O u t w i t h t h e o l d , i n w i t h t h e n e w : s u s t a in a b i l i t y a t t h e M a n u L e a r n i n g

Centre

With 2015 coming to an end here at the Manu Learning Centre, we wanted to reflect on the year in
terms of sustainability and how we plan to improve on our current efforts in 2016.
Sustainability is the capacity to endure; it is how biological systems remain diverse and productive
indefinitely. Healthy ecosystems and environments are necessary to the survival of humans and other
organisms. Although the MLC is not 100 per cent sustainable, it is on its way and we are always
looking for ways in which we can reduce negative human impact through environmental resource
management and environmental protection.
The underlying driver of direct human impacts on the environment is human consumption. This
impact is reduced by both consuming less and making the full cycle of production, consumption and
disposal, more sustainable.

The Manu Learning Centre

THE MANU LEARNING CENTRE
The Manu Learning Centre is a scientific research base and tourist lodge situated on a 650-hectare
plot of land which was once a Hacienda (ranch), which consisted a small holding with a house and
farming area that was established in 1953. This formerly multi-purpose plot is currently split into
three distinct forest types based upon what each area of land was used for: completely cleared and
now regenerating, partially cleared and now regenerating, and selectively logged and now

regenerating forest. In 2001, the Crees Foundation founder, Quinn Meyer, bought this plot of land and
established a private reserve, eventually building the Manu Learning Centre.
Since 2003, conservation, research and environmental education programmes have been underway,
some of which include working inside of Manu National Park and with local communities.
WORKING TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY
The Crees Foundations Sustainable Supply Chain Coordinator, Adrian Cabrera, has his sights set on
making the Manu Learning Centre more sustainable and heres how hes been doing so. Adrian has
been working in the MLC biogarden to get it producing more fruits and vegetables, hes been seeking
to better manage organic waste on-site, and hes been working closely with biogarden beneficiaries in
the community of Salvacin to provide them with a point of sales for any extra produce their
biogardens may have yielded during any given week. But most importantly, Adrian is trying to tie all
of these projects together in an effort to close the loop between the lodge and local communities, and
to minimise the impact we are having on the environment.
Lets take a closer look at some of his projects.
EFFICIENT INFRASTRUCTURE

Gravity fed water system

In the last year, we have made some serious modifications to some of our lodge infrastructure and
services. Maintenance staff worked to redevelop our water sourcing system, which is now gravity-fed
from a reliable stream two kilometres from the lodge. This is a vast improvement from our former
water source, which often dried out during the dry season meaning that we had to collect water from
the main river. This new water source supplies us with water for drinking, cleaning, and showering.
CONSUMPTION
In terms of food consumption, we currently receive bi-monthly deliveries from Cusco, which include
fruit, vegetables and meat. The food is delivered by bus to the port town of Atalaya, where it is
collected by boat to be transported to the MLC. Although our current menu regularly includes meat,
there are plans in place to limit meat consumption to once every few days.
Also, as previously mentioned, by working with the beneficiaries of Salvacin to purchase some of
their biogarden produce overflow and by producing our own fruits and vegetables here at the MLC
biogarden, we are taking steps to reduce the size of these orders from Cusco.

MLC biogarden produce

In the last year the MLC biogarden has gone from experimenting with the growth of lettuce and
tomatoes to now growing over 25 different fruits and vegetables, including spring onions, spinach,
pumpkin, sweet peppers and passion fruit. Although many of these vegetables take time to grow, they
will make an enormous difference to the kitchen menu when they are harvested. This produce may
only supplement food deliveries in the beginning, but the hope is that eventually, we will be able to
reduce the amount of produce that is delivered to the MLC in lieu of our very own, homegrown fruits
and vegetables.
As well as producing our own produce at the MLC, we have also strengthened relationships with
some of the biogarden beneficiaries in Salvacin. Seor Doroteo regularly supplies us with sweet
peppers, herbs and papayas, and Profesora Juana has sold us kilos of tomatoes, lettuce, and cabbage.
WASTE DISPOSAL MANAGEMENT
Cooked Organic Waste

Piglets at the MLC

We have implemented a system for cooked organic waste produced at meal times. We split the waste
into two different buckets: one for cooked organic waste, such as rice and potatoes, and another for
raw organic waste, such as fruit skins and teabags. With the recent purchase of two piglets, who live
in a large pen close to the biogarden, we are now able to virtually eliminate all cooked organic waste
between them, they digest a total of four kilograms of food per day!

