Urgent Threat to Cachil Forest

Pictures: 1- (c) Julio Corcuera demonstrating his land titles to Cachil Forest to mine company manager
2- Cachil residents demonstarting the mining activity being carried out.

In July of 2008 The Company Jesus 2008 was formed in Contumaza, Peru with the stated intention to explore mining in various regions throughout Contumaza and Cascas. In late July land titles to the Cachil Forest, Palo Seco (another forest near Cachil) and much of the upper areas of the Cachil valley were filed in Contumaza with the mining company stated as the owner. In the beginning of August residents began to and increase in activity in the valley: along the border of the forest and even inside it holes appeared, minerals extracted, makeshift houses constructed and traffic along the highway increased substantially. These activities are obvious precursors to mining activity. However there is a serious problem to this seemingly routine start up mine: the land titles filed in Contumaza were falsified. The true owners have never sold their land, never entered talks to sell and in fact only became aware of the situation when local villagers alerted Puentes to the activity in September of 2008.
Illegal appropriation of land is all too common in Peru. Like in many regions of the Andes the true owners of the land do not live in the Cachil Valley but in the city of Trujillo, five hours away and Cascas, two hours away. The owners hold the titles as a remnant of the hacienda culture of generations ago. As the moderately wealthy family is no longer living on their land it appears to the uninformed observer that the land is abandoned. As is normally the case local residents live and work on the land typically with the blessing of the land owner. Residents are often too poor and too isolated to change the ownership status. In addition owners rarely wish to sell.
However a quick revision of public records in Peru willtell any interested party who truly owns the land. The mining company, or whoever illegally “sold” the lands, did no such revision. In the case of Cachil the forest is actually owned by the family of Marco Antonio Corcuera, one of the most famous poets of Peru. As Corcuera is elderly his sons, Julio and Marco Corcuera, are in charge of the family assets. Julio in particular has taken a great interest in the preservation of the forest. However to completely protect the forest would require investment of up to a million dollars and as such he can do little from his home in Trujillo except visit the forest on a monthly basis to ensure that everything is well.
As the Corcuera family cannot outlaw the immense investment needed to preserve the forest numerous threats have surfaced in the past few years chief among them being increased tourism and illegal logging. These threats had still been reversible and manageable but had not grown yet to significantly damge irreparably the forest. In order to avoid irreversible damage to the forest Puentes offered help to the Corcuera family in September of 2007. We based our decision on the forest’s one of a kind properties, the unique divcersity of plants and animals (some endemic) and perhaps most importantly to preserve the water supply that the entire Cachil Valley and the town of Cascas (pop. 20,000) relies on. Our plan of action has always been to aid in the protection of the forest by improving the quality of life of the surrounding resident and empowering them to protect the natural richness that they have. Our logic has always been that since these residents live in the region they are the only ones capable of taking on the task of conservation. In addition many of the residents are actively participating in the logging however they do so out of their need. Only by giving them alternative means of earning a living can the cease this activity.
As stated in this newsletters opening letter we have secured financing to significantly advance our work in Cachil. Our excitement about this was short lived. Three days later news reached our offices about the mining activity.
The mine will divert all the water in the region. As this is a relatively small mine the company does not have the assets to ensure that the cyanide used to extract gold will not go to the water supply. In addition there is no active police force in the region and no one will be able to enforce water protection codes or for that matter the illegal appropriation. The water that flows from Cachil is a necessary component for our project and the town of Cascas of which 80% of the population (or 12,000 people) depend on the river for their water supply. Finally the mass amount of lumber needed to operate a mine would have ended the forest in a matter of months.
Puentes alerted Julio to the mining activity and Julio and Puentes director Enrique Plasencia immediately launched a counter attack. In the month since the discovery of the mine the issue has galvanized the cities of Trujillo, Cascas and Contumaza and has become of national interest. In addition Corcuera is preparing a lawsuit in Lima against the usurping company and supposed owners of the land. On September 28th a group of local authorities including congressmen, mayors, police; Julio Corcuera, Plasencia, press, residents of Trujillo and Cascas and local Cachil villagers confronted the miners and successfully expelled them from the property. The confrontation was not acrimonious. Most importantly the overwhelming show of concern against the mine marks perhaps the only time these group banded together to achieve a common goal. Yet no one believes that this problem is solved: in fact, far from it. The company or another will probably return within a few months believing that no one is interested. In the short term Puentes and the Corcuera family must define an institution to protect the forest as a natural reserve. In addition we must block private roads however do so with great care as local farmers need portions to effective transport crops and animals. Finally local leaders must be hired on by the Corcuera family, Puentes, and potential tourists (and as there has been much press about Cachil we suspect that tourism will rise more than ever) to protect the forest.
This issue is still very pressing. Please do consider supporting us to offset the costs. This is a dire situation that could destroy the Cachil Forest, the water supply, the agricultural reality and the well being of thousands of people. Only with widespread international support can we protect the forest and continue to improve the quality of life of Cachil Residents. Now, more than ever, we need your support.

