MAAP #204 analyzes a new road project entering the western sector of the Waorani Indigenous Territory, located in the heart of the Ecuadorian Amazon.

This road would cross 42 kilometers of primary forest from the Nushiño River to the community of Toñampade, bringing the potential of opening new deforestation fronts along the route.

This report analyzes the current state of the road, focusing on deforestation caused by the construction and what actions are being carried out by Waorani organizations to monitor the project.

Click here to read the full report. 

This report is part of a series focused on the Ecuadorian Amazon through a strategic collaboration between the organizations Fundación EcoCiencia and Amazon Conservation, with the support of the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad).

MAAP #202 presents a model river conservation strategy proposed by the Ecuadorian Rivers Institute that is designed to protect strategic free-flowing river corridors with the intent to conserve freshwater resources and their surrounding riparian forests, encourage sustainable economic alternatives, and preserve free-flowing ecological connectivity at the basin scale.

Their protection and management are an urgent national priority as only a few high-quality and ecologically intact Andean-Amazon watershed corridors in Ecuador remain. The strategy proposal targets strategic corridors that have three major characteristics:

1. Free-flowing rivers with no dams, diversions, or channel modifications, and no mining or dredging
2. High-quality rivers that are a reference for water quality and have exceptional natural and cultural values
3. Forested riparian buffer zones to preserve the quality and integrity of the river corridor, enhance the ecological connectivity between protected areas, and preserve habitat throughout critical transition zones

The Base Map illustrates two proposed pilot projects in the northern Ecuadorian Amazon:

• The Jondachi-Hollín-Misahuallí-Napo River Corridor which would protect 193 km of a free-flowing river draining two national parks.
• The Piatúa River Corridor which would protect 46 km of free-flowing rivers draining another national park

Click here to view the full report 

The environmental news platform Mongabay recently reported that, according to their review of official documents, the government of Suriname is preparing to clear large tracts of Amazon rainforest for agriculture.

This news is alarming because large-scale agriculture is not historically or currently a deforestation driver in Suriname, so these new plots would likely trigger unprecedented forest loss in one of the world’s few remaining countries dominated by primary rainforest.

Intertwined with this issue are additional reports indicating that groups of Mennonites are planning to relocate to Suriname. This news has also raised alarms given the extensive deforestation caused by Mennonites in the Amazon regions of both Peru and Bolivia.

Here, in MAAP #203, we build off of Mongabay’s initial analysis to estimate the impact of these proposed agriculture plots.

First, we estimate 467,000 hectares (1,15 million acres) in the proposed new agricultural plots to both the Ministry of Agriculture and Foundations backed by private land developers. Additional analysis of the government documents indicates that the actual total could rise to 560,000 hectares.

Next, we estimate 451,000 hectares of threatened primary forest in the proposed agriculture plots.

This would result in a shocking amount of primary forest loss for a country that has experienced an average annual deforestation of just 6,560 hectares over the past 21 years.

Read the full report here.

As we embark on a new year, we hope your restored energy and fresh beginning bring with them a renewed sense of purpose and inspiration for our planet. For those who are passionate about the environment and the conservation of the Earth’s most vital ecosystems, the Amazon stands as a beacon of both beauty and urgency. Retired conservationist Charles Duncan and retired family doctor Laura Blutstein recently shared what inspires them most about Amazon Conservation – the sheer scale and impact of the work. 

As donors since 2019 who have traveled to some of the world’s most biodiverse birding paradises, Charles and Laura have seen firsthand the growing impact of humans on the Amazon. Laura highlights the need for fast and large-scale action, urging, “We have to act now before it’s too late. Protecting the Amazon is securing a healthy future for humanity.” 

After a 15-year career in the conservation of migratory birds, Charles can attest to the need for a pragmatic approach to conservation. For him, the scale and approach of Amazon Conservation’s work gives him confidence in his support: “It’s that overarching strategy of science, community action, and on-the-ground activity that says to me, these people have thought about this. If I can add my grain of sand to the mountain they’re building, I want to do that.”

Read on to learn more about what has inspired Charles and Laura about Amazon Conservation’s work. Supporters like them not only make our work on the ground possible, but their dedication to our organization also continues to inspire us year after year to innovate and examine how we can further maximize our impact at scale. 

Can you tell us a little background about you? 

Laura: “I am a retired family doctor and practiced locally for about 30 years and retired 10 years ago. I grew up with a love of the outdoors imbued by my parents and appreciating nature and physical activities outdoors. And then with retirement, we’ve been spending a lot of time birding.

