As the end of the rainy season approached, the level of the rivers begin to drop. It was about halfway between high water and the lowest level when we traveled up this waterway. The forest was flooded way back into the distance so alligators, wild boars capaybayas etc. were not seen at the water's edge as they are at low water. An area like this probably could not be exploited by farmers or ranchers due to the fluctuation of the water level but it certainly could be ravaged by illegal loggers and gold mining dredges if it weren't patrolled by forest rangers. One would hope that the rangers would have enough in their budgets for gas for their patrol boats.
As for the future and what climate change could bring, we could only wonder what will happen. Locals say that less rain is falling in this area. If the trend continues, the forests could dry out leading to more intentional or unintentional forest fires.
Also, we wondered what will happen to these rivers as the sea level rises. It would appear that the rise would create a damming effect so that river water all over the Amazon Basin would back up and cause more flooding, impacting tremendously the riverine cities, town and villages from the mouth of the Amazon back to isolated reserves like the Pacaya-Samiria. The impact on the fragile flora and fauna can only be negative..
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