We are proud to announce that the Cordillera Azul National Park project in Peru has been recognised by the IUCN Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas. The programme aims to encourage, achieve and promote effective, equitable and successful protected areas by highlighting examples of conservation of natural areas in practice.
The IUCN Green List is an internationally recognised standard for how protected areas should be managed. This designation endorses the conservation work of the Cordillera Azul National Park in the threatened landscape that the protected area manages.
The Cordillera Azul National Park, Peru
The Cordillera Azul National Park encompasses 1.35 million hectares with a buffer zone extending a further 2.3 million hectares, creating an area of 3.7 million hectares in a unique geological area where the Andes mountain range meets the Amazon rainforest. The Park was founded for two main reasons: to conserve the species, the ecosystems and the geological formations unique to the Park, and to promote sustainable development of neighbouring communities. Sadly, it is threatened by land-trafficking, logging, migratory and industrial agriculture and illegal crops.
We are delighted that the successes of the Cordillera Azul National Park conservation model have been highlighted. Climate finance is addressing the causes of deforestation and supporting sustainable development on the ground. The collaborative model of protected area management has made large scale conservation possible where the private sector is providing funding to support local NGOs and the public sector.
Patricia Fernández-Dávila, Executive Director of CIMA, the implementing NGO on the ground in Peru said, “After more than 16 years of hard work, at CIMA we see with great pride that the Cordillera Azul National Park can obtain the highest international recognition for good management of a protected area, achieving the high standard of the IUCN Green List. We feel ready to meet the challenge of maintaining this high standard through our collaborative approach to conservation, engaging communities and valuing ecosystems.”
Lydia Slobodian, Legal Officer at the IUCN who recently visiting the project, commented, “Cordillera Azul is a stunning and ambitious experiment in conservation. Its impressive scope is matched only by the creativity and dedication of the team involved. We are gratified to have the opportunity to work with such inspiring and motivated people.”
This announcement follows on from the naming of the Cordillera Azul National Park as one of 10 pilot projects in the IUCN Incubator for Nature Conservation in 2017, read more here.
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Read more about the IUCN Green List programme here: https://www.iucn.org/theme/protected-areas/our-work/iucn-green-list-protected-and-conserved-areas
