WASHINGTON, D.C.—In the mist of the early dawn hours, Ana María Limache carries her bags up the gangway and onto the river barge. The boat is set to go underway at 5:30 a.m., beginning an arduous journey upriver towards the heart of the Peruvian Amazon. At a remote concession near the Peru-Brazil border, Limache will evaluate forest stands and monitors private companies who are engaged in licensed logging operations.

“You get really scared because things are unpredictable when you travel by river. Sometimes you must rely on [rumors]…a lot can happen because of what you don’t know,” said Limache.

Limache undergoes this journey twice a year as a forest regent, a position created under a forest and wildlife law the government of Peru passed about a decade ago. Regents are trained by the government of Peru and are natural resource professionals with expertise in forest engineering, biology and related fields.

The Forest Service supports the forest regent program and similar efforts in the Peruvian Amazon. The agency regularly sends experts in the field of silviculture and forest management to work alongside their Peruvian counterparts.

Regents are crucial for the sustainable management of remote places in the Amazon: They use their technical expertise to supervise and take on shared responsibility in managing each piece of forest being logged by private companies, they prepare and sign off on important forest or wildlife management plans and oversee plan implementation.

“In the field, I verify logging, traceability, data. I take samples, I go and check the trees, I inspect seed trees. I visit the clearings to see if the tractors have done their work. To see if the work has been done according to plan. Whether the [logging] camps are properly distributed. My work is to make sure everything is done by the book,” Limache notes.

Limache has had a long career in silviculture, forest management and higher education. To become a forest regent, she underwent rigorous certification through the Peruvian government and a USAID and Forest Service-supported training program.

“It was one of the best gatherings,” she said, recalling regent training programs. “[The course brought in] high-level speakers to discuss the value of regents in forestry activities. The course is changing mindsets so that objectives and targets can be met. It is very important work because of what it might be able to achieve.”

"The Peruvian agencies have already made great strides towards regulating the structures that support stronger accountability practices,” said Dan Kipervaser, Forest Service silviculturist detailed to Peru. “While I have been supporting those, I have also been fostering conversations about silviculture practices. [For example], to control the pressure of expanding primary forest harvests, silvicultural practices need to do more than increase short term timber yield. Instead, they need to focus on reliably regenerating harvestable species and ensuring that there are predictable and sustainable future harvests."

Over the last two years, USAID and the Forest Service have worked with Peru’s Forest and Wildlife Service, regional governments and universities to overhaul and modernize the curriculum of the Forest Regent training and certification program. Limache is using her experience to help focus the curriculum on practical training that will help regents manage the difficulties they will face in the field. The updated curriculum will also make components virtual and add continuing education to the offerings. 
“An effort has been made to add a touch of reality to the regents course, to get down to the brass tacks of regency,” said Limache.

Limache is currently the president of the Regents Association’s first all-female board, which brings together more than 30 specialists in the Ucayali region. Implementing the regulations and navigating red tape are the main challenges she sees these days. Limache acknowledges that much remains to be done, but if she continues learning, she is confident that her work will have a positive impact on the Amazon region.