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### A sanctuary for Amazonian plants

In a region as biodiverse as Madre de Dios, talking about plants is talking about life. And few places embody that spirit better than the **Botanical Garden of the National Amazonian University of Madre de Dios (UNAMAD)**. More than just a garden, it is an educational, scientific, and cultural space that plays a key role in preserving the plant heritage of the Peruvian Amazon.

Located within the university campus in Puerto Maldonado, this garden is an open-air laboratory, a refuge for native species, and a place where students, researchers, and visitors can connect with knowledge and ecological balance.

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### A deeply rooted initiative

Since its early years, the university aimed to create a space for practical and applied learning for its students in environmentally focused careers. Thus, the Botanical Garden was born as a response to the challenge of training professionals committed to the sustainable development of the region, while preserving its extraordinary natural wealth.

The garden is the result of an academic vision that sees nature as a classroom and plants as silent teachers. Its design facilitates active learning and direct contact with species that are often unknown even to locals.

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### What can you find in the garden?

The UNAMAD Botanical Garden houses a valuable collection of Amazonian plants, many with traditional, medicinal, or ecological uses. Among its main features are:

– **Living collections**: trees, shrubs, vines, and herbs representing the diverse ecosystems of Madre de Dios, such as terrace forests, white-sand forests, palm swamps, and lowland hills.
– **Interpretive trails**: paths with signage offering botanical, ecological, and cultural information—perfect for guided tours, university practices, and educational visits.
– **Thematic zones**: sections dedicated to medicinal plants, endangered species, useful trees, ornamental plants, and ethnobotanical resources.
– **Experimental nursery**: a space for cultivating native species for seedling production, reforestation, and propagation experiments.
– **Monitoring and research areas**: plots used for fieldwork, botanical research, and ecological restoration projects.

Every corner is designed to serve an educational and scientific purpose while offering a sensory experience through the Amazon’s unique scents, colors, and textures.

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### A natural classroom for students

This garden is far from a decorative space—it is a vital educational tool. Students from majors like Forestry Engineering, Ecotourism, Agroecology, and Biology use it for hands-on practices, species identification, botanical surveys, management plans, and research projects.

It is also an ideal setting for thesis development and service-learning activities with local communities. Direct interaction with plants helps future professionals fully understand the ecological, economic, and cultural relationships embedded in the forest.

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### Conservation in action

One of the garden’s main objectives is the **ex situ conservation** of Amazonian plant species—preserving them outside their natural habitats. Many of these species are threatened by deforestation, climate change, and unsustainable extraction activities.

Growing them in this space not only protects their genetic information but also promotes their appreciation by new generations. Medicinal plants, for example, represent both ancestral knowledge and promising avenues for research in health, pharmacology, and biotechnology.

The nursery also provides native seedlings for regional reforestation efforts and the recovery of degraded areas, contributing directly to ecosystem restoration.

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### Environmental education and community outreach

The garden was never meant for university students alone. From the beginning, it was also envisioned as an educational resource for schools, institutions, and local organizations. Workshops, guided visits, and environmental education activities are regularly offered, engaging children, youth, and community leaders in forest conservation.

Walking through the garden and learning about its plants creates a shift in perspective: what was once seen as mere “bush” becomes a natural pharmacy, a food source, or an ecological treasure worth preserving.

This social role strengthens the link between science and the community, making technical knowledge accessible to everyday life in the Amazon.

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### Scientific research and the university herbarium

One of the garden’s most notable accomplishments is the creation of the university herbarium, where dried plant specimens collected in the field are preserved. These records support botanical identification, documentation of rare or new species, and academic exchanges with other institutions.

The data collected in the garden and herbarium feed into scientific publications, regional catalogues, and biodiversity databases. They also help monitor species conservation status and assess the impact of environmental change on local ecosystems.

Thanks to this work, the university enhances its scientific profile and contributes meaningfully to the understanding of Amazonian flora.

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### Ecological restoration from the university

The Botanical Garden has also played a leading role in important **ecological restoration** efforts, especially in areas impacted by human activities like illegal mining. Using techniques based on pioneer species, biochar, erosion control, and drone monitoring, degraded zones have been successfully recovered through student-led projects and institutional collaboration.

These experiences show that the knowledge developed at the university can have a direct, transformative impact on the land—bringing life back to landscapes once thought lost.

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### Looking ahead

The UNAMAD Botanical Garden still has much room to grow. Key challenges include expanding its infrastructure, increasing living collections, improving irrigation systems and signage, and strengthening its ties with national and international botanical networks.

There are also exciting opportunities to develop scientific and educational tourism, innovate agroforestry practices, and train specialized guides in Amazonian flora.

With dedicated management and support from the university community, the garden has all the potential to become a national reference in plant conservation and environmental education.

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### A living treasure in Madre de Dios

In a region where biodiversity is as abundant as it is fragile, the UNAMAD Botanical Garden plays a vital role. It’s a place where science meets tradition, where young people learn to care for what they may one day protect, and where plants speak silently of the urgency to preserve our environment.

This garden cultivates more than trees—it cultivates awareness, identity, and hope. And in a time when the Amazon needs allies more than ever, initiatives like this are seeds worth planting again and again.

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