One year of the Rolex and National Geographic Perpetual Planet Amazon expeditions
15 June 2023 - Compared to the terrestrial rainforest, the Amazon’s 7,000-kilometre-long waterways have not received much scientific limelight, but this is changing thanks to the multidisciplinary teams of ecologists, climate scientists, cartographers, geologists and conservationists taking part in the Rolex and National Geographic Perpetual Planet Amazon Expedition. Guided by the generational knowledge of local communities, the teams have been exploring different parts of the Amazon River basin to understand its intricacies.
The expedition is being documented by National Geographic Explorer and Photographer, Thomas Peschak. With his history, first as a marine biologist, then as a celebrated wildlife photojournalist, he is the perfect person to chronicle this expedition. His previous work has always focused on the ocean, but now, by diving underwater and climbing rocky ledges, he’s covering the Amazon River right from its source in the Andes, down to where its waters join the Atlantic Ocean.
“FROM THE ANDES TO THE ATLANTIC, THE 6,400 KILOMETRE-LONG AMAZON RIVER, AND ITS THOUSANDS OF TRIBUTARIES, ARE THE LIFEBLOOD OF THE REGION. TOGETHER, THEY FORM A GIANT AQUATIC WEB THE SIZE OF AUSTRALIA.” Thomas Peschak, National Geographic Explorer and Photographer
Over the past year, all the teams have made significant progress, marking the first pages of a fascinating story.
WORLD’S FIRST FRESHWATER MANGROVES DOCUMENTED
Within the first few weeks of their exploration of the Amazon delta, the team led by National Geographic Explorer Angelo Bernardino identified the world’s first-known freshwater mangroves. Most mangroves grow partially submerged in the salty seawaters of intertidal zones along coasts, but the mangrove forest that Bernardino discovered has a unique mix of tree species growing in little to no salinity. This finding has increased the known area of mangroves in the region by 20 per cent and is the first one to be published from the Rolex and National Geographic Perpetual Planet Amazon Expedition.
Bernardino teamed up with National Geographic Explorer Margaret Owuor to survey the mangroves, interview the local communities, and carry out the first-ever mapping of the ecosystem services they provide.
They have been helped by another National Geographic Explorer, Thiago Silva, who is shedding new light on another phenomenon of the Amazon basin – that of regular flooding that submerges forests along its banks. Silva has been using drones, laser scanning, and painstakingly measuring trees, to create the first-ever 3-D models of the Amazon basin’s flooded wetland forests. His work will help forecast how to respond to water stresses in the future. He has been using cutting-edge specialized equipment to help Bernardino and Owuor to understand the unique mangroves they have been studying in the Amazon Delta.
“THE ROLEX AND NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PERPETUAL PLANET AMAZON EXPEDITION BROUGHT TOGETHER PEOPLE WITH DIFFERENT SPECIALITIES, WITH DIFFERENT RESEARCH AREAS, AND THAT MADE OUR TRIP SO MUCH RICHER.” Angelo Bernardino, Marine Ecologist, National Geographic Explorer
LOCAL COMMUNITIES SEE RETURN OF THOUSANDS OF RIVER RESIDENTS
Other teams are focusing on the unique residents of the Amazon’s waterways, and how they coexist with people.
National Geographic Explorer Fernando Trujillo has been monitoring the rapidly disappearing pink river dolphin and working with local communities to help them coexist peacefully with the dolphins, which are often seen as competition for local fisheries. So far, he has surveyed nearly 1,300 kilometres of the river across four different countries, estimating that there are close to 1,400 of the Amazon’s iconic pink river dolphins in the area.
Rolex Awards for Enterprise Laureate João Campos-Silva and fellow National Geographic Explorer Andressa Scabin have been working with local communities to tag and track large, over-exploited freshwater species such as giant Amazon River turtles, manatees, pink dolphins, giant otters and black caimans, in order to protect these animals. They became the first people to GPS-tag an arapaima, the world’s largest freshwater fish, and their work in community-based conservation has seen unprecedented recovery of wildlife, including the release of almost 200,000 giant turtle hatchlings in 2022.
National Geographic Explorers Ruthmery Pillco Huarcaya and Andy Whitworth are also tracking a critical species of great importance to Indigenous people: the Andean bear. The bears are crucial to the Amazon’s water cycle for the role they play in dispersing tree seeds in the cloud forests, helping to form the “wall” of dense vegetation on the western face of the Andes that catches water evaporating from the Amazon and feeds it back into the forest. As a member of the Indigenous Quechua community, Huarcaya was raised with stories and legends about the bears. Now, along with Whitworth, she’s trying to understand how threats like deforestation and climate change affect its existence, and consequently the water flow that keeps the rainforest alive.
HIGHEST WEATHER STATION IN THE AMAZON
In July 2022, National Geographic Explorers and climate scientists Baker Perry and Tom Matthews installed the highest weather station in the tropical Andes at 6,349 metres, just 35 metres from the peak of Nevado Ausangate, the highest peak in the densely populated Cusco region. The weather station has been producing unique, real-time meteorological data that will help elucidate how climate change is affecting the Amazon’s primary source of fresh water for communities downstream.
“THE AMAZON IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT REGIONS GLOBALLY, FOR INFLUENCING ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION, ESPECIALLY OF WATER BETWEEN THE LAND AND THE ATMOSPHERE. WITHOUT THE SUPPORT OF ROLEX IN PARTICULAR, THESE EXPEDITIONS WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED, AND WE WOULD NOT HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE THAT WE DO OF THE CRITICAL WATER TOWERS OF THE AMAZON BASIN.” Baker Perry, Climate Scientist, National Geographic Explorer
Just one year since its launch, the Rolex and National Geographic Perpetual Planet Amazon Expedition is transforming what we know about this celebrated region. By bringing the waterways to the fore, the expedition is showing how they connect the land from its highest peaks to its coastal forests, supporting plant, animal and human life every step of the way. With another year to go, Peschak’s pictures and the scientists’ findings could soon rewrite the story of the mighty Amazon River, the heart of the planet.
ABOUT THE PERPETUAL PLANET INITIATIVE
For nearly a century, Rolex has supported pioneering explorers pushing back the boundaries of human endeavour. The company has moved from championing exploration for the sake of discovery to protecting the planet, committing for the long term to support individuals and organizations using science to understand and devise solutions to today’s environmental challenges.
This engagement was reinforced with the launch of the Perpetual Planet Initiative in 2019, which initially focused on the Rolex Awards for Enterprise, as well as long-standing partnerships with Mission Blue and National Geographic Society.
The initiative now has more than 20 other partnerships in an expanding portfolio. They include, for example, Cristina Mittermeier and Paul Nicklen, Rewilding Argentina and Rewilding Chile, offspring organizations of Tompkins Conservation, the Under The Pole expeditions, the Monaco Blue Initiative, and Coral Gardeners.
Rolex also supports organizations and initiatives fostering the next generations of explorers, scientists and conservationists through scholarships and grants, such as Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society and The Rolex Explorers Club Grants.