This is an important project because we produce tonnes of kilos of waste every month and if we
want to be sustainable, we have to deal with it. The pigs eat a lot of this waste, says Adrian.
And as for the raw organic waste
Raw organic waste

Organic Compost
it becomes compost. Composting is just one way in which we are closing the loop. Hot compost is
a technique that speeds up the decomposition process by combining leaves, grass, organic waste, and
water. The compost is turned every two days to oxygenate it, therefore aiding anaerobic
decomposition, then it is bagged up and used as needed in the MLC biogarden, giving new seedlings a
great start by enriching the nutrient-poor soil in which they are planted. According to Adrian, using
the hot compost technique currently produces approximately 200kg of healthy, nutrient-rich compost
per month.
Without a doubt, the organic waste that is produced at the MLC is, when managed responsibly, a
valuable resource for us here.
Cardboard

Invertebrates offering a sustainable solution

The Manu Learning Centre is home to many termite colonies, so one system that weve devised is
placing stacked cardboard in areas of the forest close to these colonies. The termites then eat the
cardboard, which in turn provides the forest floor with calcium. And for any surplus cardboard, it is
disposed of through burning and the resulting ash is then placed within our compost shed, regulating
the pH of the soil.

Plastic Bottles
Sadly, Peru does not have an advanced recycling system, so we dont have many option when it come
to recycling plastics and other non-organic waste. General garbage is currently sent to Cusco, though
weve made steps to minimise this export through creative innovation, such as the incorporation of
plastic bottles into biogardens as supporting structures or planters..

Finding solutions for plastic bottles

We have traditionally used caa brava, a bamboo-like material, to build biogarden beds but this
material has a short lifespan and rots easily when wet, so by using recycled plastic bottles of which
there are many in larger communities, such as Salvacin we are hoping to not only prevent them
from making their way to the nearby landfill, but also create a more enduring garden bed structure. By
simply filling them with sand they can be arranged around the edges of the beds in the biogardens of
Salvacin, such as our community team has done at the local high school and Productive Enterprise
Manager, Reynaldo Ochoas, garden. When cut in half, plastic bottle can also be used to grow
vegetables, which offer advantages as they do not take up ground space and naturally drain
themselves when holes are cut out in the bottle. Plans are also in progress to build a greenhouse using
plastic bottles at the MLC biogarden.
THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABILITY AT THE MLC
So, whats in store for 2016? Moving forward sustainably here at the MLC, we have some large-scale
and smaller-scale projects in the pipeline. One aim for the coming months is to create a worm farm for
the dung produced by the pigs. This worm farm will be a multi-level structure which will allow the
dung to pass through the worms to become useable compost.
Another potential project that weve got our sights set on is the production of biogas. We would be
looking to utilise the pig dung, which when combined with water in a large plastic bag, produces
methane gas. This could be used as an alternative to the liquid gas that we currently use to cook and
keep our refrigerators cool. Interestingly, this biogas use has been experimented with across river in
Salvacin. Our Productive Enterprise Manager, Reynaldo Ochoa, has built a fully functional biodigester for human waste that supplies him and his family with gas for cooking and electricity. He is
one of just a few people in Salvacin who use this system to create free, sustainable power.
We are on the right track, says Adrian. If we carry on with our current project, we will be
significantly more sustainable. If someone takes control of all aspects around camp like the biogarden;
its production, the waste, the element of recycling and the consumption of products.
Jack Mortimer

Off-the-beaten-track storytelling: Q&A with Emma

Marris

Emma Marris is an accomplished freelance writer whose stories have been featured in
prominent publications, including Conservation, Slate, Discover, the New York
Times and Nature. Though based in the United States, Emma recently visited the Manu
Learning Centre (MLC) on her way back from Manu National Park, where she was stationed
for three weeks collecting material for an upcoming story that she is writing for National
Geographic. Assistant Rainforest Journalist, Jack Mortimer (JM), sat down with Emma (EM)
to discuss her passions, profession, and, of course, her latest project.

