Turkey supports work to preserve biodiversity in Peru

BOGOTA, Colombia

Turkey's state-run aid agency has said it supported the construction of a clinic for veterinary treatment of wildlife animals threatened with extinction and illegal trafficking in the city of Iquitos, Peru.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) said the project in Iquitos -- part of the Peruvian Amazon, the great tropical jungle of South America -- was conducted in cooperation with the Amazon Rescue Center (CREA).

“The CREA, a foundation that provides inter-institutional support for the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of specimens of aquatic mammals and endangered wildlife, presented this project in order to complement its work to rescue injured or orphaned wildlife animals and increase the release and successful monitoring of these animals in their habitats in the Amazon rainforests,” the statement said.

Citing Javier Velasquez Varela, director of the Amazon Rescue Center, the statement added: “As director of the Amazon Rescue Center, I want to express my deepest gratitude to the Republic of Turkey for the valuable support to the conservation efforts of threatened species in the Peruvian jungle through the construction of a veterinary clinic and the respective equipment.”

“As a rescue center, we have spent 13 years of intense work in the rehabilitation of fauna victims of illegal trafficking, and this donation will help enormously to improve our work for the good of hundreds of endangered species,” Varela added.

“This project is a complement to CREA’s environmental education program, which initially focused on the preservation of manatees, and where more than 300,000 children from the Amazon region were trained in issues related to manatee conservation and natural resources in general, raising in their environmental awareness and respect for the Amazon,” the statement added.

Every year, around 30,000 people visit the region, and it is “classified as one of the main tourist destinations in the city of Iquitos, forming part of the ‘Biodiversity Route’ of the Ministry of Tourism and Foreign Affairs of Peru,” the statement added.

“It is expected that with the construction of the clinic, plus a food preparation area and warehouse in the Rescue Center, it will continue to provide care for the treatment of diseases and rehabilitation activities for aquatic mammals and endangered wildlife animals in the Peruvian Amazon, thus contributing to the conservation of biological diversity, its natural populations and the reduction of illegal trafficking,” the statement added.

Established in 1992, Turkey’s government-run aid agency is responsible for implementing Turkey’s developmental cooperation policies overseas.

“Focusing on development cooperation, TIKA works in more than 150 countries, including the ones where their offices are located,” according to the agency’s website.