Sierra del Divisor National Park

Description

The Sierra del Divisor National Park is legally established by Supreme Decree No. 014-2015-MINAM, over an area of one million three hundred fifty-four thousand four hundred eighty-five hectares thousand meters (1 354 485.10 ha), located in the district of Callería, province of Coronel Portillo in the department of Ucayali; and in the district of Contamana, province of Ucayali, as well as in the districts of Alto Tapiche, Maquia, Yaquerana, Soplin and Emilio San Martin, province of Requena, department of Loreto; in the border area with Brazil, which has as main objective the protection of a representative sample of the mountainous region of the tropical humid forest of the Amazonian plain, in defense of the existing biological, geomorphological and cultural diversity, ensuring the continuity of the ecological processes and evolutionary that are there, for the benefit of the local population.

In the Sierra del Divisor National Park, there are ten headwater (Abujao, Shesha, Utuquinilla, Calleria-Tacshitea, Cashiboya, Buncuya, Tapiche, White Yaquerana and Yaraví) feeding the Ucayali River, which flows into the Amazon River, which in its step meets the needs of the population living around the park, and also has lakes and lagoons product abandoned by rivers meander, one of the largest blue lagoon, finding themselves within the massifs of the Sierras Moa Divisor.

The existence of these streams, lakes or lakes originate water mirrors and development of wide variety of fish fauna; and in short, it creates a megadiversity of flora and fauna, many of them endemic; caused by the mountain range with an unusual and unique landscape hills as perfect and truncated cones, with an altitude ranging from 900 to 1000m, among them can be found in the west of the park called (Ojo de Contaya) and east (Sierra del Divisor), and volcanic cones in the south (such as El Cono and Cerro San Lucas).

The Sierra de Contaya, is within the formation Contaya, which belongs to the Ordovician Paleozoic era, with an approximate age of 460 million years, this formation is also called "eye of Contaya", followed by this, are the Cuchabatay, Raya and Aguas Calientes formations that correspond to the Oriente group (Lower Cretaceous). Then we have the formations Chonta and Vivian (Superior Cretaceous). The latter connects the Sierra de Contaya with the Sierra de Contamana.

The Sierra del Moa Divisor, is located at the eastern end of the border with Brazil, formed by two mountain ranges that cross the Sierra del Divisor National Park (Peru) and the Da Serra do Divisor National Park (Brazil) in the Northwest direction, composed of Cretaceous geological formations with most of the eastern group and the lower parts by the Chonta and Vivian formations.

Finally, on the right bank of the river Shesha, it is a set of relatively small mountains, striking the Cerro San Lucas having an almost circular shape which reaches an altitude of 953 meters and the Cerro "Cone" called Thus, due to its perfect conical shape, with an approximate altitude of 850 masl, it is necessary to indicate that these hills do not originate with the appearance of the Andes mountain range but much later. They are volcanic formations that date back five million years.

In addition, there are aguajales that are swamp ecosystems that represent the ecological systems of swamp forest of the alluvial plain of western Amazonia, with a dominant presence of large concentrations of Mauritia flexuosa palm (Aguaje).

It has aquatic habitats independent of its size or position within the water network is the color of the waters, product of the chemical composition geomorphology and the sediment load in suspension; what allows to have black waters, clear or transparent waters.

In the National Park, there are indigenous groups in voluntary isolation and / or initial contact (Isconahua)[1], which during the dry season move to the beaches of rivers and streams in search of Taricaya eggs, Podocnemis unifilis, mostly Isconahua they carry out subsistence activities on a small scale and only for the subsistence of family groups. An important traditional activity is hunting, exclusively male activity that takes place all year round, but more intensely during the time of flooding of rivers. Fishing is also an exclusively male activity and is carried out collectively; while agriculture and harvesting are considered women's activities (AIDESEP 1995).

