Hub South America

The Wyss Academy for Nature’s Hub South America, led by Miguel Saravia, focuses on the Madre de Dios region in the Peruvian Amazon. This area faces significant landscape changes due to agriculture expansion, logging, and mining, which are worsened by the interoceanic highway. Such activities pose threats to biodiversity, local culture, and the well-being of inhabitants. To reverse these negative trends, the Hub team collaborates with partners to combine conservation with community needs. Together, they design experiments based on scientific and local knowledge. Their aim is to establish new models and provide alternatives to the current development, engaging in projects related to Innovative Territorial Governance, Transformative Knowledge Dialogues, and Active Networks for Transformative Change. In the Tambopata province, where diverse territorial governance mechanisms coexist, including protected and heavily degraded areas, they have identified a great opportunity to implement their Solutionscape — using a living lab approach to carry out experiments for promoting the sustainable development of local livelihoods aligned with conservation goals.

Main achievements in 2023

1. Progress towards profitability: Amazon nut value network

The Amazon nut (also known as Brazilian nut) is a valuable non-timber forest product in Madre de Dios, managed through concessions. In 2023, the Hub supported five organizations in carrying out experiments along this value network, from developing technological processes for cheese and yoghurt to an app to improve traceability and tree carbon estimation. They also led a study to identify potential waste management spin-offs. Additionally, they have started a stakeholder-engaged co-design process to establish a platform for experimenting and developing businesses related to Amazon nuts, focused on creating viable opportunities, particularly in the Tambopata province, for the concessions and for other stakeholders.

2. Enhanced governance: Sustainable tourism in Tambopata

Tourism in the Tambopata area faces significant challenges that severely impact the ecosystem, such as low stakeholder competitiveness, poor public–private coordination, ineffective service management, lack of differentiation, and increased pressure on natural resources. With our partner Swisscontact, the Hub Team has defined needs and gaps to strengthen the local value network and enhanced the coordination and governance among stakeholders, leading to a community of practice that will be the focus of their actions in 2024, particularly in two locations in Tambopata province.

3. Strategic plan created for the Tambopata Reserve buffer zone

Collaborating with Conservación Amazónica (ACCA), the Tambopata Reserve Management Committee, and the Peruvian Protected Area Agency (SERNANP), the Hub crafted a strategic plan for the Tambopata Reserve buffer zone, meeting stakeholder needs and preparing the ground for catalyzing this experience into nationwide guidelines. As a next step, they will support the integration of this plan into Tambopata province’s development strategy. Their aim is to showcase how individual plans can support the implementation of the overall development plan in their solutionscape.

4. Support of innovation and entrepreneurship in the Tambopata province

Engaging stakeholders is crucial for maintaining and fostering healthy forests and multifunctional landscapes. Therefore, the Hub team collaborated with the Tambopata province Municipality and other local stakeholders to co-design a government-funded proposal to drive innovation and entrepreneurship, particularly in Tambopata province. They also assisted private companies in proposing a sustainable investment initiative in Madre de Dios with the potential for positive impact in part of Tambopata province, and worked closely with three youth programs for leadership and entrepreneurship development. Additionally, the Hub supported the Círculo de Investigación del Bambú – CIB (Bamboo Research Circle) in exploring further development potential in the region.

5. Opportunities for collaboration on fair and sustainable gold mining

Gold mining generates severe environmental and social challenges. However, artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is crucial for Madre de Dios' economy and plays an essential role in its development. A scoping study with a research center within the Universidad del Pacifico helped identify entry points for collaboration towards a just and responsible ASGM, for Madre de Dios and particularly for the Tambopata province. We also created a trusted space for key stakeholders to come together and discuss gaps and needs in the ASGM value chain.