In the Cordillera Blanca of Peru and Ecuador, snow-capped peaks send rushing rivers to remote villages that depend on that fresh water to nourish their forests, crops, livestock and daily lives. Conservation projects have ranged from wetlands management to water quality affected by mining enterprises, and livelihood development projects include innovative ecotourism, pasture management and improvement, traditional weaving, and cheese-making enterprises.

In the breathtakingly beautiful Huayhuash area of Peru, Huascarán National Park selected The Mountain Institute to lead a team of government, conservation, and community representatives in the design of a new Master Plan, and new restricted areas will now protect the world’s largest number of tropical glaciers, as well as threatened forests and endangered species of birds like the condor and spectacle bird.

Mining activities underway on the Eastern escarpment of the Cordillera Blanca in the Huayhuash area have had profound effects on the ecosystem; and in 1999 Campañia Minera Antamina approached TMI to help create a restoration and community development program. This partnership between mining interests and TMI’s focus on conservation is providing powerful lessons in community conflict resolution and cooperation, as well as producing improvements in water treatment technologies, timber resources, and long-term eco-region recovery.

The world famous Gran Ruta Inca (Inca Trail) covers more than 400,000,000 square kilometers in South America; and it is rich with biodiversity and important indigenous knowledge. Working with local communities, government, and other agencies, The Mountain Institute is part of an important effort to restore it and preserve its resources, as part of TMI’s new international Cultural Trails initiative.