Protecting One of the Amazon's Last Free-Flowing Rivers
The Putumayo is one of the last rivers in the Amazon that’s not regulated by a dam. And as a group of Field scientists experienced firsthand, it’s a corridor that’s full of life, both biological and cultural.
In November 2019, our rapid inventory team traveled to Colombia and Peru, two of the countries that border the Putumayo River. Their aim was to both document the wildlife that lives there, and also learn how people in the region are working to protect it. Within the vast Putumayo region, the team surveyed sites across an area about the size of Massachusetts.
A first look at trip highlights
Scientifically, the Putumayo River corridor is one of the most poorly known places on the planet. That’s where our rapid inventory team, a group of biological and social scientists, comes in. They spent three weeks in the region gathering as much information as possible: talking to people, collecting samples from over 1,000 plants, and snapping photos of hundreds of animals. They shared a few of their initial findings—a rare jaguar caught on candid camera!—and gave us a sense of this collaborative effort.
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The Putumayo River is important for the people who live in the region. It has great cultural significance, is their source for food, and is a highway that is used to transport their goods.
The social science team met with many different groups who live in and rely on the Putumayo corridor.
A jaguar takes a close look at one of our camera traps. This approach helps us document wildlife that would otherwise be hard to spot, therefore getting a better sense of what lives in an area.
The mammals team didn’t expect to see any white-lipped peccaries on the inventory, but the camera trap captured this herd, including adults and young ones.
Michelle Thompson, a Field conservation ecologist, and David Sánchez, Colombian herpetologist from Instituto Sinchi, label amphibian and reptile specimens.
Most animals aren’t collected but are carefully photographed so that the species can be identified and recorded. Here, Christian Baldeón and Germán Chávez photograph a smooth-fronted caiman (Paleosuchus trigonatus).
A green anaconda (Eunectes murinus) that the team spotted in a shallow stream. Anacondas are hard to find thanks to their cryptic coloration, or camouflage.
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What’s next for the Putumayo?
Though the Field has conducted 30 previous inventories over the years, the team said this trip was one of the most complex. It was not only the biggest space they’ve been to—nearly seven million acres—but also involved working with dozens of groups. The river is bordered by four countries (Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador), meaning that many people are invested in this area’s future.
Rapid Inventory 31 ended on a hopeful note, with a meeting between representatives from indigenous groups, government agencies, religious groups, businesses, and others who live or work in the region. The ultimate goal? To find a way for everyone living in and relying on the Putumayo corridor to work towards the same conservation goals. There’s still a lot of work to be done, but this was a major milestone as the Field’s first-ever binational inventory. The team is continuing to work on research that can ultimately contribute to the future protection of this unique landscape.
From bathing in the river to sleeping in hammocks, learn more about how our scientists work and live in the jungle during rapid inventories.
