Community-based aguaje (Mauritia flexuosa) management and restoration in Maijuna indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon

Fruit from the palm Mauritia flexuosa (aguaje) is harvested throughout the Peruvian Amazon for commercial and subsistence purposes. The vast majority of this fruit is harvested by felling and killing adult female aguaje trees, resulting in serious over-exploitation and degradation of naturally occurring M. flexuosa palm swamps (aguajales). Like many indigenous communities in the region, the Maijuna are interested in developing aguaje management and restoration plans. We used interdisciplinary methods to understand past and present aguajal use and its impacts in Maijuna communities in order to develop plans that account for the multiple cultural and economic needs of the Maijuna. Community-based initiatives targeting the management and restoration of aguaje and aguajales in Maijuna lands will be detailed, including training people how to climb instead of cut aguaje and incorporating aguaje into agroforestry systems. Lessons learned will be explored providing insights into community-based resource management and restoration projects in general.