The Impacts on Human Health and the Environment from Resource Extraction in the Amarakaeri Reserve study examines the health and environmental impacts occurring in communities near (and in) the Amarakaeri Reserve in the Madre de Dios (MDD) region of Peru. The Amarakaeri Reserve is a national protected area with an area of 402,355 hectares that is located in the mountainous rainforest high in the Madre de Dios watershed. It is a hotspot for biodiversity and has had few if no anthropological activities within the reserve. Recently, a natural gas company has been approved to begin exploratory drilling for natural gas extraction, which, along with ongoing artisanal gold mining in the region, places the reserve and the communities down river at risk. The monitoring and analysis of this risk, at the watershed and epidemiological level, provides the backbone of the study.

The study, similar to our previous studies, is composed of an environmental as well a human health component to better understand the nexus between humans and their surrounding environment. In order to determine the environmental impacts, we will first be establishing baseline data by recording air quality, climate, entomology (specifically mosquitoes and sandflies), water quality, land use, soil characteristics, hydrological parameters and contaminant levels in fish. This baseline will be used to begin constructing a hydrological model of the reserve to better understand how water moves through the system. This will provide a foundation in which the extent to future anthropologic disturbances can be quantified, whether that be gas extraction, mining, timber or other resource extraction that has an impact on the landscape. These environmental factors will be analyzed to compliment and elaborate certain human health outcomes such as malaria, dengue, leishmaniasis, diet and nutrition.

The study will also be the first study in the region to establish a baseline for a variety of human health biomarkers that will incorporate approximately 6,500 participants from 19 communities, indigenous and non-indigenous, that surround the Amarakaeri Reserve. This will consist of measuring biomarkers to elucidate levels of anemia, nutrition, exposure to heavy metals, infectious and non-infectious diseases as well as kidney function. Beyond analyzing biomarkers, the study will also implement an in-depth survey to understand migration, fecundity, diet, reproductive health and population vulnerability.

All test results will be given to the participants as well as the Ministry of Health. Several of the implemented tests provide instantaneous results, which will be given directly to participants. Other results require lab analysis and will be returned in person by Duke Researchers to ensure the delivery of results and their proper interpretation. The Pan Research group works closely with the Peruvian Ministry of Health to ensure that results are provided in an adequate manner and ensure that those with positive results can obtain medical treatment through existing governmental health programs.