Fragile Lands of Latin America Strategies for ... - PART - USAID

Sustained Yield Management of Natural Forests 131
project. TSC designed a vertically integrated system for local transfor-
mation and national marketing of wood products, with management of
native forests based on natural regeneration and sustained yield (Tosi
1982). The PalcazG project promoted the formation of the Yanesha
Forestry Cooperative, a local indigenous organization, and is developing
a wood processing center for the Indian cooperative.
The Area
The small Palcaz6 Valley (140,000 hectares (ha)) is at the eastern
base of the Peruvian Andes. The Palcaz6 watershed (189,200 ha) is
formed by the rugged Yanachaga range (3,800 m above sea level) to
the west and the lower San Matias range (1,200 m) to the east. The
Palcazd river flows north, where it joins the Pozuzo river, both of
which are tributaries of the Pachitea river. Base elevations vary from
approximately 270 m at the northern end of the valley to 350 m in
the southern foothills. Forestry development activities are limited to
the lower end of the valley, generally below 500 m in elevation.
As part of the Central Selva Resources Management Project, USAID
is assisting with the creation and consolidation of the Yanachaga-
ChemillCn National Park (122,000 ha) and the San Matias Protection
Zone (33,000 ha). These conservation units (Aguilar 1986) include
considerable areas of protection forests on the steep slopes of the upper
Palcaz6 watershed.
The population of the Palcazix Valley is estimated to be 6,000
inhabitants, including 3,500 Amuesha (Yanesha) Indians. Most of the
Amueshas live in 12 native communities, where they practice traditional
shifting cultivation of manioc, maize, and upland rice on small holdings,
alternating these short-term crops with longer periods of bush or forest
fallow. As part of the Palcazix project, the 12 native communities have
been officially recognized and granted property titles by the Peruvian
government. The rest of the valley's population is made up of mestizo
settlers, some Campa Indians, and a significant component of cattle
ranchers descended from German, Swiss, and Austrian immigrants
attracted to the region by the turn-of-the-century rubber boom.
Detailed mapping of life zones indicates that 85% of the lower valley
is in the tropical wet forest life zone (Bolaiios and Watson 1981).
Average precipitation in the lower valley is about 6,300 mm/yr (about
250 inches). Such high rainfall and the lack of an effective dry season
produce natural vegetation commonly called tropical rain forest.
Approximately 75% of the lower valley retains its coverage of primary
forests. Most of the deforested areas are along the rivers and on the
low hills close to these rivers. The Palcaz6 Valley appears to be