Andes Amazon Fund

05/22/2026

🌐 Happy International Day for Biological Diversity! 🎉🦎

To mark this important day, we are sharing these stunning captures from some emblematic protected areas we have supported in the region:

⏩️Park guards surveying biodiversity in the cloud forests of the Bosques de Shunte y Mishollo Regional Conservation Area in San Martín, Peru © Judah Marsden / CIMA - Cordillera Azul

⏩️Marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus), jaguar (Panthera onca), and capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) in a flooded area of the Pantanal Mato-Grossense National Park in Mato Grosso, Brazil © Cristian Dimitrius- Rede Pró UC and Aliança Pantanal

⏩️The vast Amazonian flood forests of the Medio Putumayo Algodon Regional Conservation Area in Loreto, Peru © Diego Perez / Instituto del Bien Común / Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental - SPDA

⏩️Rivers flowing through valleys and close to tepuis in the expansion area of Chiribiquete National Park in Guaviare, Colombia © Federico Pardo / Fundación para la Conservación y el Desarrollo Sostenible

🚨This year, the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity has chosen the theme: 'Acting locally for global impact.' As the global extinction crisis continues to impact our natural world, we at the Andes Amazon Fund remain dedicated to safeguarding the biodiversity-rich ecosystems of the Andes-Amazon region through durable local action. We do this by supporting the establishment and expansion of protected areas and Indigenous lands, enhancing land management through an integrated approach that allows both nature and local communities to thrive together.🌎

05/21/2026

Herencia Colombia

05/18/2026

05/12/2026

These management activities are being accomplished in the Bajo Putumayo Yaguas Communal Reserve in Loreto, Peru. Read more about the area here: https://www.andesamazonfund.org/country/peru/new-bajo-putumayo-yaguas-communal-reserve-supports-indigenous-stewardship-in-the-peruvian-amazon/

05/12/2026

05/07/2026

The Estrella Hídrica de Caldas Regional Protected Area spans 59,236 acres (23,972 hectares) of cloud forest, high-altitude grasslands, and wetlands in the department of Caldas, Colombia.

🌸 Established on February 24, 2026, the area-–which is the largest protected area in Caldas—plays a fundamental role in the regulation and provision of water for 5 municipalities. Additionally, its ecosystems cover a broad altitudinal gradient securing critical habitat for dozens of endangered species.

The new Regional Protected Area, categorized as a Distrito Regional de Manejo Integrado, in Spanish, is situated at the convergence of the Chinchiná and Tapias basins that drain into the Cauca and Guarinó Rivers—two of Colombia's major river basins that join to form the Magdalena River—and helps to conserve water resources that benefit nearly 250,000 people downstream.💧

Estrella Hídrica de Caldas is located within Colombia's coffee cultural landscape recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The area’s establishment helps protect the region’s natural and cultural heritage.

➡️ Read more through our blog here: https://www.andesamazonfund.org/news-blog/new-estrella-hidrica-de-caldas-regional-protected-area-safeguards-dozens-of-endangered-species-in-colombia/

🌳 The establishment of the Estrella Hídrica de Caldas Regional Protected Area was made possible by the Departmental Government of Caldas and Corpocaldas with technical support from IInstituto Humboldt MMás Biomas and NNature and Culture International. Financial support was provided by Andes Amazon Fund and RRe:wild Andes Amazon Fund's financial support for this project was generously provided by the Wyss Foundation.

05/05/2026

Two new Municipal Areas protect over 300,000 acres in Potosí, Bolivia, safeguarding endangered Andean wildlife and headwaters. ☀️

The Río Chilenas and Ciudad Roma Municipal Protected Areas, established late last year, safeguard 303,500 acres (122,822 hectares) of fragile high-altitude wetlands, grasslands, and forests within Bolivia’s iconic Lípez mountain range located in the southern department of Potosí. These areas create an important transboundary ecological corridor that protects headwaters that feed into the La Plata River Basin while providing a sanctuary for threatened species like the Critically Endangered Andean mountain cat, Near Threatened Chilean flamingo, and Vulnerable Andean condor. ⛰️🦅🏔️

Read more about both new protected areas here: https://www.andesamazonfund.org/country/bolivia/two-new-municipal-areas-protect-over-300000-acres-in-potosi-bolivia-safeguarding-endangered-birds-and-headwaters/

🌄 The establishment of the Río Chilenas Municipal Protected Area and Ciudad Roma Municipal Protected Area was made possible by the Municipal Government of San Antonio de Esmoruco alongside the local communities and authorities of Río Chilenas and Ciudad Roma and the Communal Indigenous Territory (TIOC) belonging to the Lliphi Indigenous Peoples with the technical support of Protección del Medio Ambiente Tarija (Prometa). Financial support for PROMETA was provided by the Andes Amazon Fund and Conserva Aves.

04/22/2026

An additional 257,531 acres (104,219 hectares) of the Brazilian Pantanal – the world’s largest tropical wetland — are now protected with the March 2026 expansion of the Pantanal Mato-Grossense National Park by 116,782 acres (47,260 hectares) and the Taiamã Ecological Station by 140,749 acres (56,959 hectares).

The expanded areas enhance connectivity between protected areas in the heart of the Pantanal at the confluence of its primary rivers in the upper Paraguay River Basin. Both of these areas protect the habitat of important species including the jaguar, giant otter, and maned wolf.🐆🌴

The two expanded areas will help prevent wildfires and reduce the losses from recurring wildfires that are on the rise in the Pantanal, having increased by as much as 529% in 2024 as compared to the historical average. The expansions reinforce the protection of wetlands that are essential for water regulation, biodiversity conservation, and resilience against extreme climate events, such as droughts. 💧🐠🐟

➡️ Read more here: https://www.andesamazonfund.org/country/brazil/two-national-protected-areas-are-expanded-in-brazils-pantanal/

These expansions were made possible by Brazil’s Ministry of the Environment and Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade with technical assistance from Rede Pró UC, Aliança Pantanal, Instituto SOS Pantanal, Onçafari, and Panthera Brasil. Financial support was provided by Andes Amazon Fund and Re:wild.

🎥 Videos by: Cristian Dimitrius-Rede Pró-UC and Aliança Pantanal

📸 Photos by: Gustavo Figueiroa-SOS Pantanal

04/22/2026

Happy Earth Day from the Andes Amazon Fund team! 🌎🌿

Today and every day we celebrate the intricate and fragile web of life we are all a part of.

🍃These images remind us of the breathtaking beauty of some of the areas our partners have been working to protect in the Andes-Amazon.

📸 Red-and-green macaws in the Brazilian Pantanal, the world’s largest tropical wetland. © Gustavo Figueiroa-SOS Pantanal

📸 Amazonian forests in Upper Purús, Peru. © Jason Houston / Upper Amazon Conservancy.

📸 Andean condor soaring high above the Ecuadorian Andes. © Natural and Culture International

📸 Tepuis in Chiribiquete National Park, Colombia. © Fundación para la Conservación y el Desarrollo Sostenible – FCDS

📸 Jaguar in the Pantanal Mato-Grossense National Park, Brazil. © Gustavo Figueiroa / SOS Pantanal

📸 Black-and-chestnut eagle in the Runahurco Water protection Area, Ecuador. © Fundación Cóndor Andino Ecuador / Natural and Culture International

📸 Spectacled bear in Imbabura, Ecuador. © Andrés Laguna / BYOS