JM: Youve been published in quite a few notable magazines and publications, but where did
your career begin?
EM: I did a one-year Masters degree in Science Writing [at Johns Hopkins University] in
2003. After that, I got an internship with the journal of Nature, then they hired me after my
internship was over as a staff reporter. I worked with them until 2007 when I went freelance
thats my CV in a nutshell. I think being a freelancer is a lot of fun because I can do the big
flashing lights National Geographic, but I also write for a lot of other publications as well.
JM: So as a freelancer, that means that youre pitching stories to publicationshow did you
get involved in this current project?

EM: Well, in this case, [the story] came to me. When you start out as a journalist, you have to
pitch stories like a crazy person because part of the value that youre bringing is the story
itself, not just that you can type.
Once you start making relationships with people, editors will have a story that they want
written and theyll think of you and theyll call you up. In this case, thats what happened. An
editor that I knew and worked with before called me and said, We want to do a story of
Manu, and youve already been so wed like to send you again. So thats how this one came
to me.
JM: Even though you had already visited Manu, the Amazon is such an unpredictable place.
How do you prepare to embed yourself in a difficult environment such as the rainforest?
EM: I took notes last time about logistical stuff, like gear, and so I felt better prepared in that
regard this time because I knew what the conditions were going to be like. I didnt bring my
neoprene boots this time, for example. I chose lighter boots and I brought two bottles of hot
sauce because theres not very much hot sauce down heresurprisingly, you grow some very
hot chilies here and there are definitely some hot sauces around, but not enough. I needed
more hot sauce security.
I tried to brush up on my Spanish, I read a couple of books about tropical ecology, and I
started a recent book that just came out a big biography of an explorer that came through
this region called ___________.
You can prepare too much and predetermine what you will see. If you have already
convinced yourself of what you think youre going to see, then youll make yourself see that.
JM: Yeah, I suppose you dont want to be too prepared
EM: I totally agree with that
So, thats about it. I packed up all my gear and I was sure I was going to fit it in one bag but I
ended up having to take two, because I also went to Tasmania first and then flew straight
here. Thats how I have prepared [to come here], mostly by obsessing over packing, and I
bought some stuff that I wish Id had last time, like the hot sauce and duct tape and a head net
because in Cocha Cashu the white flies are murder.
JM: Youve been in Peru for three weeks, which may seem like a lot to most people, but when
youve got so much research to do, it probably isnt enough! So, how do you get to the heart
of the story in such a short period of time?
EM: In the city, when your reporting, you can send people emails and schedule appointments
to do interviews and that kind of stuff, but here you cant. Many Machiguengas [a local
indigenous people] dont have email accounts, so its all about letting things happen. You just
wake up in the morning and you say, Okay were gonna try and find this one guy and then
you go out and try and find him and you go to his house and hes not therebut theres

