The overall objective of the project is to investigate land use change in a Peruvian montane cloud forest over a time span of five hundred years, focusing on the past fifty years. A diachronic analysis will be able to identify how local, national and international decision-making processes have influenced the settlement patterns and agricultural land use. A disastrous development within the past forty years has resulted in severe destruction of important eco-zones rich in biodiversity.

Valle de los Chilchos is an isolated valley with no road connections covering app. 75 km2 in the department of Amazonas in northern Peru, but in spite of its remote location, population pressures are steadily increasing. The current project would present a unique opportunity of analyzing a characteristic, but unexplored cultural environment. Pre-Columbian agricultural techniques such as terraces and irrigation systems and their present utilization should be mapped and investigated. The local population has a growing interest in understanding their surroundings and expects to include the proposed project in their efforts towards a better management of the natural resources in the area. A signed application from the inhabitants is enclosed.

The research will complete IS’ environmental investigations of that part of the eastern slopes of the Andes in the Amazonas department.

To achieve this end, a well-established Danish-Peruvian research group comprising geographers, botanists, archaeologists and anthropologist will seek to:

• Analyze the local cultural environment and settlement pattern in order to achieve a systematic insight into the factors that govern land use change within the limited geographical region of the valley

• Survey, register and map contemporary and historic settlement patterns and land use using GPS (Global Positioning System), satellite imagery and GIS (Geographical Information Systems).

• Investigate how the population utilizes utilize the local vegetation along with its perception of the natural environment, especially in relation to land use and future planning to promote a sustainable development in the area.

The main objective of the project is to compare and evaluate this information in order to understand the interplay between different factors and define the unique history of civilization in a contact zone, the so-called Ceja de Selva area, as the Chilchos Valley is one of only a few passable routes connecting the Andes Mountains and the Amazon lowland.

The eastern slopes of the Andes Mountains are considered of global interest in terms of biodiversity (Dinerstein et al. 1995, Stotz et al. 1996, Young og León 1997, 1998). The steep topography results in pronounced climatic gradients and a wealth of vegetation zones in an area spanning elevations from 1000-5000 meters above sea level. The zone is mainly covered by mature rainforests and makes up some of the last unexplored cloud forest areas in South America. Peasants from the highlands migrate down into the lowlands in search of new land and with the introduction of cattle and new crops they degrade large areas of land. In the past 40 years, profound changes have occurred including the construction of roads and new settlements. In spite of these dynamic changes, research has mainly focused on the botanical factors without considered the human impact. Until recently, the Ceja de Selva area was considered completely uninhabitable. An interdiciplinary study has only recently been carried out (Schjellerup et al. 2003 in press) and they are important contributors to understanding the cultural environment and resource management strategies in the marginalized region.

In 1994 the book "Historical Ecology: Cultural Knowledge and Changing Landscapes (Crumley et al.) was published, marking a breakthrough for landscape studies in cultural history outside of Denmark. The landscape is often a reflection of both natural and socio-economic impacts that have shaped the area. The destruction of the natural resources resulting from inexpedient land use is an important issue today. This emphasizes the importance of investigating such changes in regions that are exposed to a constant pressure, but characterized by the absence of previous investigations.

The permanence of a settlement and the surrounding land use change reflects the socio-economic, cultural and environmental processes that force the local population to constantly adapt their resource management strategy and practice.

Balée (1996) showed how human activities have positively influenced the biodiversity of the Amazon through a time span of 5000 years. Biologists have acknowledged that by maintaining a certain level of disturbance (such as various types of human land use), increased species richness will be the result. The understanding of man’s role as an agent of environmental changes in the historical process is of paramount importance in the understanding of present ecosystems in the cultural environment (Simmons 1997).

The time factor in the accelerating development in the Amazon has been drastically reduced due to contemporary economic fluctuations and pressures exerted by local governments. The problems are further complicated by the lack of scientific data characterizing most part of the region, especially the missing knowledge about cultural factors. Immigrants from the highlands, who bring their expertise from a different natural environment, threaten both the local environment and indigenous peoples from the Amazon. Valle de los Chilchos is such an area and this issue is a research area that I have previously worked with (see list of publications).

The forested north-eastern part of the Peruvian montane forest has been settled and utilized for thousands of years, even though 50 years ago, the area was considered uninhabitable. However, before the Spanish conquest prior to 1532, the upper rainforest (Selva Alta) was settled by a number of indigenous groups and a federation of tribal chiefs, the so-called Chachapoyas-culture developed monumental architecture (Schjellerup, 1997). Their agricultural systems of special forms of terraces and irrigation systems reduced soil erosion, which is frequently occurring today as a result of over-grazing and cultivation of extremely steep slopes.

