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2024 Newsletter and end-of-the-year wrap-up

Dear Friends and Supporters of Project Amazonas (PA). I hope that the past year was a good one for you despite all the craziness in the world, and that you are staying positive, happy and healthy. We certainly appreciate your interest and involvement in what we do in the Peruvian Amazon, and there is plenty to bring you up to date on, particularly since I didn’t manage to send out a 2023 newsletter for reasons you’ll see below. If there is only ONE thing that you have time to read, please go directly to Tapiche Blog, otherwise keep reading!

 

This newsletter will be in a shorter format than previous ones. I’ve elected to post material to our website where it can be accessed by anyone (not just those on the mailing list), so I expect that will help generate more interest and support. Some additional news items will be posted to the website after this gets sent out, and if you subscribe to the website (always free) you’ll get an automated notice when new material is posted. This will first go out to our past supporters, and then when everything is updated, I’ll work through our full list of contacts, so don’t be surprised to see an updated version of this email in the future.

 

For those worried that the presidential political crisis in Peru in late 2023 and early 2024 has affected our staff and activities, relax. The Iquitos and Amazon regions were largely untouched by protests and road blockages. Over the holidays, residents were much more concerned about being ready for Christmas and New Year’s parties than with politics. The main protest areas were in the mountainous areas where former president Castillo had his political support base, and some of those supporters took their protests to the capital of Lima. Everybody also knows that any shut-down of access to Peru’s #1 tourist attraction, Machu Picchu, is guaranteed to get widespread domestic and international press attention. It comes as no surprise then, that blocking the routes to Machu Picchu is a common occurrence whenever sectors of the population have a gripe to air. As of February 2024, however, most, if not all, of the political turmoil was restricted to the Peruvian congress – sound familiar?

 

In very good news, however, the Covid-19 Pandemic is OVER in Peru! 

 

Yes, Covid-19 is still present, of course, and we’ll all be living with it or some version of it for the rest of our lives. But the pandemic IS over. As of 12 October 2022, Peru lifted all covid-related travel and movement restrictions and requirements. No more mask mandates – anywhere. No social-distancing requirements, no contact tracing or tracking apps.

 

After suffering horribly during the first 18 months of the pandemic and having the highest (verified) per-capita death rate in the world, Peru now has the 2nd highest rate of vaccination in South America (after Chile), with (as of November 2023) 84.3% of the population fully vaccinated and boosted, and 89.8% at least partially vaccinated (as of 7 Feb 2024 – Chile’s partial vaccination as of the same date was 91.3%). This is a magnificent achievement, and the Peruvian Ministry of Health and all involved are to be congratulated for their efforts. For comparison, the US had (by 10 May 2023) a fully vaccinated rate of 70% and a partially vaccinated rate of 81.3% (as of Feb 2024), despite having started with vaccinations months earlier than Peru, and having many more resources available. It is darkly funny that it is much easier to find up-to-date covid information for Peru than for the USA.

 

How did Peru achieve this? For starters, there was unified messaging, and vaccinations were never politicized. There was also a carrot and stick approach for those who were hesitant about being vaccinated (for whatever reason). Government payments for supporting children in school, or for senior citizen pensions, and similar pandemic assistance programs and payments were tied to being vaccinated. No jab, no moolah. A bit of strong-arming, perhaps, but people were free to turn down government financial assistance if they felt very strongly about not being vaccinated. Clearly most recipients of such assistance opted for the vaccinations. Likewise, it was not so long ago in rural areas when 50% of children died of vaccine-preventable diseases before the age of 5 years old. Older people remember those days, and thus appreciate the life-saving value of vaccinations.

 

Medical service trips are up and running again, and we are eager to get those back up to full speed in  2025 and 2026.

 

We kicked off our post-shutdown service trips with a November 2021 dental and medical campaign at our Orosa River clinic, where there was a large pent-up demand for dental services. It was a small group anchored by our regular dentist, Dr. Roy Ocmin Saavedra, our Orosa Clinic technician Jairo Tapayuri, and assisted by two Swiss medical students, Ramon Eichenberger and Michael Meyer. You will be able to see a short write up and some photos on our Orosa Clinic Dental Campaign news item when I get around to posting that on this website.