Charles: “I have a doctorate in organic chemistry and taught chemistry, including a course called environmental chemistry, where we looked at a variety of energy issues, in particular. Along the way, I started bird watching, casually at first. Then that got pretty out of control, and I changed careers and started working professionally on conservation, particularly of migratory birds, for the last 10 years of my career working on migratory shorebirds across the entire Western Hemisphere, an enormous scale. I was fortunate enough to get to travel and meet a lot of people of wildly different backgrounds in that work. That, in turn, led to this growing understanding of what humans are doing to this good, green planet and the places where we could make a difference. Like Laura, I also retired about 10 years ago, and since then I have been doing volunteer work on a variety of bird-related projects and serving on the board of a few conservation organizations.  I was honored to be a co-author of my late friend Peter Vickery’s monumental book, The Birds of Maine.

Charles on favorite places to travel for birding: “We just got back from a wonderful 2 weeks in Guyana, which is not a country many people visit, but spectacular. We had a wonderful time. We went to Peru a few years ago, basically a 70th birthday celebration for me, and we had a great time there, including at two Amazon Conservation lodges. The base of this was a sabbatical year I spent in 1992-3 in Chiapas with Pronatura Sur, and I’m still in love with the people, places, and birds of Mexico.  So in short, I’ll say Mexico and northern South America – that’s a lot of territory!

Laura: “What Charles didn’t mention was that he was in Guyana in 2001 and hadn’t been back since then. And I remember him telling me how they climbed up onto some rise where they could see to the horizon, uninterrupted forests for miles and miles where there was no evidence of human activity, and how much that impressed him and how much he loved it. So I was a little worried about going to Guyana now, I didn’t know if we would experience that, but we did. We flew over a seemingly unending rainforest with no evidence of human activity. There was a little bit, a few gold mines, but not at the scale we’ve seen elsewhere. 

 

What initially inspired you to support environmental causes generally and to help conserve the Amazon rainforest more specifically? Why do you think it is important to protect it? 

Laura: “It ties a little bit back to what I said about how I grew up with a love of the outdoors inspired by my parents. Then gradually as an adult and through Charles’s influence too, I started to become more aware about losing beautiful places in the world, and then an increasing awareness about climate change and the link between that and the Amazon Rainforest.”

Charles: “In my case, it was that growing interest in birds and bird watching. Over a painfully short time frame, seeing a place that I used to love going to five years ago just got paved over. Seeing the pace of change over time, and, as Laura said, realizing that those local changes have an enormous global effect. What we see here on the coast of Maine is profoundly affected by whether there is illegal logging in a place far away from us and how all that connects. Now, fortunately, in our retired life, we have the ability to support groups like Amazon Conservation that are doing the things that we see as being so necessary and working towards those shared goals.”

How did you initially learn about Amazon Conservation? 

Charles: “I think our first serious introduction to Amazon Conservation was when we stayed in Wayqecha in 2018. Later on that trip, we went down to Los Amigos Biological Station. We had a wonderful time there getting to know the staff and a little bit more about the conservation work. So initially, it was just by being in the lodges, and then you guys have done a wonderful job staying in contact with us as donors, and from a development point of view, nurturing that interest for us.

Laura: “Perusing the website and Instagram feed, I saw a lot more I didn’t know about the projects. The website is really good. It’s like a textbook of how to do conservation, with concrete examples.”  

 

Why did you choose to support Amazon Conservation? What makes Amazon Conservation special to you?

Laura: “One big reason is that it’s a highly rated organization with low overhead, as highlighted in your recent posts.”

Charles: “That’s crucial to us. If we’re even thinking about supporting an organization, that’s step one, so congratulations on those ratings.”

 

Do you have a favorite program or initiative that stands out to you?

Laura: “One of the interesting things we encountered at Los Amigos was a project training rangers to use drones to monitor the forest. I don’t know if that was a project that you guys initiated or if the rangers came and said hey, can we stay with you and do this training, but it was fascinating. I was also perusing your Instagram page and saw this post about Mennonites illegally logging and farming in the Amazon, and there were these amazing photos showing the tracks of land that had been destroyed.”

Charles: “For me, less than a specific project – and there are a number of them that are fabulous – it’s the wisdom of the overarching approach. That we’re going to have good science, that our work is going to be science-driven and we’re going to generate new science as needed. We’re going to empower communities so that it’s not some outsider group that is taking action that doesn’t help the local community. Instead, we’ll give that local community the motivation to continue the project and to be supportive of it, rather than feeling that Amazon Conservation somehow is a competitor for their lands. And thirdly, actually taking action that is driven by that science. Those three components that you articulate on the website are super important. It’s that overarching strategy of science, community action, and on-the-ground activity that says to me, these people have thought about this. If I can add my grain of sand to the mountain they’re building, I want to do that.”

 

What would you say to other environmentally-conscious people who want to make a difference in the Amazon and help fight climate change?

Laura: “We have to act now before it’s too late. Protecting the Amazon is securing a healthy future for humanity.”

Charles: “I think that Amazon Conservation is absolutely on the right path. Nothing novel to add there, but I would say to our friends, as we already have, that there is a group where your investment of money or time can yield high returns by being part of this very, very well-thought-out and incredibly well-motivated activity, at a scale that matters. We’re talking about 120 million acres. It’s just a staggering size. That sense of scale is really important.”

