Asociación Peruana para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (APECO)

What Asociación Peruana para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (APECO) does

APECO (Asociación Peruana para la Conservación de la Naturaleza) is a Peruvian non-profit civil association founded in 1982 dedicated to biodiversity conservation across Peru's terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems. The organization operates four core programs: montane and cloud forest conservation (with emphasis on the yellow-tailed woolly monkey, Oreonax flavicauda, and the Parque Nacional Río Abiseo); forests and indigenous communities; biodiversity and climate change; and marine-coastal ecosystems. It serves rural and indigenous communities (including Awajún, Wampis, and Amazonian community groups), national and regional government agencies (SERNANP, MINAM, regional governments), educational institutions, and the scientific community. APECO holds a unique distinction as the only Peruvian civil society institution to have participated in four Antarctic expeditions.

APECO's service portfolio includes proprietary biodiversity and social monitoring frameworks developed over decades for specific Peruvian ecosystems; the T'ikay Wasi teacher training methodology (training approximately 300 educators cumulatively); the Guardianes del Bosque educational strategy (reaching 318 students); the Las Exitosas women-led conservation initiative (producing over 200,000 cocoa seedlings in 2025); and the MERESE Copallín-Cajaruro payment for ecosystem services mechanism linking downstream water users to upstream forest conservation across 11,549 hectares of the ACP Copallín. Strategic partners include the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, PERU LNG, Universidad Científica del Sur, SPDA, regional governments, and international donors such as the Finnish Embassy and Spanish Ministry of Environment. Co-management frameworks span the PN Río Abiseo, Santuario Nacional Cordillera de Colán, ACR Vista Alegre Omia, and indigenous reserves including Chayu Nain and Tuntanain.

APECO is funded primarily through international cooperation grants, project-based contracts with government agencies, and ecosystem service payments. It does not sell commercial products or services and has no publicly disclosed commercial pricing tiers. The organization has 14 employees and operates from its Lima headquarters with regional offices in Chachapoyas (Amazonas) and Ucayali. Recognitions include the 1987 UNEP Global 500 Roll of Honour, the 2003 CAMBIE Environmental Conservation Prize, the 2006 Andean Community recognition for biodiversity strategy implementation, and the 2025 Climate Honours Diploma from Finland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Name

Asociación Peruana para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (APECO)

Legal name

Asociación Peruana para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (APECO)

Website

https://apeco.org.pe

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

APECO is a Peruvian non-profit founded in 1982 conserving biodiversity across montane forests, Amazonian rainforests, and marine ecosystems through four core programs. It serves rural and indigenous communities, government agencies, and educators via co-management, environmental education, and payment for ecosystem services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Conservation Services

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219)

akta.pro primary industry

Biodiversity & Habitat Conservation (BPAGAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Wildlife Conservation & Species Protection (BPAGAGAB), Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) Program Development & Administration (AFAMAMAF)

Keywords

• Biodiversity conservation services
• Protected area management
• Environmental education programs
• Indigenous community engagement
• Marine ecosystem research

Headquarters

HQ city

Lima

HQ country

Peru

HQ region

Latin America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. International Cooperation Funding: APECO receives technical and financial support from international organizations and foreign governments for conservation projects. Sources include cooperation agencies such as the Finnish Embassy and Spanish Ministry of Environment, as well as international NGOs and multilateral programs.
2. Project-Based Grants and Contracts: APECO executes funded conservation projects with defined scopes, timelines, and deliverables for government agencies and international donors. Examples include co-management of protected areas, biodiversity monitoring contracts, and environmental education programs.
3. MERESE (Payment for Ecosystem Services): APECO designs and facilitates Payment for Ecosystem Services mechanisms such as the MERESE Copallín-Cajaruro, where water users contribute financially to upstream forest conservation communities.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

APECO is a non-profit civil association that delivers biodiversity conservation services in Peru through four core programs spanning montane and cloud forests, indigenous community partnerships, biodiversity and climate change, and marine-coastal ecosystems. It co-manages national protected areas with SERNANP, designs payment-for-ecosystem-services mechanisms such as MERESE Copallín-Cajaruro, runs environmental education programs (including the T'ikay Wasi teacher training methodology), conducts biodiversity and social monitoring for partner organizations and government agencies, and supports indigenous communities in sustainable livelihoods and protected area administration.

Product overview

APECO is a non-profit civil association founded in 1982 that operates four core conservation programs: Bosques Montanos y de Neblina (montane and cloud forest conservation), Bosques y Comunidades Indígenas (indigenous community partnerships), Biodiversidad y Cambio Climático (biodiversity and climate change), and Ecosistemas Marino Costeros (marine coastal ecosystems). The organization manages multiple initiatives including the ACR Vista Alegre Omia protected area, the Guardianes del Bosque educational strategy, the Proyecto BMAP biodiversity monitoring program, and conservation efforts for the endemic yellow-tailed woolly monkey. Additional offerings include interactive interpretive centers, the Alas y Olas albatross project, environmental education services through the T'ikay Wasi program, and the Tu Huella Verde corporate environmental responsibility program.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Alas y Olas: Project for the evaluation of distribution, abundance, and incidental catch of albatrosses and petrels, developed under the marine-coastal ecosystem program.
• Tu Huella Verde