somebody else there, so you say, Okay, Ill go with you and you have to kind of go with the
flow. Something interesting will happen I had a lot of luck on this trip in that regard.
I went to Diamante and I wanted to interview the president about what the community
thought about the proposed new road. We walked into town and there was the president
sitting there in front of a tienda [shop]. There was a lot of serendipity like that.
I fill up these notebooks which Ive got. This is my fifth notebook and there are so many
different feeds and threads and ideasIll have to choose eventually which one to go with.
For example, you could structure the whole story around the automobile, which is funny
because there are no cars here but the whole structure where everybody lives in Manu is a
legacy of the rubber boom. The rubber boom is all about making tires, so the rubber boom
basically drove all of these movements of people, this violence, all of this death and
migrations. Where people live and who they are friends with are a result of the rubber boom
and now they want to build a road so cars can come to this area.
So you can kind of bracket the whole story with this car thing, but that is just one idea.
Then the other thing that I can do is show how all of the different groups of people that I
talked to, the Piro, the [Machiguenga], and the various different communities, are at different
levels of remove from the global economy. How they will define biodiversity? What kind of
diversity is important to them? Its very different, the way that the Machiguengas talked about
what the park does: The park protects the delicious things that we eat. Its a different way of
thinking about biodiversity. In some of these communities, its the foods that they eat to
survive. Theyre not eating rice, theyre eating yucca and monkey and fish and pineapples
and papaya from the forest.
Now, in Shipetiari they are too terrified to go out in the woods hunting because of the
[Maschopiro]. They told me they are eating a lot of fish there now. Theyre not about to turn
pescatarian they love monkey, its their favorite thing. But watching the hunting there, it
seemed clear to me that they way that they are doing it now is pretty sustainable. There are
not very many of them, theyve got bows and arrows, their success rate is low, they only hunt
during the wet season, the whole dry season they leave them alone. And, yes, there is a little
hunted out zone around each village, but if you walk past that, monkeys are there and every
time they stop hunting them [during the dry season], the hunted out zone begins to shrink
again. My guess is that the way they are doing it now is pretty sustainable but they may not
do it forever.
The heart of what the readers will be interested in is: can people co-exist with this jewel of
biodiversity? And thats the question that I came in with. It seems clear to me already that
these little native communities inside the park are not a big threat. I think a much bigger
threat comes from outside of the parks borders as they press closer.
JM: We actually hosted Charlie Hamilton James over the summer, both on his way into and
out of Manu National Park, where he was taking photographs for this story. Now, four
months later, youre putting together the written component of it. So, how closely have you
and Charlie worked on this collaboration?

EM: We talked quite a bit before we came out. We were hoping to come out together, but
various logistical problems precluded that, so we ended up having to come out separately.
But what he did, is he whittled down the photos that he liked and then he went to National
Geographic and whittled them down some more.
He sent me a couple dozen photos the top contenders with minimal captions. So, I spent a
lot of time looking at those photos on the trip and trying to think about how the story that Im
seeing on the ground relates to the photos and trying to also actively follow up on those
images. Where there were images that had names listed that I wanted, I would talk to those
people. There are stories everywhere so it works. He could have taken a photo of any random
person in Manu and I would have been able to get a great story out of it because everybody
has a great story, especially here.
JM: It seems that you have to invest a lot of time and interest in these kinds of stores. So,
what kind of impact do these stories have on you once you step away from them?
EM: Im an environmental journalist and I have some other environmental journalist friends.
We go camping and drink beers around the campfire and we worry about whether [or not] our
work is helpful, whether it actually changes things for the better. Sometimes it feels like it
does and sometimes it feels like people just read it and say Oh my goodness, what a horrible
thing and nothing changes. But how it affects me is an interesting question.
I think that any person who lives a comfortable Western life, its good for them to get out of
that every once in a while and see how people live around the world. I dont tend to think
about myself too much during this process of reporting. I think about whats going on here,
whats going on in this situation, how are all of these people interacting and if I get too pulled
into the situation, I tend to think of that as a negative. Like if I become really sympathetic
towards somebody, its harder for me to write about them objectively and that can be
problematic.
On a scientific level, I have written stories that change my opinion about things. In 2005 I
wrote a story about the National Park Service and how much money they spend trying to
eradicate non-native species in the United States. I spoke to tons of people about how harmful
these species were to the environment and whether they were actually driving species extinct
or not. And I came away with this kind of surprising result that the national parks were just
wasting a lot of money on a program that wasnt that effective and they should be spending
their money on other stuff, like buying land or preserving species rather than spraying pounds
and pounds of herbicide on some non-native shrub.
It happens to me fairly frequently that I have some received wisdom and that gets overturned.
Im not sure if that will happen hereI have definitely been surprised by things. But I came
in knowing that there were not simple answers in a place like this.
JM: Yeah, its a complex place. Im sure youve had many memorable experiences, but is
there one stand out moment for you from this trip?
EM: There are just so many, little intimate moments with the Machiguenga people that are
stuck out in my head. Theres a woman called Paulina, who I will probably end up quoting in

