Impending extinction of the world’s primates due to human activities; immediate global attention is needed to reverse the trend.

No abstract

Primates, represented by 521 species, are distributed across 91 countries primarily in the Neotropic, Afrotropic, and Indo-Malayan realms. Primates inhabit a wide range of habitats and play critical roles in sustaining healthy ecosystems that benefit human and nonhuman communities. Approximately 68% of primate species are threatened with extinction because of global pressures to convert their habitats for agricultural production and the extraction of natural resources. Here, we review the scientific literature and conduct a spatial analysis to assess the significance of Indigenous Peoples’ lands in safeguarding primate biodiversity. We found that Indigenous Peoples’ lands account for 30% of the primate range, and 71% of primate species inhabit these lands. As their range on these lands increases, primate species are less likely to be classified as threatened or have declining populations. Safeguarding Indigenous Peoples’ lands, languages, and cultures represents our greatest chance to prevent the extinction of the world’s primates.

Amazonas and San Martin are two of the most densely populated regions in rural Peru and have some of the highest deforestation rates in the country. They are also home to many threatened and endemic species and are considered a high priority for conservation. Under Peruvian law individuals and community groups can create private conservation areas and conservation concessions, and we evaluated the successes and challenges experienced in the creation and management of such areas, using direct observation, questionnaires and key-informant interviews. Our results show that far from being a problem for conservation many rural communities are actively promoting or participating in conservation initiatives on a local scale with landscape-level impacts. These initiatives include land protection, hunting control and reduced deforestation, thus providing effective solutions to threats. The main obstacles we identified in relation to such campesino (peasant farmer) conservation initiatives were the lack of access to support from governmental and nongovernmental institutions and to economic resources to fund the extensive bureaucratic processes of registering protected areas. Many campesino communities bypass these restrictions through informal conservation initiatives.

Peru has one of the richest primate faunas of any country. The illegal trade in wild primates is one of the largest threats to this fauna in Peru. We characterize the illegal trade in primates through empirical and ethnographic data. We collected data from traffic routes and centers throughout Peru and evaluate current efforts to combat this traffic. Based on our findings from 2,070 instances of wildlife crime involving 6,872 primates, we estimate the domestic trade in primates for pets and bushmeat in Peru in the hundreds of thousands per year, with the larger bodied Atelidae facing the highest direct consequences. We found that government authorities lack sufficient staff, capacity, resources, infrastructure, and protocols to efficiently combat illegal trade in primates. Also, the complicated legal framework and lack of cooperation and antagonism with the public further limit these efforts. Wildlife authorities in Peru are able to confiscate only a fraction of primates traded and mostly intervene in cases of private pet owners rather than traffickers. We estimate that the current rate of illegal trade in primates is comparable to levels of trade prior to the 1973 ban on primates' exportation. The combination of direct observations on primate trade and ethnographic data allows a comprehensive look at primate trade in Peru. We call upon decision makers and international funders to channel their efforts toward "on the ground" actions such as increasing the ability of the authorities to act, giving them "in action" training in law enforcement and establishing strict control measures against corruption. Am. J. Primatol. 79:e22516, 2017. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The yellow-tailed woolly monkey (Oreonax flavicauda) is classified as Critically Endangered and is listed by the IUCN Primate Specialist Group as one of the top 25 most endangered primate species in the world. Its distribution is restricted to the Tropical Andes Biodiversity Hotspot. Between March and June 2007 we conducted a preliminary survey of O. flavicauda in Amazonas and San Martin states, Peru. We surveyed eleven forest fragments which are known to be part of the distribution range of O. flavicauda and gained information on further seven sites. We also collected secondary data on current habitat threats, local communities' practices and views of conservation by using semi-structured interviews. Since the last field survey of this species in 1980 the area has undergone high levels of deforestation and many populations of the species now exist in isolated forest patches. Habitat destruction and hunting are still the main threats for O. flavicauda. The main aim of this study was to gather up-to-date information on the actual status and conservation opportunities for O. flavicauda in different areas of San-Martin and Amazonas departments. This information is meant for use in encouraging and assisting future conservation initiatives for this species.

Protected areas (PAs) are a conservation mainstay and arguably the most effective conservation strategy for species protection. As a 'megadiverse' country, Peru is a priority for conservation actions. Peruvian legislation allows for the creation of state PAs and private/communal PAs. Using publicly available species distribution and protected area data sets we evaluated the coverage of Threatened terrestrial vertebrate species distributions and ecoregions provided by both kinds of PA in Peru. Peru's state PA system covers 217,879 km and private/communal PAs cover 16,588 km. Of the 462 species of Threatened and Data Deficient species we evaluated, 75% had distributions that overlapped with at least one PA but only 53% had ≥10% of their distributions within PAs, with inclusion much reduced at higher coverage targets. Of the species we evaluated, 118 species are only found in national PAs and 29 species only found in private/communal PAs. Of the 17 terrestrial ecoregions found in Peru all are represented in PAs; the national PA system included coverage of 16 and private/communal PAs protect 13. One ecoregion is only protected in private/communal PAs, whereas four are only covered in national PAs. Our results show the important role private/communal PAs can play in the protection of ecological diversity.

Northeastern Peru is considered a global conservation priority due to high biodiversity and acute threats to natural habitat. Its non-indigenous migrant populations, known as campesinos, are presented by mainstream conservation agents as the major threat to this area, as environmentally destructive, apathetic to nature, and only responsive to economic and material incentives.  But the campesinos of Northeastern Peru often initiate their own conservation projects, justifying these actions with moral rationales. I divided these into anthropocentric and ecocentric categories. Justifications included an appreciation of nature's intrinsic values, religious or spiritual value, an aspiration for sustainability and a concern for future generations. I found that conservation is also seen as part of the struggle for social justice and recognition. Monetary incentives promoted by mainstream conservation agents were generally perceived in three ways: 1) as an opportunity for personal economic gain; 2) as an opportunity to sustain otherwise unaffordable conservation activities; 3) and when conservation was part of a social struggle economic incentives were perceived as unnecessary, undesirable or even a hindrance. Governmental legislation and outside conservation agents generally remain biased towards using economic justifications for local initiatives.   I used social methodologies to record campesino justifications for conservation and their interactions with conventional conservation. My aim was to categorize and analyze campesino views on conservation, highlighting those which challenge mainstream conservation, political ecologists' paradigms, and those that offer alternatives for collaboration with local populations towards shared goals.Keywords: Conservation, environmental ethics, Peru, ecocentrism, anthropocentrism, neoliberal conservation, local participation.