During the Spanish colonial period, many people were forced to form large villages. Landscape changes in the forests were moderate in the beginning of colonial times, partly also because most of the indigenous population perished due to the European illnesses. During the past century however, drastic changes have occurred as a result of the increasing population pressure, converting large areas from forest to open savanna-like areas with dispersed trees and shrubs characterized by accelerating erosion. Ancient relics are bound to disappear and contemporary land use leads to land degradation in most areas.

From the 1970s, people from the Andean highlands were encouraged to migrate into the Amazon to breed cattle and grow rice, sugar cane and coffee. The so-called "colonos" were offered land for free and cheap loans in return for settling in the lowlands. The result of the agricultural expansion in the lowlands has lead to land degradation, low agricultural productivity and the introduction of cattle, which is the main reason for soil erosion (Brack 1997).

It is important that detailed studies of the cultural environment in eco-zones in the Amazon are given a high priority in order to prevent the historical dimension from disappearing and to promote a sustainable development in a delicate environment. The DIVA project (Centre for Research on Cultural and Biological Diversity) sponsored by the Danish Environmental Research Programme (Borgtoft et al., 1998) primarily focused on the biological aspect (Schjellerup et al. 2001) but my most recent research has focused on a more interdisciplinary study with emphasis on the cultural background (Schjellerup et al. 2003 in press). Based on my previous research projects I have established a multi-disciplinary, international research group that will allow a new generation of young researchers to take over. 90 % of the funds spent on global research are channeled towards specialized projects while only 10 % is invested in inter-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary projects (The Abisko Agenda, Research for Mountain Area Development 2002).

The scarce documentation of the limited geographical area of the Chilchos Valley will be updated and integrated into a substantive transdisciplinary database. Research into historical ecology, archaeology, anthropology, botany and geography is absent for this area. The extent of the area of influence in the pre-Columbian era, in colonial times and today will be investigated using GIS and remote sensing technology to produce thematic maps showing ancient relics, prehistoric agricultural systems, settlement patterns and land use and land cover change. The local population has a worthy knowledge of flora, fauna and soil quality. The natural resources are threatened but hold a huge potential if utilized in a sustainable way.

The working hypothesis is that changes in the resource utilization is reflected in the cultural landscape as well as in the changes occurring in social and economic structures of the community.

The population of Valle de los Chilchos has appealed for such an investigation (Enc. 1), that will give them a deeper understanding of the resource utilization. Furthermore, directions towards a more sustainable development in the future planning will be given and the project is likely to increase the feeling of cultural identity in the community.

The project contains four complimentary modules from four disciplines:

The anthropological module will investigate the community’s utilization of natural resources by

1) surveying contemporary settlements and neighboring agricultural units and 2) participatory observation combined with structured and semi-structured interviews with special consideration to the local perception of land use and traditions handed over orally. The module will also encompass studies of historical files from administrative reports in the national archives. The anthropologists will cooperate with the botanical module regarding the construction of ethno-botanical inventories.

The archeological module will survey and map pre-Columbian sites and perform sample excavations. Pollen analysis of revealed material will be carried out and analyzed considering the overall objective of the project. Studies from other parts of Amazonas have shown that pre-Columbian cultures developed technical solutions to avoid soil erosion and wet soils by constructing special high-beds. The archaeological module will document historical land use and work with the anthropological and botanical modules to draw conclusions about the causes of earlier land use patterns.

In the botanical module, plant material will be collected along with transect and plot analysis of vegetational composition as well as ethno-botanical investigation. Possible changes in species composition will be analyzed at archaeological sites and in the valley in general. The botanical studies will consider the vegetational history, which is of great importance in order to designate a sustainable development of the biological diversity. A number of new species are expected to be discovered.

All data from the modules mentioned above regarding settlement patterns, land use, pre-Columbian sites and botanical data will be mapped using remote sensing and GPS (Global Positioning System). The data will be managed in a GIS (Geographical Information System) and satellite imagery will be analyzed to map land use change using a time series of satellite imagery if the valley. This will result in a number of thematic maps of land use and the identification of areas that are especially vulnerable. Future development scenarios will be modeled.

The first year will be dedicated to literature search, historical archive studies, two months of field work including all modules, and reporting

The second year and a half will include processing of the data from the four modules for finalizing the manuscript for monographic publication and articles in relevant scientific journals.

Collaborators are the the Ethnographical Collection, The National Museum of Denmark, Institute of Geography, University of Copenhagen, Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, Universidad Privada Antenor Orrego, Universidad San Agustin, Arequipa, the Field Museum of Chicago and the Paleo Research Institute Golden Colorado.