Department of Madre de Dios

Coordinates: 11°59′S 70°35′W / 11.99°S 70.59°W / -11.99; -70.59
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Madre de Dios Department
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Madre de Dios
Departamento de Madre de Dios (Spanish)
Department
Manu National Park
Manu National Park
cacao beans, Brazil nuts, palm oil, gold, rice, coconut, wood.
Poverty rate36.7%
Percentage of Peru's GDP0.37%
Websitewww.regionmadrededios.gob.pe

Madre de Dios (Spanish pronunciation:

Ucayali, in the Amazon Basin. Its capital is the city of Puerto Maldonado. It is also the third largest department in Peru, after Ucayali and Loreto
. However, it is also the least densely populated department in Peru, as well as its least populous department. It has one of the lowest poverty rates in Peru.

The name of the department is derived from the

Virgin Mary
, literally meaning Mother of God.

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

Cusco Region is known as the Isthmus of Fitzcarrald, a series of small and low mountains that separate the Madre de Dios River and the Urubamba/Ucayali River
basins.

Notable rivers in the

Manu, Tahuamanu, Las Piedras (also known as Tacuatimanu River), Heath, Acre and Los Amigos
.

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

Cuzco Department. It is part of the newly built Interoceanic Road between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, passing by the border town Iñapari
on the Acre river. Flights between Cusco and Puerto Maldonado remain the most common and quicker method of transport between the two.

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

Ese'ejas (or Guarayos
) live. Their chief is Agustín Shapaja, who led the famous expedition (made into a TV special) to the Candamo. He was featured in the TV documentary El Candamo, la Ultima Tierra sin Hombres (The Candamo, The Last Land without Men).

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:

  1. Cotton
  2. Coffee
  3. Sugarcane
  4. Cacao beans
  5. Brazil nuts
  6. Palm oil

predators
, such as large river fish and carnivorous birds. The local people may be harmed by direct contact with the element, as well as by ingesting dangerous levels of mercury when they eat the fish. Mercury results in a variety of neurological and congenital health problems.

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:

Demographics

Languages

According to the national

Kichwa. The following table shows the breakdown by province of first languages:[5]

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

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Dan Collyns,"Amazon road set to give Brazil and Peru new trade route", BBC News, 28 January 2011
  2. ^ 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.
  3. PMID 21526143
    .
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ inei.gob.pe Archived 27 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine INEI, Peru, Censos Nacionales 2007

External links

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