 

Our first full-scale post-pandemic trip was to the Ampiyacu River in April 2022 with a small but eager cohort of medical students, nurses, and our Peruvian dentist and doctor. While I was unable to host a corresponding trip in April/May 2023, being in surgical recovery, board member Michael Barber graciously and efficiently hosted that trip. I’ll be working at putting a blog about the 2022 trip on the PA website in the near future – I’ve got a ton of photos to share, and people are often asking me what a service trip is like, so that will be a good opportunity to share the experience more widely. In 2025 we do have a number of service trips planned - inquire about dates if you are interested.

 

On the medical front, we have been fortunate to have the MGY medical training group back in July 2022 and July 2023. They hosted an enthusiastic cohort of community health workers at our Madre Selva Biological Station for several intensive days of hands-on medical examination techniques and training in the use of medications and basic medical equipment.

 

Academic study groups are also back in force. In 2022 we had good academic groups from Florida Gulf Coast University (FL) and Montreat College (NC). We did have a couple of cancellations in 2023 due to the political situation in Peru, but added a new academic research group in August/September 2023 from Anglia Ruskin University in England, and then 2023 ended strongly with an enthusiastic group from Berkshire Community College coming at the end of December and staying into January 2024. There were couple of fantastic photographers in the bunch and they graciously gave me permission to use their photos, so another upcoming post will feature that trip and their experience. We rang in the New Year on our boat on the Amazon River – certainly a unique experience for the participants.

 

Additional academic groups are on tap in the coming months, and we’re looking forward to sharing “our” Amazon with them!

 

Research is also back in full swing. Even while pandemic travel restrictions were still in place in 2021, we had fungus photographer and researcher Taylor Lockwood on site at Santa Cruz for an extended period of time where he was searching for bioluminescent fungi and was taking time-lapse photography of fungi. You can see some of the stunning footage on this clip that he kindly prepared for us.

 

In 2022, we were fortunate to host spiral ginger (genus Costus) expert David Skinner at our field sites, and a full write up on that is available at our Costus blog. Accompanying us on that trip was also James Borrego Resner who took a lot of drone footage at our field stations, some of which can soon be seen on our Madre Selva and Santa Cruz portions of our website (I’ll work at editing and posting more in the immediate future!). Having a birds-eye perspective on things certainly gives you a greater appreciation for the vastness of the Amazon rainforest.

 

Also in 2022 and into 2023, student researchers from Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) and the National University of the Peruvian Amazon (UNAP) collaborated on research looking at the impact of human disturbance on wildlife at our field stations and nearby areas – the camera traps that they put out on various trails turned up some surprising footage of animals that we didn’t expect to see at the sites – you can check out that footage and much more in our All Creatures Great and Small blog. Do be sure to revisit this blog in the future, as there is a lot of new footage to add in!

 

Over the past two years, our field stations have seen a number of upgrades in facilities and amenities over the past year and half. The one thing that is true of the jungle is that maintenance is always required, and we’ve been working to make sure that any new construction is stronger, more practical, and more durable, to minimize future maintenance.

 

At our flagship Madre Selva Biological Station, we now have a wood-working annex, one end of which has been turned into a dedicated generator and fuel-storage room. Upstairs in the same annex, we will be putting in additional crew quarters and a storage area. The elevated cabins (tambos) all had new insect screening installed and are also now equipped with 24/7 LED lighting and USB chargers for electronics.

