Institute for Emerging Sustainability Leaders Climate Change Workshop in Peru July 6-17, 2015 The Amazon Center for Environmental Education and Research (ACEER) invites applications for its Institute for Emerging Sustainability Leaders in Peru scheduled for July 6 - July 17, 2015. The theme for this year s Institute is Climate Change in Peru. This study tour is open to students, educators, and professionals in the field of sustainability as well as individuals interested in developing a more planetary perspective on the challenge of climate change. Up to 15 North Americans will be selected to participate. Application letters should be submitted via e-mail by Friday, March 20 th to Dr. Paul Morgan (pmorgan@wcupa.edu). Your email should briefly: explain why you want to participate in the Institute for Emerging Sustainability Leaders list knowledge, skills, work, and course experiences related to this year s theme: climate change address your degree of understanding and interest in sustainability, sustainable development, and/or climate change Selected participants will be notified by March 27 th and will have until April 10 th to formally register and submit a $500 deposit. The final balance will be due no later than May 1 st, 2015. The cost of the trip is $2,180 from Lima (double occupancy).
Academic credit (undergraduate or graduate) will be available through West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Contact Dr. Paul Morgan for more information: pmorgan@wcupa.edu or 610-436-6945. Institute for Emerging Sustainability Leaders The mission of the Institute for Emerging Sustainability Leaders is to recruit emerging leaders from business, education, science and other professions to work together in an experiential, field-based setting to address the planet s most critical issues. The Institute s theme for 2015, Climate Change in Peru, is a follow-up to the 20 th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP20) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which was held in Lima in December 2014. Delegates selected to participate in this year s Institute will engage in top level discussions with Peruvian government officials, social activists, human rights advocates as well as regional and local citizens, including indigenous villagers to gain first-hand experience on the current science around climate change, developments at the international level in the wake of the UN conference in Lima, and the concerns and opportunities climate change is presenting to all citizens of the planet. Delegates will work in interdisciplinary teams to identify and assess current and new strategies, incentives, and hurdles aimed at addressing climate change. There will also be ample opportunities to experience the Andes and the Amazon rainforest and to observe firsthand the impacts of climate change that are already unfolding in these ecosystems. A goal of the Institute is to create a community of emerging sustainability leaders who apply what they have learned in the Institute to their organizations upon returning, and to keep a dialogue continuing with their newly forged network of colleagues. The Institute will be led by Dr. Paul Morgan, an official observer at COP20 and the Director of Education for Sustainability at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Funding is provided in part by the National Geographic Society and TriVita, Inc. Included: Hotels, lodges, land travel, and all meals as noted in the itinerary Bilingual guides All air travel within Peru Gratuities for included services Not included: Travel to/from Lima from home countries Meals/gratuities designated as On your own in the itinerary Personal items, e.g. travel insurance, laundry, alcoholic beverages, personal items
Itinerary Day One Monday, July 6, 2015 TRAVEL TO LIMA Delegates arrive in Lima from their home countries and assemble at the hotel. Meals: On Your Own Overnight: Lima Day Two July 7, 2015 LIMA Opening session after breakfast. Welcoming remarks, introductions, and a review of Institute activities will be presented, including a re-cap of information coming from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change COP20, which was held in Lima in December 2014. Following lunch, the first round of meetings with Peruvian government officials will take place. The afternoon will be a continuation of sessions and opportunities for reflection and feedback. Breakfast Hotel Lunch & Dinner On Your Own Overnight Lima Day Three July 8, 2015 LIMA Meetings, presentations and working sessions in Lima. Breakfast Hotel Lunch & Dinner On Your Own Overnight Lima