Pictures: 1- minerals being mined at entrance of Cachil Forest

2- (c) Julio Corcuera demonstrating his land titles to Cachil Forest to mine company manager

BOSQUE CACHIL A PUNTO DE DESAPARECER

AUTORIZAN DENUNCIO MINERO EN EL BOSQUE CACHIL

El Bosque Cachil, ubicado en el límite entre las provincias de Contumazá (Cajamarca) y Gran Chimú (La Libertad) es uno de los ecosistemas más importantes del norte del Perú: de su interior nace el agua que riega el fértil valle de Cascas, el primer productor de vid y vino y se han encontrado especies vegetales únicas en su especie en el mundo entero. El Dr. Abundio Sagástegui puede dar fe de ello, pues ahí ha encontrado plantas que hoy llevan su nombre.

A una altura de casi tres mil metros, este bosque nos sorprende con la exhuberancia propia de un bosque tropical. Diversidad de especies oriundas entre flora y fauna, árboles de más de cien años de edad y de hasta 30 metros de altura, restos arqueológicos y una visión mágica de la naturaleza virgen, han dado fama bien merecida a este paraíso de 100 hectáreas enclavado en los andes, justo en el límite de las regiones Cajamarca y La Libertad, a sólo 3 kilómetros de la vía principal que une Cascas y Contumazá.

Aunque el bosque constituye una propiedad privada –pertenece al ilustre poeta Marco Antonio Corcuera, creador del concurso “Poeta Joven del Perú”-, el propietario ha hecho las gestiones respectivas para que sea considerado como Reserva Natural, las mismas que han dado como resultado la creación del Parque San Mateo.

Debido a la amenaza de su desaparición, producto de la tala indiscriminada, la ONG Puentes Foundation for Grassroots Sustainable Development, ha iniciado un trabajo con los campesinos de las zonas aledañas para salvaguardar y potenciar el desarrollo del bosque, la principal fuente de vida, no sólo de los alrededores, sino de las ciudades de Cascas y Contumazá.

Sin embargo y a pesar de los esfuerzos de sus propietarios y de organizaciones que tratan de protegerlo, el bosque ha recibido un golpe mortal: una empresa denominada Jesús 2008, ha iniciado el denuncio minero y las actividades de exploración minera en el mismo bosque y a sólo unos metros por donde discurren las aguas del Río Cachil, que va directamente a la ciudad de Cascas.

Sin cumplir con los trámites correspondientes (el acuerdo con los propietarios, por ejemplo), se ha otorgado la Resolución respectiva aprobando el denuncio minero y la entrega de varias hectáreas a esta compañía minera, las que no sólo están dentro de este importante ecosistema, sino las tierras de campesinos pobres y otras zonas importantes para la supervivencia de miles de personas. La contaminación y la extracción de madera para la mina, en sólo unos meses, destruirán al bosque.

Los propietarios han iniciado acciones legales para invalidar la resolución, pero en un sistema político en el que se privilegia la minería y se menosprecia al medio ambiente, la lucha será larga y difícil. Sin embargo, la intervención de las autoridades de Cascas y Contumazá y de la opinión pública pueden ayudar a conservar este bosque, aun por encima de las tecnócratas que otorgan permisos en zonas tan importantes para el mantenimiento de la vida.

Yacon Honey Training Project

Its time for our semi-annual blog update which we do whenever we have a trustworthy internet connection.

