Manu Learning Centre
Encyclopedia
The Manu Learning Centre (MLC) is located within the Fundo Mascoitania Reserve, a 643 hectare private nature reserve
, encompassed within the cultural zone of the Manu Biosphere Reserve
, a UNESCO World Heritage site
and one of the largest protected areas in Peru
. It is home to a variety of rainforest types
including lowland Andean, pre-montane, bamboo and high terrace forests. This geographical complexity creates habitats for a diversity of flora and fauna. The MLC is operated by the CREES group, a non-profit and business collaboration working towards sustainability for the Manu Region. The MLC serves local schools and communities as well as international researchers and volunteers. It has hosted workshops for the Organization for Tropical Studies
, and on behalf of the Manu National Park Guards, as well as research projects from the University of Oxford
, Aberdeen, and Glasgow University in addition to the SOAS
. The MLC has also worked alongside schools from the UK including Southbank International School
and Tonbridge School
.
, the first to be developed in the region. The initial concept was to demonstrate that it was possible to use novel land use techniques to rehabilitate large areas of degraded land and to empower and educate local communities throughout this process. There is a large body of work that had been completed at the MLC incorporating aspects of biology
, geography
, zoology
, anthropology
, tropical agriculture
, politics
, and art
. Specific projects have focused on reforestation
, mammal behaviour patterns, human impact studies
, environmental management, monitoring of the blue headed macaw (CITES Red listed), soil & agricultural sustainability, forest dynamics
, carbon offsetting, and the legitimacy of local power structures to name a handful.
The MLC is accessible from Cusco
by road until Atalaya and then by lancha until the port at the MLC. During the dry season
boats may not be able to navigate the river from Atalaya in which case transport is needed up until the Aguanos settlement on the opposite side of the Alto Madre de Dios River
. Crossing is then possible by raft or by lancha.
The MLC reserve attracts an array of parrots and macaws thanks to the spectacular clay mineral lick, or Collpa carved out by the Alto Madre de Dios river. This collpa is the only one of its type in the zone, and is visited daily by hundreds of colourful and noisy parrots and macaws, the most notable of these being the Blue Headed Macaw. These in turn draw raptors such as the ornate hawk eagle and crested eagle.
Mammal Collpa
The MLC boasts two large mammal collpas which attracts smaller mammals as well as large groups of white-lipped peccary and their natural Jaguar predators.
Wildlife Monitoring Array
The MLC's wildlife monitoring array was established in 2005. The array comprises a 1 km2 monitoring grid mapped using GPS. It provides a quantified area in which researchers can complete research on plants, animals and birds.
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
, encompassed within the cultural zone of the Manu Biosphere Reserve
Manú National Park
Manú National Park is a biosphere reserve located in Madre de Dios and Paucartambo, Cusco. Before becoming an area protected by the Peruvian government, the Manú National Park was conserved thanks to its inaccessibility. The park remains fairly inaccessible by road to this day. In 1977, UNESCO...
, a UNESCO World Heritage site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
and one of the largest protected areas in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. It is home to a variety of rainforest types
Tropical rainforest
A tropical rainforest is an ecosystem type that occurs roughly within the latitudes 28 degrees north or south of the equator . This ecosystem experiences high average temperatures and a significant amount of rainfall...
including lowland Andean, pre-montane, bamboo and high terrace forests. This geographical complexity creates habitats for a diversity of flora and fauna. The MLC is operated by the CREES group, a non-profit and business collaboration working towards sustainability for the Manu Region. The MLC serves local schools and communities as well as international researchers and volunteers. It has hosted workshops for the Organization for Tropical Studies
Organization for Tropical Studies
The Organization for Tropical Studies is a network of ecological research stations created in Costa Rica in 1963. OTS is run by a non-profit consortium of 63 universities, based in the United States, Australia and Latin America . The corporate headquarters of OTS are at Duke University, in...
, and on behalf of the Manu National Park Guards, as well as research projects from the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, Aberdeen, and Glasgow University in addition to the SOAS
School of Oriental and African Studies
The School of Oriental and African Studies is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London...