the story, who is whip smart, probably would have been a great teacher but they didnt really
have great schooling when she was growing up. She goes to all the meetings and is really
active in the community. She would like to move to Lima and get a college education or
something, but shes also quite conservative and traditional in her own way. When I asked
her what makes her happy, she said that when her mother was growing up in the head waters,
she ate yucca and bananas and pineapples and now she eats yucca and bananas and
pineapples and thats what makes her happy. So, its that continuity. She was spinning cotton
while she was telling me this and I just thought it was an interesting vote in favor of cultural
continuity.
Another moment that stands out is when I was hanging out with this girl called Mylee, whos
10. We were just kind of clowning around and they had occasional head lice outbreaks so
they would check each other. So, I was pretending to check her hair and she was like, Pffft
you dont know how to check for lice and it cracked me up because she was just like, Crazy
white lady, typical gringo, she doesnt know how to check for head lice.
But then there was also this great moment when we were coming into Tayakome from
Yomibato in the peque [peque] the little loud motor boat and after so many hours, I
couldnt even hear the motor anymore, it has just melded with my consciousness. We were a
little late getting going, there was obviously some masato [a local brew made from yucca],
we were kind of taking our time and we arrived in Tayakome maybe 45 minutes after sunset.
On that river, its much smaller, its much less dangerous to boat by night. So, we watched
the sunset by night and it was just beautiful. This gorgeous river with flowers arching over
itthen the stars came out and it was the perfect Amazonian moment. I loved it. Its nice on
the river too, as most of the bugs cant get at you.
Some days, I would just go fishing with the boat drivers. I would finish my working day at
17:00 and we would just jump across the river and fish for an hour. Those were some of my
favourite moments because they are just the most relaxed guys. The boat guys can just look
down stream and be happy. Maybe thats what I liked about those moments, is that after two
and a half weeks of being in the rainforest, I finally learned how to just be and not be
frantically thinking, Whats next? What time is it?
I think I chilled out over the three weeks. At the start, I was much more anal about schedules
and times and sticking to plans. I think that being too rigid with your plan is a bad idea, stuff
that distracts you from getting to that interview on time is often better material than the
interview.
JM: At the end of this journey, youve been able to drop by the MLC, must be a different
experience for you after being in Manu National Park. What have been your first
impressions?
EM: One thing is that coming here after being in the [national] park, its neat to see how
thrilled everyone is here about biodiversity, how clued in they are, and how focused they are.
You could almost see this place as kind of a monastery for a religion of biodiversity,
devotional walks, collecting all this biodiversity data. Its wonderful to see these students
from Australia learning the names of all these butterflies and being thrilled. I asked a couple

of them How does this forest compare to what you expected? and they were like Its way
better its so awesome and thats wonderful.

Katie Lin

Invertebrates of the jungle: not so creepy crawlies

While this might not be a blog for everyones tastes, if you can move past the fear and the shivers,
you will experience an often unseen piece of jungle life: the weird and wonderful mini-beasts that rule
the rainforest understory.
As children, we receive mixed signals about invertebrates. While we fearlessly explore the places in
which they live, climbing in caves and under logs, catching them and keeping them as pets,
unfortunately for many, as we grow up, our thoughts on the matter shifts. For some, they become yet
more enthused by these small creatures; but for others, they become a subject of disgust, creepy
crawlies, to be feared and not reckoned with. Here at the Manu Learning Centre, there is an amazing
biodiversity of all things small and that inner child will often resurface upon their discovery. For
some, they delight in finding, collecting and bringing back all manor of invertebrates to photograph
and show other members of camp. For others, they recoil in fear.
Below is a list of 10 of the most striking invertebrates that I have encountered at the Manu Learning
Centre Reserve and hopefully, at seeing these incredible invertebrates up close, I can also put to rest
some of the fears weve learned in association with them!