 

Santa Cruz saw the reconstruction of the original set of bathooms (2 showers, 2 toilets) and the construction of a similar set of bathrooms across the field station clearing, doubling our bathroom facilities. Early 2024 also saw the near completion of a replacement building for our original dining hall/classroom structure, originally built as a one-story, wood-floor building in 2009. The new structure has a concrete floor at ground level, high ceiling, a second floor (currently open air), and a roof of plastic roofing sheets, as opposed to the heat trapping tin-roof that covered the original structure. One of the biggest expenses for the new structure was the transport of materials. From the river edge to the field station site, it is 1,800 meters, or nearly 1.5 miles, and everything – sand – cement – rebar – tools - bricks – other materials – was transported by porters. Hundreds of roundtrips were involved, and until you’ve carried 120 pounds of sand for 1.5 miles, don’t underestimate the amount of effort involved. I could perhaps make the trip twice in a day with half the weight, with a long rest-period in between trips, but we had people half (or 1/3rd) my size and 1/5th my age do 6 round-trips in a morning. These guys are amazingly strong!

 

The second floor of the structure is now completed, with an open sitting area for hammocks and chairs and 6 private rooms. Rainwater is being collected from the roof surface and will add to our “potable water independence” at the site.

 

We did have some adventures with our fleet of boats over the past years - those will be detailed in the next month or so on the website – but we do need to raise funds for a new motor for our MaiKai speedboat – our first workhorse boat that has served us for nearly 20 years now, and which has been restored to good shape after it’s “adventure” (stay tuned, but a new Yamaha 200 HP motor is currently US $12,490 in Iquitos – anyone need a tax write-off for 2025?).

 

Our live-aboard boat, the Esperanza, continues to serve us well for medical and academic trips, and has become quite popular with charter groups when it is not in service otherwise. On-going regular maintenance and a new paint job in Dec 2024 has it looking spick and span.

 

A major positive development for us was acquiring a property in Iquitos in 2022 that is serving as our new base of operations in the city. Thanks to the generosity of a major donor, as well as a couple of strokes of luck, we found a property close to where we keep our boats in Bellavista-Nanay, at the very northern end of the city close to where the Nanay River joins the Amazon. A modern 2-storey house anchors the property and provides ample space for storage, a full kitchen, accommodations for up to 6 persons (currently), as well as caretaker quarters and plenty of space for expansion, as the property measures 40m x 130m in total dimensions. At high water we can also bring our boats right up to the back gate of the property, as it borders an old channel of the Itaya River which floods at high water each year. For me personally, it has been wonderful to have a room where I can have a full office, as well as a place to keep all the field gear and personal belongings that I no longer need to transport back and forth.

 

In the near future we’ll be working at adding additional accommodations to host medical service groups, as well as to provide an Iquitos location for seminars and training sessions.

 

Low Water: 2023 and 2024 saw record low water levels on the Amazon River and its tributaries. Along with the low water, came very dry conditions and quite a few forest fires. From August through November of both years, it was very difficult to access some of our field sites, but happily since early December 2024, river levels have come up considerably. I’ll be posting a news item on the website with some photos and additional details.

 

Three final items before I wrap this up, followed by a funding appeal (you’ve been duly warned…)

 

Tapiche Reserve – Área de Conservación Tapiche (ACT): In late 2022, we took over management of this stunning site some 400 km south of Iquitos.  I encourage you to read the Tapiche Blog (with many photos), and also to click on the GoFundMe link (at the end of the blog) to watch an embedded video and also see a tribute to the visionary founder of the reserve – Murilo da Costa Reis.

 

Santa Cruz and the Iquitos Bridge: The bridge over the Nanay River (which I wrote about in my 2021 newsletter) has been completed for well over a year now, but it still ends in a dirt track on the far side. A road from there to Mazan is currently (Jan 2025) in the vegetation clearing stage. While we hoped that the road would follow close to the Amazon (and not directly affect us), it is now confirmed that it will followD the high ground between the Napo and Amazon rivers (eliminating the need for any bridges). As a result, the road will pass directly through the two parts (the Amazon watershed side, and the Mazan watershed side) of our Santa Cruz reserve. We acquired the first plot of land at Santa Cruz when a 40+ year old road that had become totally overgrown was re-bulldozed back in 2008. At that time, we envisioned saving a small patch of primary rainforest, and establishing an education center. That road was never paved or maintained, however, and quickly grew impassible, even as we added additional parcels of land to the reserve. Now we will need to go back to that original vision, build and staff an education center, and install sturdy fencing and signage.

