Forest Conservation

Working together to protect the rainforest: our partnership with Shintuya

Protecting the rainforest can only be achieved by working together. That's why we're supporting the Indigenous Shintuya people in protecting their homeland and, together, creating an important wildlife corridor.

Deep in the Peruvian Amazon, in the province of Manu, lies one of our new conservation areas: the Secret Forest Manu. Indigenous communities live around this area. They not only regard the forest as their home, but also see it as an integral part of their history, culture, and identity. One of these communities is Shintuya. What connects us to Shintuya is more than just a shared nature conservation project. It's a relationship based on a long-standing friendship that is now developing into a strategic partnership.
Three Indigenous people wearing traditional headdresses and jewelry stand together in a rainforest setting.
Victoria is one of the elders of the Shintuya. Her knowledge of the rainforest is vast, and we feel honoured that she and her family showed us such hospitality and shared their knowledge with us.

When the forest comes under pressure

The forests around Shintuya have long been threatened by commercial interests. Outside developers have repeatedly targeted—and continue to target—the region for resource extraction. These threats include gold mining and concessions for potential oil and gas production.

Indigenous communities in the region have opposed these developments for many years. The Secret Forest Manu also lies within a target concession area for development. This creates conflicting views on land use: what a company sees as a storehouse of resources, or the state views as a concession area, is the local people's home, livelihood, and cultural identity.

Map showing protected area in green and Hydrocarbon Exploration Lot MD-XP-001 in brown/orange with red arrow indicator.
For decades, Indigenous communities have campaigned to ensure that this existing oil and gas concession is not exploited by companies.
Whether a place’s future is shaped by commercial interests or conservation is ultimately a question of power. With Wilderness International, Shintuya now has an international partner by its side. The community hopes this will lend greater international weight to their voice and strengthen long-term protection for their territory. For us, this means we do not speak on behalf of the community, but rather help ensure their own voice is heard clearly.

The consequences of resource demand hit those who benefit least

The Amazon region illustrates just how unevenly the consequences of natural resource extraction are distributed, particularly when it comes to gold mining. A Mongabay analysis evaluated 39 scientific studies on mercury pollution across the Amazonian regions of Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil. The analysis examined at least 249 Indigenous and river-dependent communities, finding that 220 of them (88%) had mercury levels above safety thresholds set by the World Health Organization. Another 702 communities are considered at risk due to their location near potential contamination zones. Shintuya is featured in the research, which includes quotes from community members.
Aerial view of an illegal gold mining operation in rainforest with muddy brown water, excavators, and cleared land.
Illegal gold mines like these are becoming increasingly common along the rivers in the Amazon rainforest. We don’t see them very often in Manu yet, but unfortunately more so in Tambopata.

Mercury enters rivers primarily through gold mining, making illegal operations one of the greatest threats to the tropical rainforest. The toxic metal travels far beyond actual mining sites through waterways, fish, and local food chains. For communities that depend on healthy rivers, forests, and fish stocks, this pollution poses a life-threatening risk.

This highlights a fundamental injustice: the people who benefit least from industrial resource extraction often pay the highest price. For us, protecting the rainforest is always a matter of environmental justice.

Harakbut: When colonial history continues to have an impact today

Shintuya is home to people from various Indigenous backgrounds who live together as one community. A key group within Shintuya is the Harakbut people, who have preserved their culture and language despite heavy outside influences. However, missionary activity and growing pressure from gold miners and resource extractors have left deep scars. Many stories shared during our visits to Shintuya reflect these painful experiences.

The Harakbut are an Indigenous people from the Peruvian Amazon with a distinct identity, history, language, culture, and governance system. They maintain a deep connection to their ancestral territory, viewing it not just as land, but as the foundation of their collective life, spirituality, culture, economy, and political identity.

The Harakbut trace their lineage to the Wanamei (Tree of Life), a central pillar of their worldview. This shared heritage led to the creation of the Nación Harakbut1, an autonomous territorial government established to:

  • ensure self-government and self-determination for the Harakbut people
  • protect their cultural identity
  • defend legally recognized territories and reclaim ancestral lands

For years, the Harakbut nation has faced severe pressures, including oil and gas extraction, gold mining, logging, papaya monoculture farms, and land encroachment by outside settlers from the Peruvian Andes. They also continuously lobby the government for access to essential basic services. Non-governmental organizations like Wilderness International serve as key allies in supporting their defense of these communities and territories.

