Xixua-Xiparina Reserve - Amazon Rainforest - Sustainable Development on the Rio Jauaperi

The Xixuau-Xiparina Reserve is an area of 450,000 acres of pristine rainforest within the Roraima State of Brazil. Located 450km north west of Manaus, on the confluences of the Xixuau and Xiparina creeks and the Jauperi River, the Reserve is one of the last remaining 30% of Amazonian forest which is totally undamaged by human activity. The Reserve is home to some one hundred traditional caboclo inhabitants who largely live in the small village of Xixuau, which lies at the confluence of the Xixuau and Jauperi rivers. The reserve is under the management and protection of a Brazilian NGO, the Amazon Association (AA), formed by and for the benefit of the native inhabitants of the region. The Association was founded in 1992 on the premise that it is only possible to preserve the remaining intact areas of the Amazon rainforest through poverty relief and the active participation of the local inhabitants, the true guardians of their natural environment. The Association has the aims of improving the standard of living of the local inhabitants, preserving biological and cultural diversity, promoting sustainable development throughout Amazonia.