With 100,000 people, Madre de Dios is the least populated, least developed area of Peru, and 80% of its forests are still intact. However, a number of increasingly visual threats are currently endangering these forests and their wildlife, including: i) timber extraction; ii) alluvial gold-mining; iii) unsustainable farming practices, like cattle ranching; iv) inappropriate, over-ambiguous or unregulated natural resource extraction laws; v) oil and gas prospecting; vi) land speculation; and lastly vii) poorly regulated tourism development, particularly in and around protected areas where lodges tend to congregate.

Understanding the magnitude of these threats on the forests and wildlife populations, and importantly the mechanisms (economic, political, socio-cultural) that underpin the threats is also vital if we are to provide meaningful recommendations and actions that if implemented would have a high potential for success.

By teaming up with organisations such as AIDER, SERNANP, ACCA, privately-run ecotourist lodges, schools and universities, and local families and communities, not to mention funding from our volunteers, we are able to (i) monitor a large number of sites, (ii) provide research and natural history training opportunities to local student volunteers from Puerto Maldonado and other Peruvian cities, (iii) provide recommendations to reduce human impacts on wildlife to multiple forest users and government organizations responsible for conserving species.

Since 1997, Fauna Forever Tambopata (FFT) has trained hundreds of local and international volunteers in wildlife monitoring techniques, leading towards a better understanding of the natural dynamics of wildlife populations, and the impacts of human activities.

In 2012, Fauna Forever (FF) signed a long-term collaboration agreement with the Tambopata National Reserve (TNR). This alliance means that we are in an even greater position to offer those seeking a path in conservation opportunities to work alongside scientists at the forefront of research and conservation work in Peru.

Every foreign FFT Volunteer donates a placement fee to Fauna Forever for the opportunity to assist on the FFT Project which helps the non-profit organisation cover the costs associated with the volunteers’ food, drinking water and refreshment, accommodation, internal river/road transport, project equipment and training (scientific monitoring techniques, rainforest health & safety, machete use, species identification, GPS/compass skills, and more) during their time on the project. The fees also help cover the costs associated with our FF Local Volunteer/Education Programs.

The core subjects of our investigations are mammals, birds, herpetofauna (reptiles & amphibians), insects (butterflies and dung beetles) and plants. It is necessary for all volunteers to choose one (or two) of these teams to work with while on the FFT Volunteer Program.

• Mammals: The mammal team will be responsible for undertaking line-transect surveys in the early morning, afternoon, and occasionally at night, and for maintaining a series of footprint traps and remote camera traps which are sensitive to the heat and motion of animals, as well as recording the presence and absence of more habitat-specific species in areas not directly sampled by these methods.
• Birds: The bird team will undertake a combination of early morning point-count censuses of understory birds along pre-established trails, as well as mist-net capture, banding/ringing of birds, and recording incidental encounters with any of the 645 birds species that call Tambopata home.
• Herpetofauna: The herpetology team maintain a number of 1-hectare plots in which they will undertake day and night surveys using line-transects and square quadrat searches, as well as intensive species searches in habitats not sampled by these methods, such as bamboo thickets and a swamp or two(!), in order to identify the presence of reptile and amphibian species.
• Insects: Insects are by far the dominant group of animals in the rainforest, and the insect team will concentrate its daytime sampling efforts on the butterfly and beetle community, particularly on a select number of indicator species that have been shown to be sensitive to alterations in their habitat as a result of human activity, including the delightful glasswing and morpho butterflies.
• Plants: Characterising the composition and physical structure of rainforest in and around the sites studied by the other teams is extremely important, and this team will concentrate on sampling the size, location and identity of all trees found within plots established along transects and other study areas.

Motorised dugout canoes will be used to access the rainforest study sites.

An average time of 2 weeks is spent at each site (min 7 days / max 3 weeks) and team members will be expected to share accommodation facilities. Accododation varies greatly between sites – from twin rooms with private bathrooms at some ecolodges, to dorm rooms with shared bathroom facilities at some research stations, to tents with river bathing and long-drop toilets. In all cases, the Fauna Forever team ensures a safe and comfortable experience with good washing and toilet facilities in place.

At all sites there will be three wholesome and hearty meals prepared each day by kitchen or camp staff. Depending on the location and size of the team some help might be needed with food preparation and cleaning up afterwards. At all sites clean drinking water and refreshments are provided throughout the day.

All sites will be supplied with electricity by generator in order to charge equipment such as computers, headlamps, torches, mp3 players, etc. Generators will only run for a limited time each day.

Volunteers will be expected to help maintain their personal areas and keep them clean at all times. Personal hygiene is important, particularly as communal areas will be sometimes be shared with visiting tourists and all team members will be expected to shower on a daily basis and dress appropriately.

Team members should also expect to be approached by inquisitive tourists and it is encouraged to converse openly with them about the research being undertaken. Questions that can not be answered by a volunteer should be directed to one of the co-ordinators or Fauna Forever staff.

A component of the research may involve interviewing visiting tourists, who spend between 2-5 days in the area, in order to gauge their opinions of a number of wildlife and tourism management variables. Tour guides and other lodge staff will also be interviewed to update our knowledge of how tourists are managed at each lodge and which tourist trails and areas of forest are visited the most. This will allow us to determine the trail -and forest- use intensity which will be compared against numerous wildlife variables.

During those quiet periods when field surveying is not being undertaken, or indeed when weather conditions restrict people to the base, volunteers will need to assist the team co-ordinators with data input tasks using project computers.

With all the hard work will come reward beyond daily forest experiences! One day of every week will be devoted to a special outing, such as camping on the shore of an oxbow lake, swimming in a freshwater stream, visiting a macaw or mammal clay-lick, climbing a viewing tower or canopy walkway or if preferred just simply chilling out at leisure.

Volunteers will need to put up with a variety of potential discomforts, including mosquitoes and other insects, mud, rain, and generally humid conditions. These discomforts however are far more than compensated by the wildlife encounters to be made and the truly unique experiences to be had.

For dates, prices and more information specific to each team, please see: Caiman Population Study, Bird Research & Conservation, Creative, Herpetofauna Research & Conservation, Field Assistance, Film & Video, and Mammal Research & Conservation

For past and present accounts and stories from our jungle volunteers, visit our FFT blog here.

*What the fee includes

• Accomodation for 13, 20 or 42 nights respectively
• Three substantial and healthy meals for 14, 21 or 43 days respectively
• Clean drinking water at all times throughout the phase
• Airport transfers on arrival and departure at Puerto Maldonado (PEM) airport
• Boat transport between town and research sites
• Training: Health & Safety in the rainforest; scientific monitoring and research techniques in one or more of the project’s taxonomic groups; species identification; impacts affecting the rainforest in Tambopata, and possible solutions; orientation (compass, GPS and map use); machete use; and much more.

What the fee does not include

• Travel insurance (this is essential)
• Flights
• Spending money for snacks, sodas, alcoholic beverages and souvenirs