Born in the Peruvian rainforest, expedition naturalist Juan Tejada Rengifo has spent his lifetime exploring the Amazon basin, discovers Abigail Flanagan
One of Aqua Expeditions’ founding guides, he has worked with the award-winning cruise line since its 2007 launch and is never happier than when deep in Peru’s Pacaya Samiria National Reserve.
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How has the Amazon Rainforest changed in recent years?
Since 2000, I’ve noticed many negative changes, especially in the Brazilian Amazon. Down there, they have more deforestation programmes, cattle ranching, and fishing, but little sustainable management. Oxbow lakes, once full of fish, are now fished out. Exotic birds like hoatzins and macaws have left places where they were common. In some places, you can’t even find katydids or grasshoppers: you see maybe two or three bird species, but that’s it. It’s all gone.
The Peruvian Amazon is much more pristine. There’s far less economic development here and no dams or hydroelectric plants, so any changes aren’t as severe. Once you get past the small villages above Iquitos [the Peruvian Amazon’s capital and last international port], you can easily spot exotic species like monkeys, sloths, and pink dolphins.
What are the biggest threats to the Peruvian Rainforest?
Illegal logging, hunting, and gold mining. If the miners get in here, that will be the end of the forest.
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You’re from the small Amazonian village of Huaysi. How is life changing for Indigenous Ribeirinhos communities like yours?
Life here is very hard and simple, but people have always been happy. But things are changing. Some communities in Pacaya Samiria already have internet—and once technology arrives, there’s no going back.
We’re already losing some ancient traditions. Fifty years ago, there were shamans [local healers] everywhere. Now, most are gone, and their knowledge could soon be lost. People have been using medicinal plants from ‘the largest green pharmacy in the world’ for over 20,000 years, but kids nowadays aren’t interested in learning shamanism. They’re focused on getting a better education, moving to the cities, and having a different life.
What about positive changes?
Some 35 years ago, you’d visit villages, and everybody would be waiting with animals like monkeys and macaws to sell. Now, many of the hunters work as park rangers, and the forest is regenerating. On a recent trip, I saw 15 troops of monk saki monkeys. Ten years ago, you wouldn’t have seen any.
How does sustainable tourism help?
Around 20,000 tourists visit Pacaya Samiria National Reserve each year, and each pays an entrance fee [currently $60pp]. That money goes directly to protecting the reserve and supporting local conservation programmes. Ecotourism also provides vital employment: Aqua’s two Amazon ships alone employ 166 crew. Plus, we work with at least 23 local communities, providing environmental education, hiring villagers as forest guides, renting dugout canoes, buying fresh produce and handicrafts, and so on.
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Tell us about Aqua Expedition’s paiche conservation project.
Paiche is a huge fish endemic to the Amazon. But by 2010, overfishing in Pacaya Samiria had seen the population fall to just 500. So, with Aqua’s executive chef, Pedro Miguel Schiaffino, we’ve helped local communities establish a sustainable fishing programme and improve supply and demand. Today, there are more than 10,000 paiche, and quality and price have increased dramatically, too. Now, paiche isn’t just consumed locally; it’s exported to places like Australia and New York.
What’s the biggest misconception about the Amazon?
That piranhas will eat you alive if you fall in the water. I tell people, “There’s only one place in the world where piranhas do that: Hollywood.”
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What do you love most about the Amazon?
That it’s a place of infinite possibilities—you never know what you’ll find. Each expedition feels like I’m exploring for the first time. I love every bend of the river, but the incredible creatures and giant trees are most special to me. I get excited when I see the huge Ceiba trees; they’re so full of energy that I sometimes hug them to recharge my batteries!