In a world of constantly evolving science and technology, Amazon Conservation is at the forefront of harnessing these advancements to develop innovative and long-term conservation solutions to strengthen the management of protected areas and Indigenous territories, while developing effective strategies to halt deforestation and other harmful activities jeopardizing the future of the Amazon. 

Image from MAAP #164 on the tipping point shows Amazon forest loss

Since our beginnings 25 years ago, Amazon Conservation has grounded our conservation strategies in science. Early research in the Amazon by world-renowned ecologist and late Amazon Conservation Board Member Tom Lovejoy directly influenced how our co-founders, Adrian Forsyth and Enrique Ortiz, perceived the region’s ecological significance and the urgent need for its protection. Lovejoy led groundbreaking research published in 2018, launching the critical concept of an Amazon’s “tipping point:” the point where deforestation and climate impacts will cause the rainforest to permanently shift from a carbon-rich humid tropical rainforest to a carbon-poor dry savanna. To this day, the tipping point remains a key reference in our efforts to protect this vital ecosystem, highlighting the Amazon’s critical role in regulating the planet’s climate and ecological systems.

Los Amigos researcher studies DNA samples

To support scientific advancements and on-the-ground research, we established three world-class biological stations in the Peruvian Amazon. Strategically located at varying altitudinal gradients enabling research at distinct elevations, our Los Amigos, Wayqecha, and Manu Biological Stations offer the latest technological and scientific tools for researchers studying botany, genomics, zoology, and more. These stations have housed numerous studies resulting in scientific breakthroughs, such as multiple discoveries of new species, as well as critical insight into the intricate ecological functions of the Amazon’s vast ecosystems and the impacts of climate change. Our biological stations also serve as foundational training centers, advancing the world’s understanding of the Amazon and serving as a model for research experience, immersion for local students, and capacity-building workshops for rangers and leaders from local Amazonian communities to enhance our conservation efforts in the Amazon. 

Technician works on drone used to monitor forests

When it comes to technology, one of our most notable innovations is our unique real-time satellite monitoring program, Monitoring of the Andes Amazon Program (MAAP). For the past 10 years, MAAP has served as a vital tool for governments, local and Indigenous communities, policymakers, and social actors to detect and report deforestation as it happens. Over the years, MAAP has continued to utilize new technology to give more accurate, timely, and cost-effective geographic analyses that could not only identify and track deforestation events, but also predict trends in its expansion. This development of MAAP has created a foundation for our close-knit collaboration with national governments, providing critical data on the leading causes of deforestation across the Amazon, which has led to direct field interventions and enforcement that have effectively halted harmful and illegal activities. Furthermore, MAAP has become a key tool within our community-based approach, empowering local authorities and Indigenous communities to track and report illegal deforestation activities in their lands. 

Drone image provides a spectacular view of Los Amigos

By facilitating innovative scientific research and integrating the most advanced technology into our conservation solutions, we are taking an active role in conserving these forests while also empowering a generation of conservationists in the fight to safeguard the Amazon for years to come. 

Learn more about how we’re innovating for the Amazon’s bright future >

Ten years ago today, Amazon Conservation launched our novel Monitoring of the Andes Amazon Program (MAAP), a satellite-based monitoring program that began as a tool to pinpoint the most urgent cases of deforestations and fires and has evolved into a game-changing tool for governments, local people, media, civil society, policymakers, and the general public to understand and take action on Amazon-wide issues.

Driven by activities such as illegal mining, logging, and large-scale agriculture, continued deforestation in the Amazon risks intensifying the growing impacts of climate change. Degradation of these forests is pushing the Amazon closer towards its tipping point–a critical point of inflection in which scientists believe that this lush, tropical rainforest may convert to a dry savanna, creating an unstable environment for its biodiverse habitats and ecological productivity. Potential ecological, economic, and social impacts are also heavily influenced by this ecosystem, and understanding its regional and global impacts has become more urgent than ever. 

To raise awareness and directly address these threats to the Amazon, we, along with our alliance of sister organizations (Conservación Amazónica-ACCA in Peru and Conservación Amazónica-ACEAA in Bolivia) and a strong partnership network, utilize MAAP to develop a holistic forest governance strategy that can effectively tackle widespread deforestation and fortify the rule of law. Many local and Indigenous communities continue to be most affected by deforestation, and efforts by government agencies to enforce the law and safeguard protected areas and Indigenous territories require timely and effective action. This is where we step in – we’ve become trusted partners of government authorities and agencies to synthesize information on harmful activities, such as illegal mining, logging, and other incursions into Indigenous territories, concessions, and protected areas, into confidential reports, enabling swift action against these illegal activities while the a’re still happening. We have also built similar relationships with local concessionaires and indigenous communities through empowering them to actively protect their productive forests and territories by tracking and reporting illegal actions on their lands.

Over the past decade, MAAP has uncovered key details on the leading causes of deforestation across the Amazon, leading to direct enforcement that has effectively halted harmful and illegal activities. From major media coverage to direct on-the-ground field interventions, we are eager to reflect on MAAP’s history and some of its key moments over the past 10 years.

The Beginning of MAAP: An Introduction to the Power of Satellite Imagery

Amazon Conservation’s Director of MAAP, Matt Finer, was first introduced to the power of satellite technologies to detect deforestation through a tip from a contact in 2013 who heard rumors of a massive new agriculture project that would deforest thousands of acres in the Loreto region of northern Peru. Finer and his colleague Clinton Jenkins (now at Florida International University) began their hunt for satellite images published by NASA’s Landsat program to determine the validity of the rumors and uncovered visual evidence of deforestation carried out by a palm oil company behind this operation. With the images in hand, Finer was able to piece together deforestation patterns, and his analysis was shared with the local government and made it into the region’s leading news sources. The spread of these images led to a national advocacy campaign carried out by local organizations and an investigation into the company’s suspected unlawful land clearing. Ultimately, the company was fined and forced to stop the deforestation, leading to a massive win for the Amazon. It was this series of events that made Finer realize how satellite imagery could become a transformative tool for forest monitoring and action against illegal deforestation, the groundwork for the early concept of MAAP.