Day Four July 9, 2015 LIMA TO PUERTO MALDONADO After an early breakfast, we are transferred to the Lima airport for our flight to Puerto Maldonado, the capital of the Madre de Dios region. Puerto Maldonado, with a population of approximately 60,000, is located at the confluence of the Tambopata and Madre de Dios rivers. This small frontier town has a history of resource extraction beginning with the rubber boom, logging and gold prospecting, and more recently oil exploration. Despite this activity, 98% of the region is composed of primary rainforest. There are three national parks and reserves in the area that together comprise more than 3.5 million hectares of protected forest ecosystems: the Manu Biosphere Reserve, the Tambopata-Candamo Reserve, and the Bahuaja Sonene National Park. We are met at the airport by ACEER staff and taken to the Hotel Cabana Quinta. In the afternoon there will be an opportunity to visit to the private conservation concession, El Refugio K'erenda Homet with Sr. Victor Zambrano. Breakfast Hotel in Lima Lunch - Hotel Cabana Quinta Dinner - Restaurant in Puerto Maldonado Overnight - Hotel Cabana Quinta Day Five July 10, 2015 Rainforest Lodge Posada Amazonas After breakfast, sessions with educators, social activists and indigenous rights advocates who address the human impact of climate change. After lunch, transfer by bus and then boat to the rainforest lodge Posada Amazonas on the Tambopata River. Breakfast - Cabana Quinta Dinner Posada Amazonas Overnight Posada Amazonas Day Six July 11, 2015 Posada Amazonas Introduction to the Amazon rainforest, its role as a carbon sink, the value of the forest standing as a strategy for mitigating climate change, and the current threats to the rainforest from logging, extractive activities and human development. There will also be working sessions and opportunities to explore sustainable strategies for protecting the rainforest. Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner Posada Amazonas Overnight Posada Amazonas
Day Seven July 12, 2015 Posada Amazonas Field explorations in the rainforest surrounding Posada Amazonas lodge. Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner Posada Amazonas Overnight Posada Amazonas Day Eight July 13, 2015 Posada to Puerto to Cusco to Ollantaytambo After breakfast, we reverse our journey to Puerto Maldonado, where we transfer to the airport for our flight to Cusco. We will fly across the snow-capped Andes Mountains to the heart of the Inca Empire. Nestled in a high valley at nearly 13,000 feet, Cusco is surrounded by some of the highest peaks in the Andes. As we descend into Cusco, the oldest continuously inhabited city in the western hemisphere, we glimpse the red tiled roofs of this colonial capital that was built on the massive foundations created by the Inca Empire. We will be met at the airport and transported out of the city and into the Sacred Valley enroute to the small town of Ollantaytambo. The Sacred Valley of the Incas is witnessing a battle between climate change and human survival. The Apu Pachatusan (God That Holds the World in Quechua language) a seasonal glacier that rises over 15,000 feet above sea level (4,842 meters) and one of the most important sites in the Inca religious world is in danger of vanishing as a result of climate change and deforestation. Meanwhile, lakes have been drying up and water supplies dwindling. Breakfast Posada Amazonas Dinner On Your Own Overnight Ollantaytambo Day Nine July 14, 2015 Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes & Machu Picchu Early train to Machu Picchu village; Visit to the sanctuary; overnight Aquas Calientes.. After breakfast we board an early train for Aguas Calientes. Upon arrival we will board a bus for the trip up to Machu Picchu. The topography, geology and hydrology of Machu Picchu create nine life zones and contain a wide diversity of flora and fauna. There are more than 1000 species of orchids within the Sanctuary, as well as a wide variety of ferns, begonias, palms, and bromeliads. The Sanctuary has many species including the solitary eagle, the Andean condor, the ocelot, spectacled bear, and a great variety of birds including the Cock-of-the-Rock, Peru s national bird. Exploration of the architectural remains of plazas, palaces, temples, homes, cemeteries and more than 100 irrigated terraces that formed the structure for the Incan agricultural system. The
day will provide an ongoing opportunity for discussions of Incan cultural traditions as well as the effects of climate change on the cloud forest. After a two hour guided tour of the ruins, there will be opportunity to climb Huayna Picchu, or walk to the Sun Gate. You ll have the evening to explore the town and have dinner on your own. Breakfast Ollantaytambo Dinner On Your Own Overnight Aguas Calientes Day Ten July 15, 2015 Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu) to Cusco After breakfast, we will make your way back through the Urubamba Valley to Cusco. On the way you will make stops to assess what local villages are doing to confront climate change and assess the impact climate change will have on the lives and social fabric of these mountain communities. In Cusco, we will check into our hotel and then have the rest of the day on our own to explore the city. Dinner will be on your own. Breakfast Aguas Calientes Lunch Provided Dinner On Your Own Overnight Cusco Day Eleven July 16, 2015 Cusco to Lima After breakfast, we will have some time to explore Cusco before our transfer to the airport for our flight to Lima. Upon arrival in Lima we will travel along the coast. Peru has a large fishing industry due to the cold Humboldt current that flows north along the coast. We will arrive at our final destination, Rosa Nautica, a restaurant on a pier in the Pacific for our farewell dinner. We will later transfer to the airport for those taking overnight flights to the US. Breakfast Hotel in Cusco Dinner Rosa Nautica Restaurant Farewell Dinner Overnight Flight to the US Day Twelve July 17, 2015 ARRIVE IN USA