After an unusually long rainy season we have began our revitalization and conservation project in the Cachil Valley with a limited scale production of yacon honey, a natural liquid sweetner. This product will be processed throughout he next month and placed for sale in the markets of Trujillo with any profits going to the agricultural association for further infrastructure investments.
This product is revolutionary for many reasons. Probably the most important is that we are attempting value added organic processes in a rural region. Typically products are cultivated, sold at a low price and brought to the coast for industrialization. The value lost in transport is astounding: up to half the product is lost in damages.
Keepign the production process in a rural region has many benefits: farmers keep a greater majority of the margin, the product is easier to transport and the existence of a production process often leads to improvements in general infrastructure of the region.
One cannot equate “industrialization” with the typical image of a factory. When we use “industrialization” we merely refer to any process that adds value or turns a crop into a food product. The production process that Puentes is implementing in Cachil, namely turning yacon into yacon honey, does not have any non biodegradable waste nor use any electricity. The latter is impossible: the nearest power line is 5 kilometers away.
Electricity is not needed to produce yacon honey. What is needed is cooking ware and grinders. We have built a small kitchen using the locally available practices and Association Member Serafin Avalos has dedicated himself, almost obsessively, to building a more efficient hand operated yacon grinder. In the meantime we rely on locally available grinders and juice squeezers to extract yacon sugars.
During the week of May 12th we formed a “minga,” or a collective work force, and harvested approximately 5,000 kilos of yacon. Mingas are an old tradition in rural Peru. If one has a large harvest he or she will call on community members to help. The payment is a day’s worth of food. Sitting in on a minga, as we have done, is a good time to catch wind of the latest local gossip and hear the folklore and the songs of a region as workers will match their harvest speed with whip fast commentary on anything to pass the time. As of date the yacon being fermented in the sun to increase its sweetness. Come next week the training process begins.
I cannot close without mentioning a bit about Serafin. Serafin is one of the most dedicated association members. He led the minga and was responsible for many of the ever so slightly off color jokes that flew around. Serafin has no formal education, like nearly all residents, but is one of these people who knows how things work: he is the areas go to guy for all problems. Therefore his role as production designer is crucial.
And one should never bet him a bottle of beer to take apart a car, put it back together and drive it to Cascas three hours away. They will lose. As we understand it. Serafin, being humble (or not wanting to lose his chances at a cool brew) will not corroborate this, but we have heard…

DEFORESTACION INDISCRIMINADA

Una de las prácticas más recurrentes en los últimos años en las zonas aledañas al bosque Cachil es la "reforestación" a través de especies ajenas al hábitat local, tales como el eucalipto y el pino.

Desde las políticas de gobierno se alienta esta práctica sin tener en cuenta que si bien este tipo de plantaciones se desarrollan de manera formidable, lo cierto es que al mismo tiempo son especies que destruyen el medio debido a la gran cantidad de agua que consumen y a un proceso químico que deteriora el suelo y lo empobrece.

Se calcula que sólo en los dos últimos años se han plantado en la zona más de 100 000 eucaliptos y pinos. Se prevé que las consecuencias a corto plazo serás más que desalentadoras: desaparición de los pequeños puquiales y pantanos, daño permanente a la agricultura y ganadería y erosión del suelo.

Sin embargo, se sigue vendiendo al campesino la ilusión de algunos centavos a cambio de la venta de la madera que produce. Nunca se explica cuáles seran las desagradables consecuencias de una práctica por demás incoherente en una zona donde abundan los bosques naturales.

El colmo de la ignorancia (o talvez de la insanía de algunos funcionarios forestales) es que se están talando bosques naturales completos para ser reemplazados por plantaciones de eucaliptos. Y todo dirigido desde el PRONAMACHS, organismo estatal cuya función fundamental es el mantenimiento y conservación de cuencas hidrográficas.

Conocerán estos funcionarios el significado de mantenimiento y conservación? Nosotros sí, por eso sabemos que no tienen ni la menor idea de lo que hacen.

Project Update: 2-13-2008

Project Update by Ana:

Puentes has completed several visits to the Chapolan Region in the months leading up to the Sierra’s rainy season. Our visits will diminish now that the weather is no longer in our favor however we have completed several important steps.

In terms of the association, the legalization process has commenced. The president of the association has been named as Jose Muñoz Miranda. In addition we have formed a team of engineers in the Northern University of Trujillo and have sponsored their visit. The team consists of Botanist Pedro Lujan, Economist Gaston Marquez and Biologist Rodrigo Ramirez. During their visit we reviewed pasture and field space, collected samples of insects to determine pesticide and plague information and most importantly spoke with individual agricultures in the region.

