Peru’s national parks service, Sernanp, is expanding its efforts to preserve the rare Iquitos Gnatcatcher bird.
The Iquitos Gnatcatcher is considered critically endangered. Since the species was discovered in 1997, only fifteen pairs have been found, and the only known habitat for the bird is the Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve.
To that end, Sernanp has received donations of some 55 plots of land, totaling 960 hectares, website Peruthisweek.com reported, citing Andina.
The donated land represents almost 2% of the reserve’s total area, and preserves the area’s white sand forests.
White sand forests are an Amazonian habitat that has found to be very rich in birdlife, and Allpahuayo-Mishana is the only reserve that conserves this ecosystem in Peru.
Sernanp hopes that the increased efforts in the reserve can be used to generate a culture of conservation among the residents of Maynas, a city located just kilometers from Allpahuayo-Mishana.
It is also thought that the reserve can become a tourist destination for visitors to the Iquitos region.
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