About the project
We are building a scalable model that supports those who protect Peruvian ecosystems and also strengthens the management of other critical areas in Latin America.
Our starting point
Scientific research in Natural Protected Areas (NPAs) is a fundamental tool that provides inputs throughout the management cycle, supporting biodiversity conservation and the provision of ecosystem services that benefit people. The Master Plan (PD) of the Natural Protected Areas System - SINANPE (2025) recognizes research as an inherent activity in the management of natural protected areas and SINANPE, as it provides important information for decision making.
In the Peruvian Amazon, the National Service of Natural Areas Protected by the State - SERNANP (SINANPE's governing body) protects approximately 20 million hectares of tropical forests and freshwater ecosystems, so the availability of research and scientific information is essential for effective management. However, a diagnostic study conducted by the project revealed that 60% of NPA managers do not have this information available when they need it.
Mono Negro - Alto Purús National Park
Credits: SERNANP
YELL Climate Change Station 2
The Science for Natural Protected Areas Initiative
Launched in 2018, this initiative seeks excellence management based on scientific evidence for the sustainability of protected areas. This management of excellence is based on knowledge generation, transforming scientific information into practical tools for implementation at the area level as well as at the policy level.
Our current project
The project "Science and Effective Management of Natural Protected Areas in Peru" was co-designed to improve the effective management of natural protected areas by strategically addressing some gaps in the understanding and application of science among NPA staff and key partners, i.e., bringing science closer to policy decision making. To this end, it focuses on improving interaction between researchers and NPA managers and strengthening scientific capacity in protected areas in the Amazon.
The goal of the project goes beyond contributing to a particular institution, but rather to strengthen SINANPE as a whole, by co-designing lasting partnerships between academia, civil society and government, so that they can remain and function effectively beyond the duration of the project. Especially in the Amazon, where the causes include both social and environmental factors.
For example, the recent fire crisis in the Peruvian Amazon has highlighted the urgency of research to explain the causes of these phenomena.
Tingo María National Park
Credits: SERNANP
Yarina Community - Pacaya Samiria National Reserve
Credits: SERNANP
Target
Specific Objectives
- Improve access to and use of scientific information in ANP decision making.
- Strengthen the capacity building of SERNANP's technical staff, park rangers, and decision makers.
Strategies
01
Establish new partnerships to coordinate and execute priority research related to PNAs.
02
Provide training in the interpretation and use of scientific evidence in decision making.
03
Promote training in leadership and evidence-based management of NPAs (scholarships for courses in the United States: ISPAM and technical trips to national parks).
04
To offer a new continuing education course (the International Seminar on the Management of Protected Areas - SIMAP - Peru).
Logical framework of the project
Our team
Meet the team of specialists that make up the project
WFU Team
Co-director
mitchelc@wfu.edu
D. in Biology, is a Research Professor of Biology and a member of the Andrew Sabin Family Center for Environment and Sustainability at Wake Forest University. She received her B.S. in Zoology from the University of California, Davis, and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Biology from Princeton University. She has extensive experience in scientific research and conservation in Peru, and spent 15 years with the U.S. National Park Service as Deputy Director for Science at the South Florida Natural Resources Center.
EGPP Team, WFU Team
Co-director
c.mirandab@pucp.pe
Master in Public Policy and Management from PUCP with postgraduate studies at the University of Montreal, Canada. For 15 years she has worked in the public sector in Peru, from the Ministry of Environment, National Forestry and Wildlife Service and CONAM, as well as a consultant for the United Nations, International Center for Forestry Research, and USAID. She is currently a consultant and professor at the School of Government and Public Policy at PUCP, as well as co-director of the project "Science and Effective Management of Natural Protected Areas in Peru" implemented by Wake Forest University, Colorado State University and PUCP.
EGPP Team
Partner / Public Policy Specialist
flavio.ausejo@pucp.pe
Master in Public Services Regulation from the London School of Economics and Master in Public Policy in Latin America from Oxford University. He holds a degree in Economics from PUCP. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of the National Superintendence of Sanitation Services. He is currently Director of Continuing Education at PUCP and Director of Continuing Education at the School of Government and Public Policy at PUCP.
CSU Team
Member of the management team
ryan.finchum@colostate.edu
B.S. in Environmental Science and Geography from Louisiana State University and M.S. in Protected Area Management from Colorado State University. Worked extensively in Latin America, initially as a Peace Corps volunteer with the Charles Darwin Research Station in the Galapagos Islands, followed by nearly a decade as an ecotourism operator in Mesoamerica. A member of the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) and the IUCN Commission on Education and Communication (CEC), Ryan is currently Director of the Center for Protected Area Management at Colorado State University.
CSU Team
Member of the management team
erin.j.hicks@colostate.edu
Erin has a BA in illustration from California State University, Fullerton, and an MA in conservation leadership from Colorado State University. She has worked for the Governor's Climate and Forest Fund, and the California Conservation Corps, U.S. Forest Service, California State Parks, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the U.S. National Park Service. Erin is currently the Associate Director of the Center for Protected Area Management at Colorado State University.
Towards 2026 and beyond
By 2026, we aspire to a strengthened Natural Protected Areas system, where science is an intrinsic part of decision-making and technical personnel have ongoing training programs.
The ultimate goal is that this alliance will endure, adapt and continue to transform the conservation of the Amazon, even after the project has ended.
Lake Junín - Junín National Reserve
Credits: SERNANP
Want to join us?
We invite you to get to know our initiative! You can join the Learning Community, participate in our activities and let's promote together relevant solutions aligned to the national context.