Initial studies have shown some plagues in the fields, normal in cases of non-existent technical agriculture support. More importantly the professors we able to seize upon the wide variety of native fruit and medicinal plant species that are ripe for collection. These species were previously unexplored due to a lack of knowledge in the region. However careful exploration can lead to a higher economic standing for our beneficiaries.

As always hospitality was afforded by the Plasencia family. They found room in the home for five (the engineers plus Kike and Ana) and fed us well. The Plasencia family house was also home to an important lesson to Kike and the engineers: Rum has its place to stave off the cold…but in moderation. Besides Puentes has a reputation at stake and said reputation is not that of a bunch of drunks.

Ana wisely abstained from this lesson and was in bed at 9:30PM.

Puentes also sends its condolences to the Plasencia family for the loss of Lorenzo. We thank them for their continued attendance in these difficult times.

Pictured is project coordinator, Kike, along with our donkey, anonymous, finding shelter after three hours of walking in the winter rains. If Kike does not like my choice of picture, well, he ought to update the blog himsellf.

What we are trying to do and why

The Puentes-sponsored agricultural project Chapolan: Valley of the Cachil River, aims to improve the lives of the citizens of the valley and to preserve and protect The Cachil forest.
The Cachil forest is a one-of-a-kind environmental wonder in Peru. Cachil is a tropical forest in the middle of the dry Northern Andes Mountains between the cities of Contumaza and Cascas. It is home to a variety of plant species, some of which are endemic, and a now-greatly-reduced population of wild animals. Many of the plants are ancient and commonly believed not to exist, let alone thrive, the high altitudes at which they are found in Cachil. In addition locals in the area have an alphabetic knowledge of the various medicinal and alimentary possibilities of the plant life. Doubtless more study is required of the forest. Unfortunately even before initial studies can be undertaken the forest is already threatened by four elements:
1.) Indiscriminate Deforestation: Nearby villagers, our very beneficiaries in this project, are cutting the forest and selling the wood for the ovens and vineyards of Cascas. This backbreaking labor is poorly recompensed especially given the agricultural richness of the area provided training and slight improvements to the land.
2.) Uncontrolled Hunting: The native species, ranging from wild rabbit, deer, a variety of birds and fox, are all under threat of local extinction due to hunting. The hunters range from Contumaza and Cascas residents to local villagers. Hunters look for a series of benefits from this activity including sport, economic gain and to protect fields from invasive species.
3.) Pollution: Mostly brought on by uncontrolled access to forest. Up to fifty people enter the forest in one day and often leave behind garbage from their meals, tire tracks, and other litter.
4.) Indiscriminate Reforestation: Just as deforestation is a threat so is reforestation when carried out in an irresponsible manner. Recent national and international policy throughout the Peru (and much of the third world) has promoted the planting of large eucalyptus forests. While in it’s native Australia and a few other regions of the world eucalyptus is a beneficial tree in the majority of areas its presence, particularly in mono-species factory forests, is highly damaging. Eucalyptus requires much water to grow and over time kills surrounding farms, fields, and natural resources. The recent World Bank – PRONOMACH initiative of Eucalyptus cultivation in the Chapolan region is already resulting less agricultural yields and local dry forest extinction. If the planned extension of the project occurs the result will be devastating not only to Cachil but also to the Cascas and surrounding areas.

The villagers that live around the forest currently live off of logging activity and agriculture. The primary product is potato sold in local markets in Cascas. However the market is saturated and the economic returns small. Other products are grown for trade and home use. Fortunately the region is ripe for a number of crops whose exploitation has not been explored due to a lack of technical study. Puentes has sponsored the technical study of the land and designed a project dedicated to improve the legal, economic, and social standing of the residents. From this point they can act not as passive actors in their region but as a dynamic part in the greater economic and ecologic factors that affect them.
Currently Puentes is undertaking the following steps:
1.) Legalization of villagers as an agricultural collective. This step gives residents bargaining rights and allows them greater market access.
2.) Training on threats and opportunities to their farmland with focus of pest control and quality improvement.
3.) Technical study of the land, particularly possibilities of llacon (yacon) production. Llacon is a product with high returns in the coastal regions due to its anti-diabetic properties. The area is able to support higher levels of llacon productions and minor industrialization.
4.) Promote respect for the environment, the water supply and the forest via our contact with beneficiaries.
5.) Promote education on a variety of topics including, but not limited to, health, economic cooperation, macro-points of view, and respect of property.