The Cornell University Esbaran Amazon Field Laboratory was inaugurated in July 2001, as a research facility dedicated to education, conservation, and the discovery of novel medicinal compounds from applied field chemoecology, under the direction of Dr. Eloy Rodriguez. The laboratory was constructed in partnership with the Amazon Yarapa River Lodge, an ecotourism venture, with funds granted from Cornell University, the National Institutes of Health, and private donations.
The laboratory is located in the Amazon Rainforest along the banks of the Yarapa River, a remote tributary of the Amazon River in Peruvian Amazon Rainforest. Jaldar, the closest native village, has been brought into an agreement to serve as custodians of the land and manage it in a way consistent with conservation and sustainable use. Further upstream can be found the villages of Nuevo Loreto and Puerto Miguel, and on an adjacent tributary the village of Jerusalem where a local shaman leads students in botanical expeditions.
Research at the EsBaran Field Laboratory relies heavily on the collaboration of local guides with native knowledge of the rainforest. Students engage local children in an exchange of knowledge to facilitate the sharing of perspectives and cultural assets.
Read more about this topic: Cornell University College Of Agriculture And Life Sciences, Academics
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