Tailless Whip-Scorpion
1. The Tailless whip-scorpion with its spike-equipped pincers and long legs is a viscous looking invert
to say the least, but it is, in fact, harmless to humans. This tiny subject seems to be one of the
most feared by new visitors and can often be seen scurrying through leaf litter on trails or near camp.
In the eyes of many volunteers, no rainforest experience is complete without having this species
placed on their face for a photograph. One one-month volunteer who recently visited us from
Australia, saw one of these whip scorpions on her first night a the MLC and ran across to the other
side of the room. By the last night of her stay, she not only held it, but had it walking all over her
face!

Clearwing Moth
2. These usually diurnal moths resembles flies, wasps and bees and many species are pests of fruit and
other trees and shrubs. This species was photographed on a tomato plant.

Amazonian Leaf-footed Bug (Leptoglossus zonatus)

3. The Amazonian Leaf-footed Bug, a type of true bug, are named as such because of the leaf-like
expansions some species have on their legs. They can be found throughout South and Central
America, Mexico and the southwest of the United States.

Jumping Spider (Salticidae)

4. Jumping Spiders are aptly named as they can spring more than 50 times their own body length to
land on unsuspecting prey. They hunt actively rather than catching prey in a web and they have
excellent vision, with four big eyes in front and four smaller eyes on the top of their head. The 5,000
species of jumping spider (salticids) make up one of the largest families.

Dead Leaf Katydid (Tettigoniidae)

5. Primarily nocturnal, many katydids exhibit mimicry and camouflage, most commonly taking on the
shape and look of leaves. This species, above, integrates the look of a dead and diseased leaf into its
disguise. Katydids eat leaves, flowers, the stems, and fruits of many plants; a few species of katydids
are also predators and will eat other insects.

Lanternfly (Fulgoridae)
6. Many tropical fulgorids are notable for their bizarrely shaped, bulbous heads and are also known as
lantern flies, as the head was once thought to glow. The head mimics that of a juvenile caiman with
toothlike markings down the sides and large eye spots on the hind wings.

Praying Mantids

7. Here in Manu, we have many different species of mantid including leaf, stick and moss mimics,
with praying mantis, such as that pictured above, being one of the most delicate species. The
common name praying mantid is derived from the distinctive way in which mantids hold their front
legs up and together as if in prayer.

Anteros renaldus (Riodinidae)

8. This butterfly is a member of the family Riodinidae which are the least-understood of the butterfly
families in the Neotropics and are possibly the richest in colour, shape, and marking. They tend to
resemble other butterflies, so are often misidentified. This species is found in rainforest and humid
deciduous forest at altitudes between about 200-800m above sea level.

Unidentified Hairy Caterpillar

9. This unidentified yellow hairy caterpillar was found at camp here at the Manu Learning Centre.
Unlike other hairy caterpillars, this one is non-toxic and mimics that of a toxic caterpillar. I have
never seen a caterpillar that is so extremely hairy it was impossible to distinguish which end of the
caterpillar I was photographing or where its feet even were!

Leaf Cutter Ants

10. Finally, the farmers of the insect world: leafcutter ants grow their own food in underground
fungus farms. Pieces of leaves are carried hundreds of metres in impressive processions, with each ant
carrying a piece up to 50 times its own body weight. Here at the Manu Learning Centre, colonies of
leaf cutter ants are absolutely everywhere and can be seen around camp and on the trails carving roads
and motorways through the forest floor.
Jack Mortimer

The road into Manu (II): how will it affect local animal
communities?

Last week, the Crees Foundations Rainforest Journalist, Katie Lin, looked at the details
of regional plans to extend a local highway 29km further into Manu Biosphere Reserve
ultimately, from Maronal to Boca Manu and the main incentives behind it for the local
human population. This week, she briefly discusses how animal communities in the area
might be affected, both positively and negatively.

Recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1987, Manu Biosphere Reserve

within which Manu National Park is contained is one of the most biodiverse places in the
world. The biosphere boasts an impressive 1000+ bird species thats approximately 10 per
cent of the worlds bird species, over 200 mammals species, including the iconic jaguar, and
15 000+ plant species, and attracts thousands of nature enthusiasts and tourists every year.
Dr Chris Beirne, Crees Field Research Coordinator and co-author of apaper about the impact
of unmarked roads in the Western Amazon on biodiversity, speaks to the potential impact
that the proposed road into Manu may have on local fauna.
When you get increased access through big roads, which exist on maps, you also get the
proliferation of tiny roads that dont exist on maps and, all of a sudden, youve gone from a
place that is quite difficult to get to, to a place thats very easy to get to on a motorbike or in a
truck, he says.

Not only will people like hunters and loggers exploit this, but we have to remember that the
disturbance area around a road is not simply confined to where the physical disturbance is it
extends to the area thats accessible by humans as well.
For animal communities, some of the main issues with road construction and increased access
include noise disturbance, potential introduction of disease, and habitat fragmentation.
Regarding the fragmentation issue, for [animals] like birds that travel quite large distances
and long distances, its probably not a big deal, explains Chris, but for a small frog that
dries out quickly in the hot sun, thats quite a formidable barrier.

Frogs, such as this Dendrosophus rhodopeplus, and other animals may be affected by the
habitat fragmentation that road construction causes
With increased traffic, mammals and understory birds may also be at risk of being run over as
they cross the road from one section of forest to another. But as Chris notes, not all
disturbance will have a negative impact on local fauna. In addition to some bird species,
butterflies are less likely to encounter problems with the installation of a road and in fact,
they may even become more prevalent, attracted to the sunny clearing that it creates.
When you sample butterflies on the road, you actually get higher diversity, higher species
richness than if youre sampling in the middle of the forest, he says, citing an example from
the paper he and his colleagues wrote. So, there are reasons why roads could be great
habitats for things like butterflies, as long as theres forest surrounding them.

But this, too, becomes a challenge once a road has created access to previously untouched
sections of forest.
For many living in the Manu region, logging has been a profitable source of income.
However, increased deforestation and the presence of government institutions, such as
the National Service for Protected Natural Areas(SERNANP), which control activity in and
around the reserve, mean that it is no longer a viable option.
One solution that has been implemented by both the regional government and NGOs is
agroforestry, an agricultural technique that combines the plantation of food crops and trees.
Some models, such as that run by the Crees Foundation, specifically plant timber trees
alongside food crops in an effort to discourage illegal logging and increase ecosystem
services, such as improved soil quality.

Agroforestry is an agricultural technique that combines the plantation of food crops and trees;
some models can provide an alternative to illegal logging
Thorough research measuring the full impact of road construction on fauna and flora remains
to be carried out at road sites in Manu Biosphere Reserve, but regardless, such infrastructural
development in a populated area will always concern both wildlife and humans, sometimes
pitting conservation efforts against economic growth.
Youve always got to weigh up this idea that roads are bad, says Chris, but at the same
time, theres a community of people at the end of that road who want to have a better quality
of life.
So long as it remains rich in natural resources, the Manu Biosphere Reserve will continue to
be a target of resource exploitation, but with controlled infrastructural development, the
economic needs of local communities may just be able to be balanced out with the effective
preservation of natural and protected areas.
One way of encouraging more conscientious and informed development is through
environmental impact assessments, such as those conducted by SERNANP and another
way is through continued scientific research.

The hope is that this knowledge is eventually going to filter down to planners, policymakers, and stakeholders who do have a say in regional government policy, says Chris.
Knowledge is a good thing, but it has to be followed up with practical solutions to
problems.
For further information regarding the road into Manu, see Oliver Burdekins map
story and this piece by David Hill atthe Guardian.
Text & photos by Katie Lin
Katie Lin