Indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon are working to revive populations of the aguaje palm tree, commercially valued for its fruits, by shifting to more sustainable harvesting practices, Mongabay’s Aimee Gabay reported in April.
The reptilian-looking fruits of the aguaje palm tree (Mauritia flexuosa) are consumed raw or used as an ingredient in beverages, soap, oils and other products. Historically, locals harvested the fruits once they fell from the female trees, which produce the fruits. But in the 1990s, after the discovery of the fruit’s market potential, both Indigenous communities and outsiders across the Peruvian Amazon began its large-scale commercial extraction. This involved cutting down entire aguaje trees, leading to a significant reduction of female palms in the region, Gabay writes.
“Our ancestors weren’t aware that they were harming their palm trees,” Edber Tang Rios, president of the Maijuna-Kichwa Regional Conservation Area (ACR) management committee, told Gabay. “They had no knowledge. They cut it down and, little by little, it was dying out.”
A 2012 study found that between 1995 and 2000, the number of female aguaje trees in the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve dropped from 66 to 29 per hectare (27 to 12 per acre). This resulted in a 53.8% decline in harvest.
But now, the Maijuna, Kichwa and Kukama Kukamiria Indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon no longer cut down entire trees. Instead, they use sustainable techniques, such as safely climbing the trees to harvest the fruits.
“To achieve this, we’ve had many workshops where other brothers who were already protecting their aguaje trees taught us how to climb them,” Rios said. “Now we are experts at climbing the aguaje tree.”
The communities also conduct forest inventories to identify how many fruits can be collected while leaving some behind for wildlife like Colombian red howler monkeys (Alouatta seniculus) and South American tapirs (Tapirus terrestris).
This way, the Nueva Vida community in Maijuna-Kichwa ACR can harvest 20 sacks a day, Rios told Gabay. The pricing can range from 15-90 Peruvian soles (about $4-24).
While the economic potential of aguaje is growing, some challenges remain, Gabay writes. For example, the fruits need to be dried and packed, then quickly transported to cities like Iquitos and Lima before they mature. But Maijuana communities live in remote areas without roads, which forces them to transport their goods via long river journeys. Just last year, the Peruvian Amazon saw low river levels due to a severe drought.
Solutions like processing plants to turn the fruit into flour can help lengthen their product’s lifespan and tap into overseas markets, Rios said.
For now, though, the aguaje market isn’t developed enough to pull the communities away from the oil, gas and mining industries that have brought development and education to their areas. Still, ensuring future harvests of aguaje is an important first step.
Read the full story by Aimee Gabay here.
Banner image of a climber harvesting aguaje fruit courtesy of the Esperanza Natural Forest Management Association.
This story first appeared on Mongabay
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