In 1997, the Peruvian Parliament approved a new Law of Protected Natural Areas in which Private Conservation Areas (Áreas de Conservación Privadas or ACPs) were given legal recognition.

PeruNorth recently had the chance to visit ACP #29 - Juningue, located near Moyobamba in the Department of San Martin. This 78-hectare parcel of land was granted its Private Conservation Area status, by the Ministry of the Environment, in February 2011. This status lasts for 10 years, and yet five years later, the owners - a group of nine siblings who had inherited the land - are still unsure exactly what to do with it.