en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Peruvian Amazon Research Institute (IIAP) and the Federation of Natives of the Madre de Dios River and Tributaries (FENAMAD) have jointly launched a study to identify plants, animals, and fungi with edible potential in seven indigenous communities in Madre de Dios and Cusco, and to reassess local traditional culinary systems.
Entitled "Evaluation of Non-Conventional Food Products in Amazonian Indigenous Communities (Evaluación de Productos Alimenticios No Convencionales en Comunidades Indígenas Amazónicas)," the project continues the research direction initiated by IIAP in 2025. Since 2025, the institute has been documenting traditional knowledge about edible plants, animals, and fungi, aiming to strengthen and reassess the food systems of indigenous peoples in the Peruvian Amazon. The study area covers communities in the Tambopata, Manu, and Paucartambo regions and will incorporate traditional knowledge from the Amahuaca, Harakbut, Matsigenka, Yine, and Ese Eja peoples.
Currently, the research team has initiated outreach and communication activities in the indigenous communities of Shipetiari, Shintuya, and Santa Rosa de Huacaría, and will continue in the remaining four participating communities. In these meetings, IIAP and FENAMAD presented the research objectives, gathered residents' opinions, and promoted local participation from the outset.
During coordination meetings, both parties agreed to conduct the research jointly with the participating communities and established an intercultural approach that incorporates indigenous traditional knowledge and practices to guide all stages of the study. The findings will help identify culturally significant food resources and provide a scientific basis for strengthening indigenous food systems, conserving biodiversity, and ensuring food security in the Amazon region. The project will also promote the sustainable use of biodiversity and contribute to the implementation of the National Food and Nutrition Security Strategy and the Multisectoral Plan to Combat Anemia. Participants in the coordination meetings included FENAMAD board member Edy Dariquebe Laura, IIAP Madre de Dios Regional Director Ronald Corvera Gomringer, IIAP SOCIODIVERSIDAD (Social Diversity Research Department) researcher Margarita Del Aguila Villacorta, as well as technical advisors from the federation and experts from IIAP.