Integrating the Latest Technology

MAAP was officially launched in the spring of 2015. Our first published MAAP report covered mining activities in the Madre de Dios region of the southern Peruvian Amazon, which were expanding at an alarming rate across an area known as La Pampa outside of the country’s “legal mining corridor” and within the buffer zone of the Tambopata National Reserve. The original maps were based on data from NASA’s Landsat program and analysis via CLASlite.

Even during its formative years, MAAP’s quick and thorough analysis of satellite images pinpointing illegal deforestation cases served as an important and trustworthy third-party source of evidence for local authorities and media campaigns. As MAAP became a household name, it continued to innovate by integrating new data sources and evolving satellite, radar, AI, and machine learning technologies into its methodology. Tools such as Planet, Global Forest Watch, University of Maryland – GLAD, NASA – GEDI, Amazon Mining Watch, the Mining Impacts Calculator, and others enabled MAAP to increase the accuracy, timeliness, cost-effectiveness, and geographic reach of its analysis. Furthermore, contributions from our partners continue to feed into our work. For example, our sister organization Conservación Amazónica-ACCA has led the development of the innovative Fire Tracking App, which provides real-time detection and prediction of major fires across the Amazon, as well as other tools to address Peru-specific challenges such as gold mining (through its RAMI tool) and road openings that can lead to illegal logging (Monitoreo de Caminos Forestales newsletter).

Becoming a Trusted Government Partner

As MAAP began to build regional traction just a few months after its launch, we published a report on the expansion of illegal mining within the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve [an important Peruvian protected area that is co-managed by Indigenous communities and Peru’s National Protected Areas Service (known as SERNANP)], gaining the attention of Peruvian government officials. In the following weeks, SERNANP, armed with our real-time analysis pinpointing instances of illegal deforestation, led the Peruvian government in several field operations to crack down on illegal mining activities in the area. One year after this intervention, our analysis showed no further signs of expansion into the reserve. The internal coordination between MAAP and local government authorities to support these operations laid the groundwork for a close partnership that continues even 10 years later. By sending government agencies like SERNANP confidential intelligence briefs prior to publishing the information publicly, we developed a model where governments have the data, tools, and incentive to take action quickly and to catch perpetrators before they escape. We have since expanded this model across multiple countries across the Amazon, including Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, and Brazil.

Driving Action Against Illegal Mining in Peru 

A few years after its founding, MAAP began to gain national attention in Peru as we consistently exposed thousands of acres of illegal deforestation caused by illegal mining activities (in reports such as MAAP #50, #87, and #96). With public pressure for the government to take action growing with each new report, the government launched Operation Mercury in 2019. The operation aimed to stop illegal gold mining in the La Pampa region of the Madre de Dios department, dismantle criminal organizations, and reinforce environmental protection measures. It became one of the largest military and police operations against illegal mining activities in Peruvian history, and a model for intragovernmental coordination. We continued to monitor the situation, and our analysis showed that this operation directly resulted in a major decrease in deforestation at a rate of 92% within just one year.

Around this time, we also began partnering with the Native Federation of the Madre de Dios River Region (FENAMAD), a regional Indigenous federation representing 38 communities from the Madre de Dios region of Peru, to bring them the technology, tools, and legal support needed to protect their ancestral lands. This partnership marked the first time we directly shared our MAAP satellite information with Indigenous communities, which has become a key tool in supporting legal action against illegal incursions into their territories as well as improving their patrolling and defense activities. We continue to work to transfer the technology capacity to FENAMAD to take charge of their territorial protection, and help them drive government operations against illegal deforestation in their territories. The situation in FENAMAD territories and in La Pampa has improved dramatically, but deforestation continues to be a challenge. 

In 2023 alone, we supported 5 major government interventions against illegal gold mining in Peru. One of these major interventions took place in June 2023, where the National Police, the Navy, and the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor’s Office of Madre de Dios in Peru carried out a field intervention against illegal mining in the Indigenous community of Barranco Chico thanks to the information provided by MAAP. Roughly $11 million worth of mining tools and equipment were destroyed, making it one of the largest illegal mining raids in Peruvian history.

Helping Decisionmakers Contextualize Deforestation Drivers 

Since the first reported arrival of Mennonites in the Peruvian Amazon in 2017, MAAP has reported their connection to large-scale deforestation caused by their unsustainable and unbridled agricultural practices. Our collective analysis exposed that much of this deforestation was illegal, and by the fall of 2024, these agricultural activities had already destroyed more than 21,000 acres of pristine forest. After the first report on these colonies came out in 2019, MAAP continued to publish information on their expansions, providing key evidence for investigations by local authorities, which has led to several fines for their illegal activities. Mennonite colonies have attempted to expand their agricultural activities to other Amazonian countries, such as Suriname, raising conservationists’ concerns.

Expanding Partnerships Across the Amazon

Following national success in Peru, MAAP began expanding to the western Amazon, adopting new partners in Ecuador, Venezuela, and Colombia, evolving our ability to provide local authorities with actionable data on deforestation and support legal action against deforestation threats. With their help in diffusing information from shared reports, direct government interventions were carried out against expanding mining activities, clearing mining concessions, and launching further investigations into these perpetrators. In particular, our Ecuadorian partners Fundación EcoCiencia continue to work with us in identifying mining deforestation, which continues to threaten numerous national sites, including protected areas and Indigenous territories, along the Andes-Amazon transition zone (MAAP #206, #221, #219). With their help, the Ecuadorian government carried out a field intervention in January 2022.

With a newfound presence in these countries, MAAP reports began to grow into a key regional tool providing Amazon-wide coverage detailing deforestation trends, the Amazon’s tipping point, and cutting-edge carbon stats across all nine Amazonian countries. Recently, one of our Amazon-wide MAAP reports revealed that Amazon contains 56.8 billion metric tons of aboveground carbon and is now teetering between a carbon source and sink. This is a crucial turning point for connecting key pieces of regional deforestation metrics at a larger scale. Today, we have strategic partnerships with local organizations in each Amazonian country to further emphasize the interconnectedness of regional deforestation impacts and to help diffuse MAAP information as a call to action.

