This initiative’s geography is in the Peruvian portion of the Southwest Amazon. It is part of the Amazon biome and is located in the large basins of the Madre de Dios, Beni and Mamoré rivers. It comprises three large ecological areas: the sub-Andean mountain ranges, the foothills of the Andean Cordillera, and the extensive Amazon alluvial plain. The altitudinal gradient ranges from 250 meters to 4,000 meters above sea level, with precipitation ranges between 1,500 and 6,000 and mm/year, which give it a high degree of ecological fragility. This produces a mosaic of extraordinarily rich tropical rainwater ecosystems. The protected areas in this initiative’s area (Manu, Amarakaeri, Bahuaja-Sonene and Tambopata) are part of the Vilcabamba-Amboró Conservation Corridor, and are recognized as among the most biologically rich hotspots on the planet. The area contains about 70% of the biodiversity of Peru, including a high number of endemic species of flora and fauna. It is extraordinarily important for the maintenance of ecosystem services of enormous local, regional and global value, including provision of natural resources (timber, NTFPs wildlife, etc.), carbon sequestration, and watershed regulation.

The area includes 4 Indigenous groups, including groups in isolation and initial contact. On the Peruvian side of the Madre de Dios River basin, there are weaknesses and limitations to the legal recognition of the right to territory of Indigenous peoples – since in the absence of specific figures in accordance with international standards – they have been categorized as Native Communities, protected areas, and others, which do not recognize their integrity or guarantee ownership. This context allows for the granting of rights to third parties, limiting the exercise of self-determination and self-management, and generating conflicts between communities and external actors. The initiative’s area includes part of the territory of the Mashco Piro people in isolation, and contributes to the protection of a cross-border area in Peru and Brazil of more than 8 million hectares, known as the PIACI Pano Arawak Territorial Corridor. Conservation models focused on rights, identity and territorial claims have gained momentum as a result of the formation of four ethnic organizations, representing four peoples: the Ese Eja Nation (2013), the Harakbut Nation (2016), the Matsigenka People of Manu National Park (2017) and the Yine Nation (2018). These new organizational forms emerged, driven by, and in articulation with, existing multi-ethnic organizations.

FENAMAD and its intermediate organizations assert the ethnic identity of their members and seek to consolidate and formalize themselves as interlocutors with the Peruvian State in larger territories that include highly biodiverse protected areas (Manu, Amarakaeri, Bahuaja-Sonene, Tambopata), and to actively participate in their conservation and governance. Thus, presents a dynamic context for organizational trajectories and evolving political and normative frameworks in which Indigenous territorial rights are defined.