The ProPachitea Program was created to conserve the aquatic biodiversity of the Pachitea River basin and the environmental services that sustain it. The program is aimed at bringing about the policies, institutional and educational conditions, as well as stimulating scientific knowledge, to reach this goal. ProPachitea also wants to generate greater awareness about water conditions as a way of improving the health of the river basin’s population.

The program’s area of intervention is located in the Pachitea River’s Andean-Amazonian basin on the eastern slopes of the Andes, straddling the Huánuco and Pasco regions. It covers approximately 29,000 km² and has its operational center in the city of Oxapampa.

Importancy of the proyect

ProPachitea began as a response to the lack of institutions, norms and accords between different civil society sectors to regulate fishing and protect the basin’s aquatic resources threatened by a number of practices (over-fishing, deforestation of river banks and contamination) that lowered water quality and fish schools.

The program promotes the institutionality of basin management based on control fish resources in the lower reaches of the basin..

The program is involved in the following activities:  

I. Biological research

Scientific knowledge is developed based on local understand of bioaquatic resources and their surroundings with the goal of influencing decisions and formulating norms for basin management. Emphasis is placed on the diversity, ecology and biology of the principal fish species consumed locally given that they constitute an important source of protein in the diet of local residents. Complementary research studies the effects of anthropic activities, such as deforestation along riverbanks and the use of toxic materials for fishing.
II. Policies and institutions to manage aquatic resources

With the goal of contributing to the sustainable management of the basin, the program is involved in a research-action process to create knowledge on legal institutions and common law with respect to aquatic resources and generate dialogue between the two.
In addition, the program strives to involve the different stakeholders in management of the resource so that the resulting policies and laws are appropriate for the social and natural context.

III. Environmental education and communication

This component responds to the urgent need to inform and raise awareness among the different populations about the need to implement protection and management practices, policies and norms to maintain healthy aquatic ecosystems, fostering a sense of ownership of common space, in this case the Pachitea River basin. The focus and objectives of the ProPachitea initiatives are used to reaffirm the local knowledge that, in turn, reinforces management actions. The scientific information on aquatic resources generated by the program is used the same way. The dissemination of activities involves students, teachers, local leaders and the population in general. The final objective is to strengthen the population’s capacity for making decisions concerning local environmental issues and forming responsible and active citizens who manage their space and wellbeing.

IV. Mitigation of negative impacts on bodies of water

The program has, together with local populations and authorities, identified and prioritized three basic actions to mitigate the most important negative impacts on the aquatic system and biodiversity. These include cleaning and reforesting riverbank areas, generating conditions to improve the health of local residents by recuperating flora to provide food and shelter for bioaquatic species and protect critical areas, supporting inter-institutional collaboration, participatory methodology and facilitating processes for the implementation and continuity of activities that combine local and scientific knowledge.

V. Tropical fish farming

This component is aimed at the sustainable management of aquatic resources in native and settler communities to increase protein intake in diets and, as such, improve the quality of life of the beneficiaries. Participatory research is used to gather the necessary local information to promote development of fish-farming technology adapted to the ecological and cultural conditions of the Pachitea basin as a way to utilizing the zone’s natural resources, including bodies of water, fish and plant species. Fish farming will reduce pressure on natural fish populations and contribute to the conservation of aquatic biodiversity, respect cultural diversity and revive the local knowledge of different stakeholders.

ProPachitea has started a participatory process to develop concrete plans geared toward basin management. The starting point in this process was an assessment of problems carried out in 2002 and the recommendations proposed by the local populations (indigenous peoples, settlers, rivervine dwellers) to local governments and indigenous organizations.

Numerous participatory workshops were held for municipalities and indigenous federations in Iscozacín, Puerto Bermúdez, Ciudad Constitución, Puerto Inca and Honoria to develop different lines of action to resolve problems relating to the basin’s aquatic resources. The lines of action adopted include: Regulations; control and oversight; education and training; reforestation of riverbanks; fish farming; and cleaning riverbanks. Working groups were formed around each of these issues to design action plans. This has allowed for specific activities to be prioritized within ProPachitea’s work, including fish farming, riverbank reforestation and environmental education.

The working groups and local governments prepared a municipal ordinance as the first step in regulating the region’s fishing activity. The ordinance bans destructive practices, such as using dynamite and commercial pesticides to catch fish, prohibits deforestation in important riverbank areas where fish reproduce, and creates the foundation for forming control and oversight committees. The approval of the ordinance was followed by the organization of decentralized workshops in the Pichis sub-basin to determine the control and oversight committees. In addition, the Municipal Environment Commission was formed in Puerto Bermúdez to provide legal backing to the basin management and control and oversight committees.

The Pachitea River cuts through three ecoregions from its headwaters in the Huaguruncho range to where it meets the Ucayali River. The basin is home to a wide variety of ecosystems and land and aquatic biodiversity, leading to the creation of four natural protected areas within its area of influence, including

* Yanachaga-Chemillén National Park,
* San Matías-San Carlos Protected Forest,
* Yanesha Communal Reserve and
* El Sira Communal Reserve.

The area’s population is also diverse, including

* several indigenous peoples (Yanesha, Asháninka, Cacataibo and Shipibo, organized in more than 140 native communities),
* Andean peasant communities, communities of settlers of different backgrounds (Andean and European) and
* riverine Communities.

The region’s population is 86,222, according to the 2005 census.