Leveraging Public Support through Media Presence

In 2021, MAAP made major headlines across multiple US news outlets when deforestation data from our reports sparked conversations on climate impacts, Indigenous rights, carbon emissions, and more. Regional issues in the Amazon were shifting to become global matters, and the importance of protecting this ecosystem became even more urgent. In some cases, MAAP’s growing media presence in the US also began to influence national governments, encouraging more direct and effective conservation efforts in the Amazon. 

Most notably, in December 2022, the Washington Post published an article highlighting a MAAP report about illegal mining on top of a sacred tepui in the heart of Yapacana National Park in the Venezuelan Amazon (MAAP #169). In response, the Venezuelan government conducted a military operation against the illegal mining activity on the tepui that dismantled illegal mining camps and equipment.

In April 2024, we published a MAAP report in collaboration with SOS Orinoco that contained satellite images from atop the tepui following this intervention, revealing that all illegal mining camps and equipment on top of the tepui have been effectively cleared. All 425 illegal mining camps and heavy equipment visible in December 2022 fell to zero in January 2024. This marked a major victory for Amazon Conservation in Venezuela, keeping Indigenous landmarks and natural parks safe and protected. 

Halting a Massive Deforestation Project in Suriname

Following the publication of an article by the environmental news outlet Mongabay, a review of official documents from the government of Suriname detailed a concerning proposed land deal that would clear large tracts of Amazon rainforest for agriculture. In response, we published a MAAP report that analyzed the drastic impacts of this wide-scale deforestation project, providing local partners with key data. At the end of 2024, this information eventually reached the Surinamese government, and following the publication of this MAAP report, they officially announced the rejection of this project that would have destroyed over 1 million acres of forests.

From our humble beginnings in the southwestern Amazon of Peru, we’ve expanded MAAP’s scope across the entire Amazon basin, shaping us into a leading science-based conservation organization aiding in the critical survival of the greatest wild forest on Earth. To those who have supported our real-time monitoring work, thank you for all you have done! We can only hope you are as proud as we are of all we’ve been able to accomplish for the Amazon together. 

Acknowledgments

We are extremely proud of our dedicated MAAP team, who have worked incredibly hard to deliver actionable information on deforestation and consolidate a reputable network of partners across the Amazon. We are also grateful to all of the researchers, specialists, and scientists for their time and contributions. 

We are also incredibly thankful for the continued collaboration and contributions of our local partners: 

We also thank our key data and technical partners:

• Planet (optical satellite imagery)
• University of Maryland (automated forest loss alerts)
• Global Forest Watch (portal featuring integrated forest loss alerts)
• Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI) monthly mosaics
• CLASlite (our original forest loss detection tool)
• Allen Institute
• SAS

And our generous supporters over the years, for their investment in our mission and work: 

• Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad)
• The International Conservation Fund of Canada (ICFC)
• Global Conservation
• The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
• The Overbrook Foundation
• The DN Batten Foundation
• The Erol Foundation
• Andes Amazon Fund (AAF)
• Wyss Foundation
• United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
• MacArthur Foundation
• Global Forest Watch [an initiative of the World Resources Institute (WRI)]

When we think of the Amazon, a few things often come to mind: lush canopies teeming with wildlife, an intricate network of winding rivers, and vibrant, colorful birds and flowers, all painting a picture of a flourishing tropical paradise. This intricate ecosystem is full of life, not only supporting a rich diversity of plants and animals but also sheltering a diverse variety of local and Indigenous communities.

Conservación Amazónica-ACCA’s reforestation campaign (2022)

Challabamba woman with a native plant

From the mountain highlands of the Andes straight to the heart of the Amazon, many of these communities have relied on the forests’ resources for millennia. That’s why Amazon Conservation integrates a community-based approach to our conservation initiatives, empowering local people by equipping them with the knowledge, tools, and resources needed to effectively and safely protect their territories from deforestation and illegal actors. From providing drones and technical workshops for forest monitoring to teaching sustainable harvesting practices for native forest products, the people who depend on these forests are some of the leading forces for strengthening environmental governance and protecting the Amazon’s pristine forests. 

Our alliance of sister organizations and partners across the Amazon basin diligently works on the ground, collaborating with local governments, Indigenous groups, NGOs, and civil society members to build sustainable, resilient livelihoods that safeguard the Amazon. These efforts also focus on inspiring the next generation of conservationists by supporting research, providing scholarships for aspiring biologists, and offering environmental education programs for school-aged children.

Teaching drone tech to community members (2021)

Local worker with Brazil nuts

Amazon Conservation has made major strides in local empowerment over the past 25 years, most notably through our forest-based economy initiative. This initiative aims to improve the sustainable production of forest goods such as açaí, Brazil nuts, cacao, and more that provide income for local communities while also benefiting the health of the forest. To date, we have been able to secure organic certifications, business contracts, and enhance production efficiency that ultimately pave the way for a robust economic alternative to harmful activities, promoting the advantages of the forest’s ecological health and conserving its resources. Furthermore, we’ve stepped in to provide technical and capacity training for mitigating fire risk, drone use to detect deforestation, legal support, and more, to enable local people to actively protect their homes, impacting the lives of over 100,000 people to this day. 

We at Amazon Conservation believe in strength in numbers. Local people are key environmental leaders giving the Amazon a voice, and through our community involvement, we can help create an influential impact that benefits all who depend on this critical ecosystem.

The Amazon rainforest is an incredibly abundant ecosystem, home to more than 10% of the world’s known wildlife species, including diverse flora used in both traditional and modern medicine, treatments, and vaccines. This biodiversity of plant and animal life plays key ecological roles that impact the health of ecosystems and people around the globe. In addition to being a biodiversity hotspot, the Amazon is home to a diverse range of communities and Indigenous groups with distinct cultures, languages, and territories. This vast rainforest biome also serves as a climate regulator for the planet by storing more than 150 billion metric tons of carbon (more than ⅓ of all the carbon stored in tropical forests worldwide) and absorbing 2 billion tons of CO2 each year, equivalent to 5% of global annual emissions.