Indigenous man wearing feathered headdress and spotted headband plays a wooden flute in the forest.
Oteri accompanied our expedition team and shared his vast knowledge of the forest’s plants with us.
Forest guardian Oteri, for example, recalled being separated from his parents and community as a young boy. He was sent to a Catholic residential school far from home—at the time, the only place Indigenous children could receive a "proper" education. As a result, he lost the opportunity to freely practice his language, culture, and connection to his homeland. These experiences are not ancient history. To this day, they shape which languages are spoken, how knowledge is passed down, and how community members maintain their bond with the land.
Indigenous woman and visitor examine photographs together in a green exhibition space with cultural materials displayed.
Victoria told our presenter, Hannah, a lot about Shintuya’s history.
That's why conservation means more than simply protecting land from deforestation or resource extraction. It also means supporting communities as they preserve and pass on their culture, knowledge, and connection to the land on their own terms. This includes confronting colonial legacies and creating space for cultural self-determination.

Culture and nature are inseparable

What matters most to us is simple: we're not here to tell Shintuya how conservation should work. Instead, we see ourselves as learners and partners. We accepted the community’s invitation to collaborate on protecting the Secret Forest Manu and to support them in preserving and reclaiming their ancestral territory and culture for future generations.

An important milestone on this journey is the growing recognition of the Harakbut’s cultural heritage. This includes the Rostro Harakbut, a monumental stone face over five metres tall deep in the rainforest. Holding sacred cultural and spiritual significance for the Harakbut, it's officially recognized as part of Peru’s national cultural heritage since 2021. Places like this show that the true value of a forest extends far beyond what can be measured in square metres, tonnes of carbon, or species counts.

A diverse group of people seated on blue chairs listen to a speaker in a colourful community space with vibrant murals and artistic decorations.
Our Peruvian team visited the Shintuya to work out a plan for our future collaboration.
In April 2026, we worked with the community to map out our collaboration. Our environmental education team visited Shintuya to build relationships and, above all, listen. Through joint workshops, discussions, and community surveys, we identified local priorities and pinpointed where support is needed most. Two key goals emerged: strengthening regional identity and deepening appreciation for the Amazon rainforest and its unique wildlife. Together, we built a shared action plan based on these priorities.

Forest restoration across more than six hectares

The first concrete project launched in July 2026. Working alongside local residents, we restored more than six hectares of woodland near the community that was degraded by logging.

The initiative grew directly from a request by Kelly, coordinator of the Shintuya Women’s Association. Our agroforestry coordinator Alejandro Hilares provided expert guidance, running training sessions, organizing seedling transportation, and mapping out planting rows alongside community members.

Workers in safety gear load green vegetation and leafy plants onto a truck surrounded by dense forest foliage.
During our joint planting event, everyone lent a hand and had a chat.
The project was remarkable for more than just its scale. The shared planting effort became a vibrant exchange between our team and the local community—sharing knowledge, trading experiences, and working hands-on to return damaged land to a thriving ecosystem.

Sharing knowledge and raising awareness

Our collaboration is ongoing, with several joint activities planned for the coming months. These include a bokashi composting workshop, communications support to help market traditional handicrafts and strengthen women's economic independence, and wildlife workshops on local bats and birds to spark intergenerational conversations.
Woman presenting to a group of men and children in a blue classroom with large grid windows.
The exchange of knowledge is one of the key pillars of our collaboration with the Shintuya.

Together with the community, we are also setting up an organic garden for the local nursery. We want children to experience firsthand where food comes from, learn about healthy nutrition, and discover the importance of native plants. Beyond environmental education, these projects celebrate Amazonian identity and connection to the land. They highlight the vital role of women as guardians of traditional knowledge, bridge generations, and create shared spaces for children, youth, and Elders.

Several community members already work as forest guardians for Wilderness International. Beyond providing a local source of income, their knowledge is invaluable for protecting the Secret Forest Manu. People who know the forest with both mind and heart carry insights no satellite map can ever replace.

Indigenous woman with traditional face paint, headband and beaded jewelry in forest setting.
Only when the forest is healthy can humans thrive. The Shintuya have always known this.

Working together for a forest that is so much more

Places like Shintuya lie far from Peru’s political centres, meaning support from state institutions is often limited. This makes strong local partnerships, built on trust and mutual respect, all the more vital.

For Wilderness International, our collaboration with Shintuya goes far beyond basic land conservation. We are not just protecting a patch of rainforest; we are partnering with the people who know this forest, live within it, and shape its future.

The Secret Forest Manu is not simply a line on a map. It's part of a living wildlife corridor where people raise families, pass down stories, grow crops, preserve knowledge, and chart their own future. Long-term conservation only works when we work together. We are deeply grateful for the warmth with which the people of Shintuya have welcomed us, and for the trust they place in our shared work.

Our partnership begins with protecting the forest. Its ultimate goal, however, is a shared future where nature, culture, and community self-determination thrive as one.

We also share our impressions and insights with you in episode 6 of our documentary series with Hannah Emde: “How the Forest Heals: Indigenous Life in the Secret Forest of Manu”

Large diverse group of approximately 25 people standing together in a lush tropical forest surrounded by tall trees and dense green foliage.
Our team, together with representatives from Shintuya, on our last expedition.

Sources

1 https://nacionharakbut.org.pe/los-harakbut/

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