 

The latest word is that the road won’t be very wide – a mere 4 meter or 13’-wide strip of compacted clay topped with gravel. If that proves to be true, a few good rains and a couple of heavy trucks will probably make the road impassible. Gravel is also non-existent in the area and will need to be imported from far far upriver. It is expensive, but it is needed for good concrete work. My expectation is that much of it will be “diverted” to building projects by the local population, though I would never ever think of mentioning that possibility to anyone.

 

Our Founder – Albert Slugocki: Lastly, it is with sadness that I report that our founder and inspiration, Albert Slugocki, passed away at the age of 92 on 9 December 2023. Just a few months later, Margaret Slugocki also passed away on 23 March 2024. In recognition of his many years of service in the armed forces of the United States, Albert was interred with military honors in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on 15 May 2024. Albert introduced me to the Peruvian Amazon when Project Amazonas was founded in 1994. He and Margaret mentored and advised me, and gradually let me test my wings, before turning over the day-by-day management of the organization. Without them, Project Amazonas would have never existed. I had the pleasure of last visiting with Albert and Margaret on 9 November 2023 at which time both were in good spirits and full of humor. I treasure that memory. When I departed, I took the photo at the left - my apologies that Margaret isn’t in focus in the image.

 

You can read an homage to Albert and Margaret on our website.

 

 

A Final Appeal: To wrap this up, I’m doing something I’ve rarely done before, and that is to ask you to be generous in your support of Project Amazonas this year. Some of you have supported us year after year, and we are truly appreciative of that support. Others of you may have limited financial ability to support our work and mission in the Amazon, but every little bit truly helps. Still others of you may have only recently learned about Project Amazonas. Sharing this newsletter with your friends, family and coworkers, or on social media is yet another way of supporting the organization.

 

Whatever level of support you may be able to provide, we pledge to use it as wisely and efficiently as possible to advance our mission, with its goals of rainforest conservation and protection, while serving the medical and educational needs of the people who live in the Amazon, and who are its first line of defense. With rapid climate change happening in our lifetimes, the rainforests of the Amazon are increasingly critical for stemming global warming. If we want our grandchildren to have the chance to see jaguars, pink dolphins and giant kapok trees, to say nothing of coral reefs, polar bears and rhinos, we need to act now.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read this on behalf of myself and the Board of Directors of Project Amazonas.

 

Sincerely,

 

Devon Graham

President & Scientific Director, Project Amazonas

 

A personal note: My apologies for the very long delay in getting this out to you. 2022 and 2023 were rough years for me as I lost my partner of nearly 29 years, Peter Machonis, to cancer in March 2023, and then two days later had major heart surgery. The events leading up to both, and then the recovery afterwards put me back many months in terms of getting anything else done, so I’m quite happy to see 2023 and now 2024 in the rear-view mirror. I am, however, recovering well on both counts, with a good support system of extended family and friends and am looking forward to 2025. Peter’s support of my travels and involvement in Project Amazonas played a major role in helping the organization survive to the current time, so I owe him a big debt of gratitude for that. I’d also like to extend my sincere thanks to those of you who were “in the know” who sent messages of sympathy and support during that time. 

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Donation options:

 

By making a planned donation from a tax-deferred account (IRA, 401(K), 403(B) or other tax-differed account - contact devon@projectamazonas.org for details

 

By using Zelle (US banks only) to send funds directly to donate@projectamazonas.org  (Zelle has no fees for the sender or receiver)

 

By Check in US dollars from USA or Canadian banks (we can’t accept checks from non-US or Canadian banks) made out to “Project Amazonas” sent to:

 

Treasurer, Project Amazonas

701 E Commercial Blvd, #200

Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33334

 

By ACH Wire Transfer sent directly to Project Amazonas - bank account details available on request.

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For funds sent from the UK and the EU, XE, Wise and Transferwise have pretty good recommendations for speed of transfer and not charging high fees.

 

As a last resort (due to high fees), you can also send funds via PayPal – you can also use credit card with PayPal if you wish to do so.

 

By PayPal - send funds to email address donate@projectamazonas.org

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