At Amazon Conservation, our approach to protecting wild places is inspired by the forest’s local, regional, and global significance, especially considering the range of activities that continue to threaten its future ecological health and function. Climate change, fires, illegal mining and logging, and wide-scale agriculture expansion are just some of the threats that have caused extensive deforestation that continues to negatively impact wildlife habitats, ecosystem health, protected areas, and Indigenous livelihoods. 

To counteract these effects, we are using science and technology to detect deforestation in real time and promote effective and sustainable forest management to protect wild places, counter the drivers of deforestation, and promote sustainable resource management. By working hand-in-hand with governments, local communities, and civil society, we are creating and strengthening key conservation areas and ecological corridors to protect millions of acres of pristine forests.

Over the past 25 years, Amazon Conservation has made major strides in conservation across the Amazon. To date, we have helped establish 37 conservation areas that protect over 10.5 million acres of forest in Peru and Bolivia, thanks to the support of our sister organizations Conservación Amazónica-ACCA and Conservación Amazónica-ACEAA, as well as key partners. 

Through protecting the Amazon, you are helping us protect a thriving future for plant and wildlife species as well as security and livelihoods for the people who depend on the forest for survival. Thanks to your support, we are making a real impact for the Amazon, one acre at a time.

Read more about our approach to protecting wild places >

A central part of our mission to empower people includes inspiring young conservationists to take part in protecting the Amazon, which can encourage its long-term conservation for future generations. Throughout the years, our alliance of sister organizations has been working on the ground with local schools and communities, offering programs and educational courses that teach children about the importance of biodiversity and the Amazon through various kid-friendly activities and materials such as original storybooks and comics.

You may be surprised to hear that many of these children who live so close to such a vastly diverse landscape favor animals such as elephants, giraffes, and lions, as opposed to those locally found in the Amazon. This is what inspired our Bolivian sister organization, Conservación Amazónica-ACEAA, to publish a series of comics called “Once Upon a Time in Your Forest” to inspire positive relationships and respect among children for animals living right in their local forest environment.

These comics uniquely tell the stories of multiple Amazonian animals, with each story sharing key facts about the animals and the conflicts they face in their habitats. While these comics address serious topics, the short stories in Once Upon a Time in Your Forest feature playful, charming characters that captivate young readers, giving them a closer look at the lives of giant anteaters, tapirs, agoutis, jaguars, and more.

The most recent story, Comic No. 6, tells the tale of the Bolivian Blue-throated macaw, an endemic species native to the Amazonian savannas. Known for their brightly colored feathers, this species of Macaw is a patrimony to Bolivia and one of the most vulnerable species in the savannas, as they have been a target for the wildlife pet trade, which displaces thousands of bird species from their natural habitats. By sharing the stories of these animals and the real occurrences that put them at risk, we’re giving wildlife a voice that directly speaks to people about the conflicts that impact the Amazon’s ecosystems, raising awareness and inspiring interest in conservation among the next generation. 

Learn the story of these macaws by downloading a copy of “Once Upon a Time in Your Forest” No. 6 below! 

Check out our other comics by Conservación Amazónica —ACEAA: 

View from the Canopy Tower at our Los Amigos Conservation Concession

Deep in the southwestern Peruvian Amazon lies an intricate mosaic of terrestrial and aquatic habitats, home to a vast array of wildlife. Within this enclave of biodiversity lies 360,000 acres of our Los Amigos Conservation Concession in the Los Amigos watershed of the Madre de Dios region in Peru. In 2000, Los Amigos was officially established as the first conservation concession in the world established through a public-private partnership model, providing a protected space for vulnerable wildlife species and an area for researchers to conduct studies in botany, genomics, zoology, and more at the adjacent Los Amigos Biological Station. Today, Los Amigos continues to provide long-term protection for wildlife and hosts fundamental scientific research, technical workshops, and monitoring initiatives that promote the sustainable management and overall importance of the concession for conservation. 

The idea for establishing this conservation concession first came to fruition in the 1990s when Amazon Conservation co-founders Adrian Forsyth and Enrique Ortiz recognized the region’s ecological significance and the urgent need for its protection. Their vision was inspired by groundbreaking studies in the 1980s by renowned ecologist and former Amazon Conservation Board Member Tom Lovejoy. Lovejoy’s publications were the first to touch on the Amazon’s tipping point: the point of inflection where deforestation and climate impacts will make it impossible for the Amazon to sustain its hydrological cycle and cause it to convert from a lush rainforest to a dry savanna. To this day, the tipping point serves as one of our key points of reference for conserving this vital ecosystem, recognizing the global ecological impacts beyond its South American borders and impacts on the regulation of our planet’s climate and environmental functions. 

Founders Adrian Forsyth (left) and Enrique Ortiz (right)

Another publication that inspired Amazon Conservation’s co-founders was, “The Fishes and the Forest: Explorations in Amazonian Natural History,” a breakthrough publication by ecologist Michael Goulding that delves into the complex interactions within tropical ecology and further supports the notion that the Amazon is an intricately delicate biome that sustains a variety of ecosystems and plays a pivotal role in regulating the global climate. According to the founders, these studies directly led them to search for effective solutions to protect Amazonian forests and biodiversity, thus leading to the creation of a conservation concession.

Researcher at our Los Amigos Biostation

What is a conservation concession? A substantial portion of land in Peru and Latin America is publicly owned, but the government does not always have the resources or expertise to sustainably manage or enforce protection of these areas. The public-private management model of conservation concessions we pioneered with Los Amigos enables non-governmental organizations such as Amazon Conservation and our sister organization Conservación Amazónica —ACCA to partner with the Peruvian government to achieve shared goals of biodiversity protection, sustainable natural resource management, and land conservation. Adjacent to the Los Amigos Conservation Concession is the Los Amigos Biological Station, a 1,119-acre biological research station that provides advanced tools and technology for wildlife tracking, conservation genomics, monitoring key species throughout the region, and more. The innovative research taking place at the station has gathered key ecological data on the region and even led to the discovery of new species. In addition to housing groundbreaking research, the station also serves as an educational model for providing field training for young scientists, hands-on research experience and immersion for local students, and capacity-building workshops for leaders from local Amazonian communities.

