In 2008, American Bird Conservancy helped lead a study analyzing the distribution of endangered and endemic bird species in an area within and around the Marañon Valley known as the Marañon-Alto Mayo Conservation Corridor, which constitutes more than six million acres of diverse habitats. This work was aimed at contributing to the detailed knowledge and conservation of the bird species that are restricted to this region, particularly those that are not well protected. Although the Marañon is considered to be a high conservation priority, barely 0.1% of it is currently protected; the lowest amount for any region in Peru (INRENA 2006). The outcome of the study was the proposal to create a number of conservation areas or areas for special conservation and sustainable development programs.

The study analyzed threat levels and bird distributions in the area to identify 64 bird species of conservation importance. Subsequently, an analysis of these species’ representation within Peru’s system of natural protected areas (SINANPE), determined 28 of them to be of the highest conservation priority.

Using information on the known locations for these highest conservation priority species and the most recent vegetation maps, the potential range for each species was projected. Based on these ranges, from one to seven potential conservation areas were identified for each species. The potential conservation areas for all species were then overlain using GIS mapping software. By identifying common areas for multiple species, the ten most representative areas were selected and proposed for a wide array of conservation strategies, from strict protected area status to sustainable conservation and community owned nature reserves.

The full results of the study and associated maps are available for download below (please note, some of these files are very large):

View the full Marañon-Altomayo Conservation Corridor study report (16MB)

Large-scale map showing species found in the Marañon (6MB)

Vegetation types within the projected range of the species studied (95 MB)

Species Potential range plotted on Landsat Imagery (79MB)

Proposed areas for conservation management, some of which include the creation of public protected areas (70MB)