conservation in Peru USAID cooperative agreement will promote local management of new park CHICAGO—The Field Museum has received $5.25 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to work with its partner, Centro de Conservación, Investigación y Manejo de Areas Naturales – Cordillera Azul (CIMA) and other Peruvian and international organizations, to develop ecologically compatible opportunities for communities neighboring the huge new Parque Nacional Cordillera Azul in Peru. “In addition to protecting a spectacular region with rich biological diversity, this park offers a unique opportunity for its neighboring communities in the Huallaga Valley,” says Debra Moskovits, PhD, Director of The Field Museum’s Environmental and Conservation Programs. “The park will generate long-term investments that engage local residents in activities that both support the park and improve their quality of life.” Creating income and job opportunities through the sustainable use of natural resources advances U.S. government objectives to create ecologically, politically and economically viable alternatives to the cultivation of illicit crops, according to Tim Miller, USAID/Peru’s Chief of the Office of Environment and Natural Resources. “That’s why our offices of environment and alternative development have joined forces to address common problems in Peru’s coca-growing areas.” In April, USAID signed a cooperative agreement with the Museum for the program, Economic and Environmental Opportunities in Parque Nacional Cordillera Azul and its Buffer Zone, Huallaga (Coca) Valley, Peru, over the next four years. In the role of technical support for the implementation of the park, the Museum will work with CIMA to develop opportunities that are ecologically compatible with the park and culturally compatible with the local human communities. The USAID grant will create jobs for local residents, reforest abandoned coca fields, and promote long-term stewardship of natural resources. These projects will be managed through conservation contracts with pilot communities around the park. The contracts will specify technical assistance and employment in return for the communities’ commitment to deliver the work and maintain pro-conservation efforts. Local authorities and nongovernmental organizations with a history of success in the Huallaga Valley will play primary roles in planning, implementing and coordinating the programs. Continue