Drone training for local communities from 2021

Capacity-building and technological workshops held at the Los Amigos Biological Station and throughout the Conservation Concession have been invaluable in empowering local communities and building relationships between Amazonian leaders and scientists to better promote and enhance forest protection measures. Most notably, Los Amigos has been at the forefront of training local communities and forest patrols (called promotores in Spanish) to use drones to monitor the forests and identify illegal activities that put local people and wildlife at risk. The vast size of the Los Amigos Conservation Concession and its location near the Madre de Dios and Pariamanu rivers–long plagued by illegal mining operations–make monitoring and detecting illegal deforestation particularly challenging and dangerous, so staying at the forefront of technological advancements and being able to use the latest tools effectively are crucial to fighting illegal mining and deforestation. Surrounding the Los Amigos Conservation Concession are territorial and communal reserves inhabited by Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation or Initial Contact (referred to by the acronym PIACI in Spanish), who have relied on the forests’ natural resources for millennia. Forest monitoring via drones helps to enhance protective measures and territorial autonomy for these Indigenous communities without directly encroaching on their territory, providing community leaders with low-cost and effective monitoring across thousands of acres of land.

Thanks to collaborative efforts between the Peruvian government and Conservación Amazónica—ACCA, the Los Amigos Conservation Concession has gained national and global recognition since its establishment 25 years ago, and this conservation partnership model has been replicated around the world. In 2021, Los Amigos was declared a nationally-recognized conservation area and formally acknowledged as Peru’s first of two Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECM)* at the 2022 COP15 in Montreal. 

To this day 25 years later, the Los Amigos Conservation Concession continues to play a central role in Amazon Conservation’s identity, not only reminding us of our first victory for conservation since our founding in 1999, but also hosting even more groundbreaking scientific research with implications for the entire Amazon and planet. We are proud to provide a thriving space for conservationists, scientists, and Amazonian wildlife to flourish, and we look forward to many more achievements, discoveries, and partnerships over the next 25 years and beyond.

*OECMs are managed areas that may have goals other than biodiversity conservation, but are effectively achieving the long-term conservation of biodiversity within an established site. They are defined by the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) as: A geographically defined area other than a Protected Area, which is governed and managed in ways that achieve positive and sustained long-term outcomes for the in-situ conservation of biodiversity, with associated ecosystem functions and services and where applicable, cultural, spiritual, socioeconomic, and other locally relevant values.

Aerial image of deforestation caused by mining

Last month, Amazon Conservation officially announced the commencement of a new project titled “Combating Illegal Mining Across the Amazon: Using Cutting-Edge Technology to Take More Effective Action.” The project utilizes a partner network across Amazonian countries to strengthen the capacities of civil society organizations, communities, and local governments to tackle illegal mining. 

Over the past few years, our MAAP reports have shown increased mining activities. While several success stories have led to interventions of these (presumably illegal) activities, we have recognized that this widespread issue across the Amazon is urgently growing, as indigenous territories and protected areas face increasing threats. We acknowledge the importance of developing region-specific strategies to make on-the-ground conservation solutions effective. Considering this, we’re bringing together our network of partner civil society organizations in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru to carry out practical conservation solutions within their respective country contexts. Each partner has their own set of objectives and activities that will contribute to the project’s primary outcome, including but not limited to developing regional communication strategies and targeted advocacy campaigns, advancing legal mechanisms for policy reform, and strengthening civil society’s technical skills for monitoring, advocacy, and policy engagement. 

This new project plans to enhance the Amazon Mining Watch (AMW), an online dashboard providing real-time insights into mining activities, create annual MAAP reports identifying key hotspots, and produce high-resolution confidential reports to support urgent law enforcement actions. The AMW platform brings together machine learning and investigative reporting to shed light on large-scale environmental problems across the Amazon. By using innovative machine learning and providing groundbreaking quarterly updates on forest and river-based mining activities in key monitoring areas, this dashboard will automate work that is presently being carried out manually as part of our efforts to develop faster, cost-effective data delivery. The AMW will be integrated with a Mining Impacts Calculator, a tool to assess the social and environmental damage of illegal gold mining.

Furthermore, our robust partnership network will help initiate training among local organizations to improve their near real-time monitoring capabilities by leveraging tools to enhance data accessibility, support evidence-based policymaking, and foster coordinated regional responses to environmental and Indigenous threats from gold mining.

Learn about the partners we’re working with and how they’re combatting illegal mining: 

• Earth Genome is a non-profit organization focused on making environmental data accessible and actionable to inform decision-making on climate and conservation issues. In 2022, via partnership with the Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Investigations Network and Amazon Conservation, they launched Amazon Mining Watch (AMW), a digital platform that uses machine learning to report mining activities across the Amazon. This mining project will bring much-needed new features to the AMW platform, effectively turning it into a “one-stop shop” dashboard capable of producing quarterly updates and more accurate data of gold mining hotspots across the Amazon, along with improving user accessibility for our partners and other stakeholders in need of this key information on gold mining.

• Conservation Strategy Fund (CSF) is a leading conservation organization that has worked with local governments and civil society worldwide to build effective conservation strategies and advance solutions to environmental challenges. In 2021, CSF launched a unique digital Mining Impacts Calculator that can estimate illegal gold mining’s different social and economic impacts. This system will be integrated into the project dashboard, allowing for the calculation of the financial and social implications of newly detected gold mining.

• Our Peruvian sister organization, Conservación Amazónica-(ACCA), will disseminate MAAP reports and produce and share confidential reports with national and local authorities in Peru. With new information from the dashboard, they aim to strengthen the National Control and Monitoring System in Loreto, Ucayali, and Madre de Dios. With this project, Conservación Amazónica-ACCA expects to expand its network and outreach. Its activities include training other project partners and participating in international events to showcase the Peruvian experience and results.

• Federación Nativa del Río Madre de Dios y Afluentes (FENAMAD) is a regional Indigenous federation representing 38 communities from the Madre de Dios region in Peru. We first began working with them in 2021 to bring them the technological tools and satellite imagery from our Monitoring of the Andes Amazon Program (MAAP) to support the legal action needed to protect their ancestral lands. As a strategic local Indigenous partner in Madre de Dios, FENAMAD will collaborate with Conservación Amazónica-ACCA to strengthen the local roundtable in the Tambopata municipality. With the capacities built to improve their monitoring skills (through prior training of their forest patrols via MAAP) and the dashboard-generated quality information, they expect to improve interactions with local and regional authorities that could lead to more effective on-the-ground operations to halt illegal mining.