. The MLC has also worked alongside schools from the UK including Southbank International School
Southbank International School
Southbank International School is a selective, mixed independent school located in the City of Westminster, Kensington and Hampstead, London, England. It is an international school for 3 to 18 year olds, from Early childhood to Key Stage 5...
and Tonbridge School
Tonbridge School
Tonbridge School is a British boys' independent school for both boarding and day pupils in Tonbridge, Kent, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judd . It is a member of the Eton Group, and has close links with the Worshipful Company of Skinners, one of the oldest London livery companies...
.
History
The MLC was built in 2004 on an abandoned haciendaHacienda
Hacienda is a Spanish word for an estate. Some haciendas were plantations, mines, or even business factories. Many haciendas combined these productive activities...
, the first to be developed in the region. The initial concept was to demonstrate that it was possible to use novel land use techniques to rehabilitate large areas of degraded land and to empower and educate local communities throughout this process. There is a large body of work that had been completed at the MLC incorporating aspects of biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
, anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
, tropical agriculture
Tropical agriculture
Worldwide more human beings gain their livelihood from agriculture than any other endeavor; the majority are self-employed subsistence farmers living in the tropics...
, politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
, and art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
. Specific projects have focused on reforestation
Reforestation
Reforestation is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands that have been depleted, usually through deforestation....
, mammal behaviour patterns, human impact studies
Ecological footprint
The ecological footprint is a measure of human demand on the Earth's ecosystems. It is a standardized measure of demand for natural capital that may be contrasted with the planet's ecological capacity to regenerate. It represents the amount of biologically productive land and sea area necessary to...
, environmental management, monitoring of the blue headed macaw (CITES Red listed), soil & agricultural sustainability, forest dynamics
Forest dynamics
Forest dynamics describes the underlying physical and biological forces that shape and change a forest. That is, the continuous state of change that alters the composition and structure of a forest....
, carbon offsetting, and the legitimacy of local power structures to name a handful.
CREES
CREES (Conservation, Research & Education towards Environmental Sustainability) was established in 2003 prior to the construction of the MLC and the creation of Fundo Mascoitania. It is the only organisation to be in operation within the Manu region of Peru who regularly consults with local populations about their development priorities and leads the consequential local development projects.Access
Cusco
Cusco , often spelled Cuzco , is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region as well as the Cuzco Province. In 2007, the city had a population of 358,935 which was triple the figure of 20 years ago...
by road until Atalaya and then by lancha until the port at the MLC. During the dry season
Dry season
The dry season is a term commonly used when describing the weather in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which oscillates from the northern to the southern tropics over the course of the year...
boats may not be able to navigate the river from Atalaya in which case transport is needed up until the Aguanos settlement on the opposite side of the Alto Madre de Dios River
Madre de Dios River
The Madre de Dios River, homonymous to the Peruvian region it runs through, then becomes the Beni River in Bolivia and then turns northward into Brazil, where it is called the Madeira River...
. Crossing is then possible by raft or by lancha.
Biodiversity and wildlife
Macaw CollpaThe MLC reserve attracts an array of parrots and macaws thanks to the spectacular clay mineral lick, or Collpa carved out by the Alto Madre de Dios river. This collpa is the only one of its type in the zone, and is visited daily by hundreds of colourful and noisy parrots and macaws, the most notable of these being the Blue Headed Macaw. These in turn draw raptors such as the ornate hawk eagle and crested eagle.
Mammal Collpa
The MLC boasts two large mammal collpas which attracts smaller mammals as well as large groups of white-lipped peccary and their natural Jaguar predators.
Wildlife Monitoring Array
The MLC's wildlife monitoring array was established in 2005. The array comprises a 1 km2 monitoring grid mapped using GPS. It provides a quantified area in which researchers can complete research on plants, animals and birds.
Species lists and forest types
- List of mammal species catalogued within the MLC (by order, family, genus and species definitions)http://www.crees-expeditions.com/mlc_mammals2.htm
- Lists of the birds catalogued within the MLC Reserve and the common plant species in forest types can be found on this link http://www.crees-expeditions.com/mlc_biodiversity.htm.