Binational Expedition to the Putumayo River

By Espinosa Bellido Abogados

From April 9 to May 1, 47 scientists will tour a sector of the middle basin of the Putumayo River, located in the departments of Amazonas (Colombia) and Loreto, Maynas Province (Peru). During the expedition, field sampling of different biological groups of flora and fauna will be carried out, which will allow strengthening the information of the biological collections and the Amazonian information systems of each country.

“This is the fulfillment of a long-awaited commitment related to environmental issues of the Binational cabinet, a commitment to conserve the Amazon, its realization will undoubtedly allow the conservation of the cultural and natural wealth of our Amazon and its commitment to promote it in a sustainable way in their vast territories,” said Paul Duclos, Director General for Multilateral and Global Affairs (Peru).

The border area on the Putumayo River is one of the regions farthest from the populated centers of Colombia and Peru, which in turn share a stretch of 1,330 linear kilometers. Due to the biological importance of this territory for both countries, and given its nature as a natural border, the launch of the Binational Expedition to Biodiversity of the Putumayo River Basin between Peru and Colombia.

The technical development of the expedition will be in charge of the Amazon Institute for Scientific Research SINCHI (Colombia) and 17 of its researchers, including guests from the National and Valle University. For its part, the Research Institute of the Peruvian Amazon -IIAP- (Peru) will have 30 researchers linked to the institution and the Universidad Mayor de San Marcos.

The launch of this first Binational Expedition to Biodiversity is an important milestone in the development of the agreements acquired in the Leticia Pact for the Amazon, signed in 2019 by the governments of the Amazon basin, an international political commitment for the preservation of this biome. For countries like Colombia and Peru, it is important to know the species that are registered in the Putumayo river basin, in order to promote their conservation, identify endemic and/or threatened species, and determine suitable species for ecological restoration processes, as well as strengthening of the capacities of local communities. In this sense, one of the goals of the binational expedition is to carry out activities of social appropriation of knowledge.