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Diversity & Water

The tropical rainforests of central Peru are among the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world. This is because each elevation on the eastern slope of the Andes forms its own climatic zone with different forest types and peatlands. The diversity of animals and plants is overwhelming, even in the protected areas of Mein Regenwald.

Countless streams and rivers rise in the mountain cloud forests of this region. At lower altitudes, they join together to form several large tributaries of the Amazon. Thus, the rain produced by the trees of Mein Regenwald also feeds the largest river on earth, eventually flowing into the Atlantic Ocean.

Persecuted, displaced, impoverished

Until 130 years ago, almost only indigenous people from the Yanesha and Ashaninka peoples lived in the entire region. First the Spaniards brought in epidemics. Then German and Italian settlers robbed the indigenous people of their land. Finally, the indigenous people were murdered and expelled in the terror war between 1980 and 2000. Today, the few survivors live in poverty and exclusion.

You can find out more about Yanesha in our media-library.

Rainforest without trees

The whole region is called "selva central" in Peru, meaning central rainforest. But today, the counties where the Mein Regenwald Project is located are almost completely deforested: Cattle pastures, coffee, orange and pineapple plantations dominate the landscape where endless rainforests stretched half a century ago. Only the Mein Regenwald area has survived to this day.

The destruction of the rainforests has dire consequences: It is getting warmer and drier. Some plantations are therefore already no longer profitable. Many animal and plant species have disappeared or are highly endangered and almost all rivers are poisoned by silver, gold and copper mines.

Did you know already?

Organized crime in Peru is active in the following areas, among others: drug trafficking, human trafficking, arms trafficking, illegal gold mining, illegal gold trading, illegal tropical timber trading, trading in rare animal and plant species, illegal fishing.

Many Amazon tributaries originate in Peru. The Amazon Basin contains one-fifth of all freshwater reserves in the world.

More than ten percent of all orchid species in the world come from Peru.

Peru has 4 UN Biosphere Reserves.

Peru is home to many species: 2000 birds (world number one), 515 mammals (world number three), 4000 butterflies (world number three), 418 reptiles, 449 amphibians, 1070 marine fish, 1300 freshwater fish.

Many animal and plant species of Peru are not yet known to science, many of the known and unknown species are threatened with extinction.

If the global annual average temperature rises by more than two degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial age, a large-scale collapse of the Amazon forests is assumed, with extreme consequences for the entire planet. To date, the global annual average temperature has risen by around one degree Celsius.

The goal of the Peruvian state is to preserve up to 20 percent of the country's territory as wilderness - that's ten times more than in Germany.

Up to 160,000 hectares of tropical rainforest are destroyed in Peru every year.

To date, more than 90 percent of the dry forests on the coast and the mountain forests in the Andes of Peru have been destroyed.

Peru is one of the countries most affected by climate change in the world.

An island of life in a sea of destruction

In the midst of this devastated landscape, the Mein Regenwald forest reserve is like a little paradise. The 20,000 hectares of forest and swamp soak up the rain, feeding the region's rivers. Thousands of animal and plant species have found their last refuge here.

Network of hope

The jungle reserve of Mein Regenwald is an important part of a network of nature reserves that protect the last untouched forests in central Peru.

On its own, the Mein Regenwald forest is 20,000 hectares in size. But it is immediately adjacent to the Pui Pui State Nature Reserve, with its 60,000 hectares. So we have created a protected wilderness that is 80,000 hectares in total. That is almost four times the size of the Bavarian Forest National Park and is enough to preserve the forests with their rich biodiversity in the long term, enable a more stable microclimate and protect the habitats of many species in the long term.

Strong together

Mein Regenwald and Pui Pui - that's a strong team. The proximity of two nature reserves is helpful for both. Because where one reserve borders the other, neither forest rangers nor control posts are necessary. This saves money, which can be used to protect forests elsewhere.

UN goals in the project

The Mein Regenwald Project is committed to a world where life can thrive. To make this possible, the member states of the United Nations created the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Of these 17 goals, Mein Regenwald promotes 14.

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The Region

We are saving the rainforest of central Peru - right where the Andes, the second highest mountain range in the world, slowly merge into the Amazon lowlands, still the largest area of rainforest on Earth, which is facing increasing threats.