• Fundación EcoCiencia is a science-based conservation organization based in Ecuador with whom we have collaborated with through our Monitoring of the Andes Amazon Program (MAAP) since 2021. One of EcoCiencia’s key objectives is to create a map analyzing the main areas in the Ecuadorian Amazon where MAAP monitoring and public report generation will expand thanks to the dashboard information that will be produced with this project: Cofan Bermejo, Punino, Yutzupino, Pueblo Shuar Arutam, Bosque Protector Cuenca Alta del Río Nangaritza and Podocarpus.

• Our Bolivian sister organization Conservación Amazónica-(ACEAA) is taking the sensitive context in Bolivia related to the interactions between civil society organizations and the government into consideration by utilizing the new project dashboard to improve deforestation monitoring and develop a comprehensive gold mining strategy in Bolivia, strengthening members of the Interinstitutional Working Group for Responsible Gold (GIT-OR) in the process. They also aim to participate in international events to learn from other experiences and expand their network and outreach.

• Fundación para la Conservación y el Desarrollo Sostenible (FCDS) is a Colombian conservation organization and another one of our MAAP partners whom we began working with in 2023. FCDS will disseminate MAAP reports in Colombia through the Observatory on Socio-Environmental Conflicts and other channels while using the dashboard to produce confidential reports for government agencies. FCDS will also produce one diagnostic focused on a triple border case and will contribute to the advocacy strategy to tackle illegal mining.

• Instituto Socioambiental (ISA) is a Brazilian conservation organization that works with Indigenous groups to help protect their territories and strengthen their livelihoods. ISA has been monitoring illegal mining in the Brazilian Amazon, specifically in protected areas and the Yanomami, Kayapó, and Munduruku Indigenous territories, and has helped them develop an early warning system within their communities. These efforts will be strengthened by dashboard-produced information and advocacy supported by data from CSF’s Mining Impacts Calculator.

• Instituto Centro de Vida (ICV) is a Brazilian environmental civil society organization that focuses on the restoration, conservation, and governance of forests in the Mato Grosso state. Given that illegal mining is spreading in protected areas and Indigenous reserves throughout Mato Grosso, this project provides ICV the opportunity to improve community monitoring, support effective government actions, and advocate against illegal mining with high-quality information while also filling gaps in the lack of detailed information determining the legality of mining activities and law enforcement.

Combating Illegal Mining Across the Amazon: Using Cutting Edge Technology to Take More Effective Action is a 2-year project generously funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. We are incredibly grateful for this unique, transboundary collaboration across the Amazon, and we look forward to what we can accomplish for the Amazon together.

From rich Brazil nuts and antioxidant-packed açaí berries to the chocolate in your favorite dessert, many of the world’s most beloved flavors have one thing in common: they are sourced from one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet. Through our partnership with the Erol Foundation, we have been working with local producers in the southwest Amazon to promote sustainability through the forest-based economy that relies on these Amazonian products, while also strengthening local livelihoods and conserving forest resources. 

Since 2022, Amazon Conservation has partnered with the Erol Foundation to expand efforts to strengthen the forest-based economy in the Bolivian and Peruvian Amazon by improving non-timber forest product value chains (the interconnected production and processing activities involved in developing a product) and integrating climate-smart practices into community- and municipal-level production activities. From sustainable material sourcing to final product delivery, we aim to enhance key elements of the value chain, including production, marketing, and distribution, marking a critical step toward improving the livelihoods of forest producers. 

In February, we reported the latest results of our partnership with the Erol Foundation, including establishing new business contracts, improving quality control standards, obtaining new organic certifications for producers, and launching a $2.8 million project entitled “Ecosystem Conservation and Sustainable Socio-Environmental Management of Biodiversity in Pando, the Bolivian Amazon.” 

pictured left to right: Brazil nuts, açaí, aguaje, cacao

In order to optimize production processes, we first needed to better understand the existing gaps in the value chains of four major non-timber forest products: Brazil nuts, açaí berries, aguaje, and cacao. Conservación Amazónica–ACCA and Conservación Amazónica–ACEAA evaluated local communities, associations, and businesses and found that capacity-building, training, communication, climate adaptation, and market access were key areas in need of improvement to enhance local production quality and efficiency. 

Since communications platforms play a crucial role in linking local producers with buyers and larger national, regional, and international markets; facilitating knowledge exchange; growing demand for forest products; and ensuring standardization and coordination across the value chain, such platforms have been one key component of our efforts to strengthen the forest-based economy with the Erol Foundation’s support. To bolster these efforts, Conservación Amazónica–ACCA and Conservación Amazónica–ACEAA have been providing technical support for e-commerce and digital platforms, increasing visibility and market access for local producers, and strengthening the Inter-institutional Platform for Amazonian Fruits (PICFA), which enables local actors (producers, intermediaries, and buyers) to obtain timely information to inform their decision-making in negotiating and selling certain forest products. An initial evaluation identified that skills in sales management, negotiations, and in-house quality control were essential to increase the competitiveness of the beneficiary producers in securing better prices for their products by empowering them to better compete with larger producers. Thanks to the combination of these trainings and greater communication among producers and producer associations, 10 new business contracts were established between local companies, government entities, and producer associations, representing a value of nearly $1 million in contracts.

Brazil nuts being shelled and processed

Following this initial assessment and improvement in the value chain, our work supported by the Erol Foundation focused on improving the production standards and achieving organic certification standards to expand access to markets for non-timber forest products. Organic certification is a mechanism to incentivize sustainable wild production of raw materials in order to help ensure safe harvesting, production, and processing practices that do not depleting natural forest resources. Organic certification can also enable local producers to sell their organic products across global markets at much higher prices than products without an organic certification. As of January 2025, Conservación Amazónica–ACCA has helped 146 Brazil nut producers in Peru’s Madre de Dios region improve quality control standards and obtain new organic certifications. 