Justification of Outstanding Universal Value

The Sierra del Divisor National Park, is an exceptional set of natural features, by the presence of unique mountain formations that are geologically different from the rest of the Peruvian Amazon, because they excel the Amazonian plain, (it is totally outside the context of the mountain range of the Andes) that includes a series of sandstone hills in the western part of the Park, called (Ojo de Contaya) and in the eastern part of the Park (Sierra del Divisor), and volcanic cones in the south of the Park (such as El Cono and San Lucas), which exceed 900 meters above sea level.

It includes a great variety of formations typical of Amazonian rain forests, such as hillside forests, hills, aguajales, among others. This variety of ecological formations favor a wide variety of species found in the park, where there are more than 1300 plants, of which 14 of those are rare; 250-300 fish, many of which are new species for science, 122 species of mammals including 17 species of primates, some of which are endangered, 107 species of amphibians, 80 species of reptiles and 559 birds are, standing, Thammophilus divisorius, being the first record for Peru and second for the world and finally has approximately 430 butterflies.

For their biogeographic characteristics and location as mountaintops, the Sierra del Divisor National Park is a provider of ecosystem services that are used by the populations of the basins of the Abujao, Shesha, Utiquinía, Calleria, Cashiboya, Maquia, Buncuya, Tapiche rivers, Blanco, also covering the needs of water, which ensure the main diet of the local population, especially of the indigenous communities, and promotes the development of ecotourism.

Along the border with the Serra do Divisor National Park and the Vale do Javari Indigenous Reserve, they form a cross-border conservation corridor with Brazil.

Criterion (vii): The Sierra del Divisor National Park is characterized by having rare and diverse geological formations that do not occur anywhere else in the Amazon and include a series of sandstone hills (As Serrania de Contamana, Ojo de Contaya, Sierra del Divisor) and cones volcanoes in the south (El Cono), which exceed 800 m.a.s.l., which in some cases is shared with Brazil.

The Park hosts a rich biological community of mainly endemic, rare and endangered species of plants and animals, including species of commercial value that are over-exploited in other regions.
 
In addition, the park is made up of a splendid mosaic of different types of soil that in some cases are rich soils of high diversity and in others that range from poor to intermediate fertility, typical and volcanic soils.

Criterion (x): One of the most notable characteristics of the Sierra del Divisor National Park is the high concentration of rare species and restricted range. Several of these species are known only in this region and occur in specialized habitats (eg, dwarf forests at the top of sandy ridges).

The number of rare and endemic species in the park is spectacular, characterized by the richness of species compared to other sites in the Amazon is less impressive. There are vascular plants that vary from 3000 to 3500 species, some of which are endemic to habitats unique to the region, including several species-new to science-that grow on the sandstone crests: Parkia, Aparisthmium.

About fish, 250 to 300 species have been identified which are important for fishing, representing significant sources of protein for local human communities, such as Pseudoplatystoma tigrinum, Brycon spp., Salminus sp., Prochilodus nigricans and Leporinus. sp., also has ornamental species such as: Cichlidae, Gasteropelecidae, Loricariidae, Anostomidae and Characidae with commercial value and susceptible to overfishing, there are also more than 200 amphibians and reptiles, some of economic value (terrestrial and aquatic turtles, alligators) that are threatened in other parts of its distribution area, we also identify rare species that represent new records for Peru, Osteocephalus subtilis and Micrurus albicinctus.

500 birds have been found, among them the Acre Batar (Thamnophilus divisorius, which is a recently described species and is endemic to Sierra del Divisor, in terms of rare or poorly known species that are associated with white sands or dwarf forests, such as the Nictibio Rufo (Nyctibius bracteatus), the Topaz Fire Hummingbird (Topaza pyra) and the Zimmer Tyrant-Todi (Hemitriccus minimus), Macaws, especially the Blue-headed Macaw (Primolius couloni), which is restricted to a small population that occurs almost exclusively in Peru.