Products and services

• Bosques Montanos y de Neblina Conservation program focused on montane and cloud forests in Amazonas and San Martín regions, including work on the yellow-tailed woolly monkey (mono choro de cola amarilla) and protected areas like Parque Nacional Río Abiseo.
• Bosques y Comunidades Indígenas Program strengthening indigenous communities' capacities and promoting intercultural bilingual environmental education for biodiversity conservation in the Peruvian Amazon.
• Biodiversidad y Cambio Climático Program promoting biodiversity conservation of flora and fauna, as well as adaptive management to contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation effects on biodiversity.
• Ecosistemas Marino Costeros Program promoting conservation and research of threatened marine species including Humboldt penguin, albatrosses, petrels, turtles, manta rays; the only Peruvian civil society institution conducting Antarctic research.
• Proyecto BMAP (Biodiversity Monitoring and Assessment Program) Biodiversity Monitoring and Evaluation Program collaboration between Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI), PERU LNG and APECO, established in 2008 for long-term monitoring of species and habitats.
• Mono Choro de Cola Amarilla Conservation Initiative Conservation initiative for the yellow-tailed woolly monkey (Oreonax flavicauda), an endemic species endangered of extinction, with work dating back to 1978.
• Educación Ambiental (Environmental Education Services) Environmental education services including the T'ikay Wasi training program for teachers, educational bus campaigns, and youth environmental education models.
• MERESE Payment for Ecosystem Services Mechanism (Copallín-Cajaruro) Payment for ecosystem services mechanism designed and facilitated by APECO where water users (Cajaruro) contribute financially to upstream forest conservation communities (Copallín) for water source protection.
• Tu Huella Verde Environmental best practices program that designs eco-social-economic facilitation processes to promote activities and projects oriented toward the common good, driven by private, public, guild, and communal initiatives.

Quantifiable outcome

• 318 students benefiting from the Guardianes del Bosque educational strategy near ACR Vista Alegre Omia
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008SCBI collaborates with PERU LNG and APECO on the BMAP (Biodiversity Monitoring and Assessment Program), integrating biodiversity conservation within the construction and operation of the PERU LNG gas pipeline and Melchorita processing terminal. The program conducts long-term monitoring of species and habitats important for conservation.
• PERU LNGcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008PERU LNG partners with APECO and SCBI on the BMAP, integrating conservation measures into its gas pipeline and processing operations through long-term biodiversity monitoring and adaptive management.
• Universidad Científica del SurcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organizes scientific dissemination events including the Month of the Ocean lecture series, bringing together IMARPE researchers to discuss marine ecosystem dynamics and El Niño impacts. APECO and the university share joint awards recognition (Premio CAMBIE 2003).
• Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental (SPDA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSPDA co-organizes scientific lectures on the marine ecosystem with APECO and Universidad Científica del Sur as part of the Month of the Ocean events, contributing to public policy discussions on ocean conservation.
• SERNANP (Servicio Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas por el Estado)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSERNANP works with APECO on the co-management of national protected areas, approval of private conservation areas, and the management framework for the ACR Vista Alegre Omia established by Decreto Supremo No. 005-2018-MINAM.
• Gobierno Regional de AmazonascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe regional government of Amazonas collaborates with APECO on the Sistema de Conservación Regional de Amazonas (SICRE) and presented the formal expediente for the establishment of ACR Vista Alegre Omia in 2014.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental (SPDA): Peruvian non-profit specializing in environmental law and policy. SPDA is an explicit partner of APECO on the Month of the Ocean lectures and shares overlapping themes (biodiversity, protected areas, sustainability) in the same Peruvian geography.
• Conservation International Peru: CI Peru runs biodiversity and sustainable-development programs in the Peruvian Amazon and Andes, including community-based conservation models directly comparable to APECO's community-led approach.
• WWF Perú: WWF's Peruvian office runs protected-area, forest, and species programs supported by WWF's global donor network. Competes with APECO for Amazonian and coastal project funding but is a much broader incumbent.
• Wildlife Conservation Society (Peru): WCS operates landscape-level conservation programs in the Andean-Amazon region including Peru, with comparable species-monitoring approaches (long-term biodiversity assessment) and similar protected-area co-management engagements.
• ProNaturaleza (Fundación ProNaturaleza): Peruvian conservation non-profit working on protected-area management, biodiversity research, and sustainable development across Peru; competes with APECO for similar government and international grants.
• Naturaleza y Cultura Internacional (Peru): Peruvian and Andean-region conservation non-profit working on protected areas, community engagement, and biodiversity monitoring comparable in scope and geography to APECO.

Broad incumbents

• IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature): Global conservation network whose South America office convenes protected-area, species, and policy work that overlap with APECO's ACR Vista Alegre Omia and Cordillera de Colán co-management roles.
• The Nature Conservancy (Andes-Amazon): Large international NGO operating across the Andean-Amazon region through conservation-area purchases, indigenous-community partnerships, and PES schemes comparable to APECO's MERESE Copallín-Cajaruro mechanism.

Regional players

• Instituto de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Mamirauá: Brazilian research and conservation institute managing Amazonian protected areas with community co-management models akin to APECO's ACP Copallín work; comparable methodology, different country.
• Fundación CIMA (Centro de Incidencia y Movilidad Ambiental): Latin-American environmental non-profit working on conservation policy, protected-area governance, and indigenous-community engagement with comparable non-profit legal structure to APECO.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/APECOcomunicaciones
• Facebookfacebook.com/112959152083321
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/apeco-peru

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Asociación Peruana para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (APECO)