Department of Madre de Dios
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Madre de Dios
Departamento de Madre de Dios (Spanish) | |
---|---|
Poverty rate | 36.7% |
Percentage of Peru's GDP | 0.37% |
Website | www.regionmadrededios.gob.pe |
Madre de Dios (Spanish pronunciation:
The name of the department is derived from the
Geography
The department is almost entirely low-lying Amazon rainforest. The climate is warm and damp, with average temperatures around 26 °C (79 °F) [max.: 34 °C (93 °F), min.: 21 °C (70 °F)]. The rainy season is from December to March, when torrential rainfall causes rivers to swell and often overflow their banks. Annual precipitation can be as much as 3 metres (9.8 ft).
The north-western boundary with the
Notable rivers in the
.Due to the vast size of the area and its low population density, rivers provide the best way of getting from one town to another. Human activity is invariably confined to riverbanks. A number of explorers have searched for the lost city of Paititi in the jungle within the region. A new road that opened in early 2011 through the area will connect Brazil and Peru for trade, and change the isolation of this area.[1]
The only important highway is between the Peruvian cities of
From Puerto Maldonado a road about 55 kilometres (34 mi) long leads to the mining town Laberinto ("Labyrinth"). A second road is between the village of Pillcopata and Itahuania (into the Manú National Park). It is a roughly 350 kilometres (220 mi)-long
Economy
Madre de Dios depends heavily on natural products and raw materials for its economy. There is virtually no manufacturing industry. The main agricultural products are:
- Cotton
- Coffee
- Sugarcane
- Cacao beans
- Brazil nuts
- Palm oil
Ecotourism is a major emerging industry in Madre de Dios. A number of lodges in Manu and Tambopata are becoming part of what is described as the Vilcabamba-Amboró Corridor. Some of these EcoLodges offer adventure activities as well, such as Ecoaventuras Amazonicas. New legislation encourages private investors to create concessions for conservation or ecotourism. This is to extend the reaches of the public protected areas. This integration includes native communities, which are increasingly involved in ecotourism. The importance of including the local population relies on the long-term incentives for leaving standing forest. The local population is integrated into conservation initiatives as well as economic cycles.
Political divisions
The region is divided into three provinces (provincias, singular: provincia), which are composed of 11 districts (distritos, singular: distrito). The provinces, with their capitals in parentheses, are:
- Manu (Salvación)
- Tahuamanu (Iñapari)
- Tambopata (Puerto Maldonado)
Demographics
Languages
According to the national
Province | Quechua
|
Aymara | Asháninka | Another native language | Spanish | Foreign language | Deaf or mute | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Manu | 5,731 | 239 | 9 | 1,540 | 11,170 | 18 | 16 | 18,723 |
Tahuamanu | 897 | 166 | 7 | 74 | 8,870 | 94 | 15 | 10,123 |
Tambopata | 10,202 | 586 | 14 | 481 | 61,387 | 197 | 75 | 72,942 |
Total | 16,830 | 991 | 30 | 2,095 | 81,427 | 309 | 106 | 101,788 |
% | 16.53 | 0.97 | 0.03 | 2.06 | 80.00 | 0.30 | 0.10 | 100.00 |
Culture
The region is the location of many ancient Inca ruins. Several indigenous tribes survive in the jungle of the Amazon Basin. [citation needed]
Places of interest
Representation in other media
- This area was the setting of Werner Herzog's Carlos Fermín Fitzcarrald (1862–1897), a rubber baron from Iquitos.
- In the science fiction novel Primeval: Shadow of the Jaguar (2008), most of the story takes place in Madre de Dios. A time anomaly has opened and let a pack of prehistoric Thylacosmilusinto the modern world.
- The region is the subject of a memoir by conservationist and explorer Paul Rosolie, Mother of God: An Extraordinary Journey into the Uncharted Tributaries of the Western Amazon (2014)
- The region is the primary setting for the memoir Ruthless River: Love and Survival by Raft on the Amazon's Relentless Madre de Dios (2017) by Holly Fitzgerald about an ill-fated rafting journey in 1973.
See also
- Julio Cusurichi Palacios, environmentalist
Footnotes
- ^ Dan Collyns,"Amazon road set to give Brazil and Peru new trade route", BBC News, 28 January 2011
- ^ a b c Alejandro Coca; Louis Reymondin. "The Devastating Costs of the Rush for Gold in Madre de Dios, Peru". terra-i.org. Archived from the original on 18 October 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- PMID 21526143.
- ^ a b Barbara Fraser (14 February 2011). "In Peru, hopes for carbon deal wash away with the soil: A newly paved highway has sparked a Klondike-style gold rush in Peru's rich rain forest, threatening the country's chances to strike carbon-offset deals on the international market". Archived from the original on 18 October 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ inei.gob.pe Archived 27 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine INEI, Peru, Censos Nacionales 2007