To improve production management, Conservación Amazónica–ACEAA launched a $2.8 million initiative in July 2024 in Pando, Bolivia to promote biodiversity conservation and sustainable socio-environmental management. The project focuses on diversifying the non-timber forest product value chain while establishing regenerative agricultural models that help counter the pressure and impacts of deforestation due to mining, cattle ranching, and palm cultivation. Building on past pilot programs, the initiative strengthens forest governance, improves market access, and enhances sustainability utilizing three key tools and platforms: Inter-institutional Platform for Amazonian Fruits (PICFA), the Amazonian Fruits and Climate Change Observatory, and our Monitoring of the Andes Amazon Program (MAAP). Together, these efforts create a foundation for sustainable forest resource management and long-term economic growth in Pando.

An açaí harvester retrieving berries from an açaí palm

In addition to improving production standards, we have also been working with local producers to address the growing impacts of climate change, which have caused lower rainfall and a drastic decline in yields of key forest products that continues causing economic loss for thousands of families and communities. Digital platforms such as the Amazonian Fruits and Climate Change Observatory, created with Conservation Amazonica–ACEAA’s support, share timely information on the productive potential and impacts on supply due to climate change and provide a platform for producers to share innovative and effective climate-adaptive agricultural practices that worked for them with other local producers. Furthermore, we have provided training in how to diversify the forest-based economy with other sustainable forest-based products, such as aguaje, to provide producers with multiple sources of income for more consistent harvests and alternative options should one product be impacted by external factors.

We are incredibly grateful for the support received from the Erol Foundation that has helped us expand and strengthen our Forest-Based Economy approach over the past 3+ years, along with our partners at the World Wildlife Fund, PromPeru, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Embassy of Sweden, and the European Union. The Amazon Conservation Alliance is proud to empower local communities with the tools and resources needed to build resilient livelihoods and protect the very forests they call home. We remain committed to our efforts in strengthening the forest-based economy, and look forward to continuing to expand this long-term impact thanks to the ongoing support of our partners.

Amazon Conservation recently held a 25th-anniversary launch event in Washington, DC, to kick off this milestone year, reflect on all we have accomplished together for conservation, and discuss the future of the Amazon. The event was a space for community, gratitude, and renewed energy among friends and supporters as we look toward the next 25 years of conservation. It brought together our founders, Board Members, long-time supporters, and conservation experts for a set of engaging panel discussions, providing guests (both in-person and virtual) a unique opportunity to learn about our commitment and vision for conservation across the Amazon.

The event began with opening remarks from Jim Brumm, Amazon Conservation’s Board Chair, who welcomed our new and long-time friends, partners, and supporters and highlighted the need for continued collaboration and resiliency in the face of growing global challenges., 

As we transitioned into the first panel, “25 Years of Amazon Conservation,” our Board Member and former Governor of Arizona and US Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt led a dedication to our Co-Founders, Adrian Forsyth and Enrique Ortiz, reminiscing on their drive and dedication to bolstering conservation in lesser-known areas of the Amazon. The Co-Founders were presented with a special dedication gift from Amazon Conservation to celebrate their legacy and continued contributions to the organization and Amazon as a whole.

The first panel was moderated by Andrew Wilcox, who has been a friend of the organization for many years and recently joined our Board of Directors. Andrew is also the Senior Manager of Sustainable Sourcing and Digital Solutions at Unilever. He guided the conversation with Bruce Babbitt and our Co-Founders, Adrian Forsyth and Enrique Ortiz, who are also the Strategic Advisor for the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Senior Program Director for the Andes Amazon Fund, respectively. Adrian and Enrique shared their nostalgic stories of how they first fell in love with the Amazon, how they first decided to team up to found Amazon Conservation in 1999, and their reflections on the organization’s evolution and future path. This was a proud moment, reminding us of all that Amazon Conservation has accomplished and what we continue fighting for to this day. We were grateful to share these memories with all of our supporters, new and old, who continue to inspire our vision for a thriving and resilient Amazon. 

Some highlights from the first panel included first-hand stories about Amazon Conservation’s early wins, including the establishment of the Los Amigos Conservation Concession in Peru, the world’s first conservation concession established through an innovative public-public partnership model and the home of the Los Amigos Biological Station–the first of our three biological stations in Peru. Speakers discussed the importance of the many groundbreaking scientific advancements and technological developments at Los Amigos, ManuBio, and Wayqecha Biological Stations in Peru, noting how understanding the complexity of the Amazon ecosystem–such as its intricate ecological functions–has “connected the dots” between the health of the forest and its global impacts. Furthermore, the speakers mentioned how the scientific research carried out by the late Thomas Lovejoy, world-renowned ecologist and former Amazon Conservation Board Member, directly influenced the founding of Amazon Conservation and our three strategic areas. In the 1970s, Tom recognized the critical need for preserving this ecosystem and, until his passing in 2021, advocated for the role of science in reinforcing conservation initiatives, which underlies our organization’s unique science-based approach.

Between the two panels, Amazon Conservation’s President John Beavers shared highlights of our 2020-2030 strategy and focus for the next decade. John emphasized our focus on halting illegal deforestation, particularly through technology-driven solutions such as our Monitoring of the Andes Amazon Program (MAAP), building a forest-based economy, and protecting the core of the Amazon (which covers 50% of the Amazon basin through protected areas and Indigenous territories. He also expressed the need for more collaboration in the region, and Amazon Conservation is taking a lead role in that by building a strong network of partners — such as local organizations, Indigenous groups, governmental entities, and others — that can be an united front to maximize conservation impact and drive policy action at scale.

The second panel, “The Future of the Amazon and Amazon Conservation,” focused on the perspectives of local and international conservation experts. The panel was moderated by Doug Sarno, who is not only one of Amazon Conservation’s Board Members but also the President of the Forum Facilitation Group and the Principal for The Participation Company.

Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, Amazon Conservation Board Member, President of the UN Climate Convention’s 20th Conference of the Parties (COP 20), and former Minister of the Environment in Peru, noted that the Amazon faces many socio-political and economic challenges within a complex system of cooperation that should be considered when developing conservation solutions. He explained, “The Amazon is complex. We are not talking about nine very united and well-coordinated countries; it’s different countries with different approaches, with different ideologies, very fragmented, and in some way that has created difficulties for the [Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization].” 

