Solinia

The Peruvian Amazon has one of the richest biodiversity in the world; unique species are the pride of the country.  Among these species, Peru has three incredible animals living in the rivers; the “bufeos” or river dolphins and the amazonian manatee; these are cetaceans and sirenians that first inhabited Amazon rivers millions of years ago. The Boto or pink river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis) and the Tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis) are indicators of the quality of the rivers and health of fisheries. Today these aquatic mammals are facing several threats, including habitat destruction, contamination, water development projects and a high mortality caused by humans. River dolphins and their habitats urgently need conservation action to prevent further losses.

In 2008, an international workshop was held in Bolivia; a consensus of 40 specialists recommended the creation of an Action Plan with specific project propositions for each South American country in order to establish the status of the river dolphins in South America, to protect these species and guarantee their survival with the support of local, national and international organizations.

In 2010 a first workshop was organized in Iquitos (Peru) for the creation of a Regional Action Plan, the Omacha Foundation has now a draft proposition and another workshop will be organized in August 2013 in Iquitos to validate it and to publish it. A similar process was already done in Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia.

In April 2014 a second workshop (3 days) has been organized in Iquitos to finalize the Regional Action Plan. The Regional and National Governments are now working on the final version, helped by Solinia and Omacha (Colombia).