64 mammals, of which few species are known as well as a considerable number are threatened. A large and diverse primate community of 15 species, two species of rare monkeys with irregular distribution, the black pichico (Callimico goeldii), and the red huapo (Cacajao calvus). Healthy populations of mammals mainly hunted such as the monkey maquisapa (Ateles chamek), the woolly monkey (Lagothrix poeppigii) and the sachavaca (Tapirus terrestris). Carnivores with wide territories, such as the jaguar (Panthera onca) and the puma (Puma concolor).

Statements of authenticity and/or integrity

The Sierra del Divisor National Park, includes one of the most extensive and best-preserved continuous remnants of the Amazon, provided with rock formations that exceed 800 m.a.s.l. and limited accessibility keep this place intact.

It is also a major provider of water resources by the existence of more than 10 basin beds, finding endemic species and restricted range as the Acre Antshrike and Thamnophilus divisorius, who only lives there and nowhere else in the world.

On the other hand, within the territory, is the Isconahua Indigenous Reserve, whose objective is to protect the existence and rights of the Isconahua people, in a situation of isolation.

It is necessary to highlight the presence of eight indigenous communities, of the Pano linguistic family, which make ancestral use of natural resources for subsistence purposes.

Next to the Sierra del Divisor National Park, there is the Serra do Divisor National Park, which makes this area a cross-border corridor and is an immense opportunity for its conservation.

The Sierra del Divisor National Park has a management document, called Master Plan approved on November 7th, 2016 by Presidential Resolution No. 295-2016-SERNANP, for the period 2016-2020, which has 04 components: Environmental, economic, social and cultural, the same that is being implemented and have the following objectives:

• Maintain the conservation status of the hills, high mountains, lowlands and aguajal ecosystems within the park.

• Maintain the state of conservation of the ecosystems, lakes and lagoons, rivers and streams within the park.

• Regulate the economic activities that take place inside the park.

• Promote economic activities that are sustainable with the environment.

• Promote and strengthen the management of the park with the participation of communities, public and private institutions and other actors.

• Respect and support the protection of the rights of indigenous peoples in a situation of isolation within the park.

Comparison with other similar properties

The mountain range of Sierra del Divisor, located in the ecological forest system of isolated mountain ranges west of the Amazon, is unique in Peru. At the low jungle level, the mountainous complex and isolated hills stand out both in the northern part of the ANP (massifs) and in the southern part (needlepoint or cerro el cone); however, this formation of mountain ranges extends to Brazil, where is the Serra do Divisor National Park which is formed by a system of mountain ranges with large alluvial plains and some low tabular mesas.

It is also important to note that the Serra Do Divisor National Park, in Brazil, is on the indicative list of World Heritage, characterized by being mountainous and with large alluvial plains and some low tabular plateaus. The Park houses the main sources of the tributary of the left margin of Jurua because it separates the two basins of Río Ucayali (Peru) and Jurua (Brazil). It is structured in four main massifs of the hill (Serras da Jaquirana, Do Moa, Jurua-Mirim and Rio Branco) separated by plains and valleys of the corresponding tributary of the Jurna basin, so this would point to a cross-border binational proposal Peru -Brazil, so there is similarity between the two countries.

When reviewing similar or similar sites, in Latin America and the Caribbean, it is found that Noel Kempff National Park, located in Bolivia, is one of the largest parks (1,523,000 ha) and most intact in the Amazon Basin. With an altitude range of 200 m to almost 1,000 m.a.s.l., it is a rich mosaic of habitat types from the savannas of Cerrado and the forest to the evergreen forests of the Amazon. The park has an evolutionary history that goes back more than a billion years to the Precambrian period. An estimated 4,000 species of flora, as well as more than 600 bird species and viable populations of many endangered or endangered vertebrate species live in the park, however this is not the same as the habitats that exist in Sierra del Sierra. Divider, characterized by unique mountains that appear in the Amazonian plain.