Panelist André Aquino speaks at our launch event

Another panelist, André Aquino, Head of the Economics and Environment Office for Brazil’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, shared his perspective on what conservation solutions can be prioritized in countries like Brazil. He mentioned that by building a forest-based economy, people will have more of an incentive to prevent deforestation, as forest products such as Brazil nuts and açaí hold economic potential for local communities. André commented, “Keeping deforestation low requires a change in development paradigm, [which] means generating value from the standing forest that we have not yet really developed in Brazil.” He further discussed how people living in cities outside of the Amazon must understand why its conservation is so important for them and for all so that they will support and advocate for solutions. 

Panelist María Elena Gutierrez speaks at our launch event

María Elena Gutierrez, Executive Director of our Alliance sister organization, Conservación Amazónica—ACCA in Peru, added that deforestation in Peru is drastically affecting local economies and that the organization is addressing this issue by empowering local authorities and Indigenous communities with legal and technical support to defend their territories. She explained, “They need to know their rights and how to present a legal demand, but also [know how to use] technology because it’s the way to defend themselves.” Marcos Terán, Executive Director of our Alliance sister organization Conservación Amazónica–ACEAA in Bolivia, also shared that science and technology are key to providing information that can drive decision-making for conservation solutions. He stated, “We are trying to scale up these kinds of solutions and generate information to show that it’s possible to live in a sustainable manner.” 

As the program concluded, Amazon Conservation’s President John Beavers encouraged more proactive measures, such as direct contributions to organizations working on the ground, as well as growing collaboration and cooperation between Amazonian countries. In doing so, he expressed that this Amazon-wide collaboration can boost the progress and effectiveness of efforts to combat deforestation and keep the Amazon standing.

Inspired by panelists’ insights, Amazon Conservation remains committed to strengthening partnerships, advancing strategic regional and national conservation initiatives, and leveraging cutting-edge science and technology. We also continue to foster open dialogue with our partners across the region, embracing diverse perspectives that drive innovative conservation solutions while expanding our network of dedicated conservationists.

To our supporters who have helped us reach so many milestones over the past 25 years, thank you for your commitment to our work. We would not be able to achieve these 25 years of progress without our community of supporters like you. Together, we are making a meaningful difference for a thriving and resilient Amazon for generations to come.

To those who joined us for our launch event in person or via our livestream, a special thank you for helping us kick off this milestone year.  Your commitment to a thriving Amazon fuels our mission and inspires us to do even more over the next 25 years.

Montane forests of the Andes

Beyond the Amazon’s lush green canopies and buzzing wildlife lie unique montane forest ecosystems in the Andes Mountains that play an active role in the health of the watersheds of the Amazon basin. The water originating from these mountains is a key water source that feeds a series of major rivers that eventually flow into the Amazon River basin. By recognizing the importance of these ecological connections between regions, we are prioritizing the conservation of these larger landscapes to protect carbon stores and biodiversity as well as improve resilience to climate change for both the ecosystems and local people who depend on these natural resources for agriculture, water, and economic services. 

Since 2022, our sister organization, Conservación Amazónica-ACCA in Peru, has been working with several rural communities in Challabamba, Peru, as part of a reforestation project to restore degraded ecosystems historically affected by fires, overgrazing, and livestock farming. These communities depend heavily on the land for small-scale farming and agriculture to support their livelihoods. Restoring native plants to these degraded areas helps improve soil health and water flow systems that support sustainable agricultural development in the Andes while actively protecting major watersheds in the lower Amazon basin. 

Challabamba community members in carry out reforestation efforts (2022)

Conservación Amazónica-ACCA reported that over 350,000 native plants had been planted as of May 2024, along with 115,000 native trees planted as of January 2025. to support the restoration of these montane ecosystems. In January 2025, a study published in People and Nature–in which Conservación Amazónica-ACCA participated as a non-governmental organization stakeholder–analyzed the motivations, models, and perceived success of reforestation efforts of Andean forests in Peru and the impact their success has on local ecosystems and communities, offering new insight into what drives the success of reforestation projects in rural communities.

According to the study, the primary motivation for all stakeholders interviewed to restore Andean forests is to maintain and improve water resources for agriculture. At the same time, local community members cited secondary motivations that included improving livelihoods for future generations and the well-being of their community. 

In discussing their motivations for engaging in forest restoration, many local stakeholders described the relationship between local and regional water benefits or services with the concept of “sowing and harvesting water,” which the article describes as combining “a variety of activities that intercept and retain water in a landscape, including activities that are thought to improve water recharge in the subsoil and aquifers and increase humidity through fog collection by trees and in situ water recharge (e.g., wetland and grassland conservation and restoration and reforestation with native water-conserving species).” The study’s findings also demonstrate how local farmers understand the direct correlation between healthy forests and forest restoration efforts in improving water availability, including capturing and storing water for their agricultural livelihoods in preparation for dry seasons.

Highlighting the importance of including native species in restoration efforts, community members indicated how, in their experience, Andean forests and reforestation contributed to improved overall water quality and quantity by contributing to aquifer recharge and water retention. Native plants and tree species, such as Polylepis (Queñua) and mosses, capture humidity from fog and retain water like sponges, helping to regulate water flow into the soil and “recharge” groundwater stores ahead of the dry season.

The study also noted that in Peru, the role of certain socio-economic factors–including land ownership, environmental and conservation education, and community organization–can help enable the success of restoration projects. On the other hand, the researchers mentioned that at the regional level in other South American countries, similar social and institutional factors have ultimately limited restoration efforts, such as a high economic dependence on natural resources, conflict over land tenure and access, and divergence in perceptions and values between social actors, in particular a disconnection between “bottom-up” and “top-down” monitoring approaches.

The conclusions of this new study strongly align with our nature-based solutions to climate change through community-based forest restoration efforts, an understanding of the interconnectedness of ecosystems across the region, and a focus on large landscape-scale connectivity to protect the core of the Amazon.

We are incredibly proud of the hard work of Conservación Amazónica-ACCA and the collaboration and support from like-minded NGOs actively contributing to this essential reforestation.

Read the full study here.