Peru

The Peru Center is an oasis of calming nature, while a short walk from the bustling town of Tarapoto, gateway to Amazon adventures. The Center is connected by a web of pathways lined with flowers, medicinal herbs, and rows of stone terraces teeming with native plant species. Students have access to wooded hiking trails through protected areas, as well as quiet lofts and rocking-chair-patios offering panoramic views of the Escalera mountain range.

• Two-floor bungalows with balconies and full bathrooms housing 4-students
• Traditional maloca, an ancestral long house used by the Amazon’s indigenous people
• Laboratory with stone worktables, 5 sinks, and shelves stocked with scientific equipment
• Family-style 25-foot dining table for communal meals prepared by local cooking staff
• Private student lounge spaces with sweeping forest views
• Open air classroom building with library of western and indigenous texts
• Gyms and running routes in surrounding neighborhood
• Kitchenettes, laundry facilities, and the center’s traditional bread oven

Research at the SFS Center for Amazon Studies focuses on biodiversity conservation and ecosystem protection in the face of resource extraction, unrestricted infrastructure development, and the inequitable distribution of environmental benefits. Students and faculty engage with local community members, Indigenous groups, land managers, agriculturalists, conservation organizations, and fellow researchers. As the only rainforest of its size left on the planet, the Amazon harbors unmatched biodiversity and carbon sequestration, and the success of conservation efforts here has both regional and global implications.

Our research focuses primarily on the following themes:

• Climate change
• Forest and soil ecology
• Perceptions and impacts of development in the Amazon
• Rural livelihoods and land use
• Natural resource management
• Forest health and recovery
• Sustainable use of non-timber forest products

SFS develops our research plans based on the environmental issues faced by the community and local ecosystems. Throughout the program, students interact with local residents through community mingas (work projects), our recycling program, local festivals, and sporting events. The Center is a short walk or taxi ride to downtown Tarapoto, the third largest city in the Amazon, and the province’s culinary and cultural capital. Students enjoy a variety of museums, parks, and a vibrant nightlife offering the Amazon’s most iconic and increasingly global cuisine, which blends indigenous culture, European technique, and Japanese ingredients. Tarapoto is also home to the Universidad Nacional de San Martín, a leading research university for rainforest biodiversity.

At the end of each semester program, we host a Community Research Night where select students will present their research findings to the community. SFS research data is shared with communities, local NGOs, and the Peruvian government.