Laura: “And obviously there are individual things that people can do – like decreasing the use of single-use plastics, working on your carbon footprint, etc. – that’s something that takes the world to make an impact. But it’s good to start at home.”

2023 was a year full of overwhelming support and enthusiasm for the Amazon, and thanks to the generosity of individuals like you, we’ve been able to scale up our work on the ground and across the Amazon basin to help keep biodiversity, local and indigenous communities, and vital ecosystems protected. From strengthening local forest-based economies to directly addressing nature crimes, we are thrilled to share some of the accomplishments you’ve helped make possible. From all of us at Amazon Conservation, we thank you for your commitment to making a difference.

MAAP 200th: 8 Years of Fighting Deforestation and Fires

In March 2015, Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Program (MAAP) launched its first-ever report taking a look at the escalating gold mining deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon. Over the past 8 years, MAAP has continued to provide vital information via the latest technology to raise awareness and inspire solutions to protect one of the planet’s most vital ecosystems. 

2023 marked our 200th MAAP report, highlighting the current major deforestation drivers across the Amazon, including roads, agriculture (both small and large-scale), cattle, and gold mining. Additionally, newly available data reveals the Amazon is still home to abundant carbon reserves in these core areas.

Thank you to our supporters and funders who have helped us carry out our MAAP work across the Amazon basin for the past years and helped us achieve 100% coverage of the Amazon in real-time.

Stopping Illegal Deforestation on the Ground

Through our Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Program (MAAP), we’ve been able to work with indigenous groups, local communities, and government agencies across the Amazon to share vital information on nature crimes and illegal deforestation. This year we supported 5 major government interventions against illegal gold mining in both the Peruvian and Ecuadorian Amazon. For example, on June 6, 2023, 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, resulting in one of the largest illegal mining raids in Peruvian history. 

Helping Sustainable Producers Get Market Access 

This past year, with support from our Bolivian sister organization Conservación Amazónica-ACEAA, the producer federation FEDAFAP, which represents 8 producer associations and hundreds of local families, closed a major deal with the Bolivian Food Company (Empresa Boliviana de Alimentos) — one of the top food distributors in the country — to become their açaí suppliers. This supply agreement for 253 tons of açaí pulp is a big win for the communities we support, as they can now sell more of their production in bulk directly to end buyers, eliminating intermediaries and minimizing production waste. This success is one of many for our initiative to build a forest-based economy in the southwest Amazon in Peru and Bolivia, which aims to support local people in improving their quality of life through sustainable production while elevating regional economies and protecting forests.  

Combatting Nature Crimes Locally and Regionally

Our sister organization Conservación Amazónica – ACCA, with the support of the Amazonía Que Late Network, has launched Peru’s first Amazon Legal Clinic: a service dedicated to helping empower local people to actively participate in legal processes against environmental and forest crimes. The Amazon Legal Clinic provides free legal advice, representation, and assistance in criminal and administrative matters for local people who want to file a deforestation claim or report a forest crime in the Ucayali, Loreto, San Martín, Amazonas, Cusco, and Huánuco regions. This transformative initiative will provide those affected by forest crimes (e.g. illegal mining, deforestation, illegal logging, or wildlife trafficking) with access to the support they need to report the crime and initiate swift action on the ground.

At the regional level, in 2023 Amazon Conservation helped establish the Nature Crime Alliance, a global multi-sector initiative to fight environmental crimes across the globe. This joint initiative led by the World Resources Institute (WRI) will help facilitate collaborations with NGOs and local governments to raise political awareness, implement financial commitment, and strengthen operational capacity to initiate solutions to nature crimes.

Launching the Thomas Lovejoy Laboratory

Thanks to funding from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Fiddlehead Foundation, our Manu Biological Station inaugurated the Thomas Lovejoy Molecular Biology, Biodiversity, and Climate Change Laboratory in September, created in memory of renowned scientist and former Amazon Conservation Board Member Thomas Lovejoy. 

This new facility will provide resources for molecular studies including barcoding, metabarcoding, and environmental DNA using Nanopore® technology, mercury analysis, and respirometry and thermal tolerance. The building will also contain a photography room, a terrace for events, a digital herbarium, semi-permanent collections of insects and fish, and the Tom Lovejoy garden full of edible and attractive plants for birds, butterflies, and other pollinators.

On the ground in Bolivia, we are working with communities and park guards to improve local perceptions and promote coexistence between humans and jaguars to engage local people in the protection of jaguar habitat and the larger forest ecosystem. Our education efforts work to mitigate conflicts between humans and jaguars and work with park guards on how to handle these conflicts in local communities. They also help to further sensitize children to the importance of jaguars and other iconic Amazon species to value peaceful coexistence in the forest.

Resilience for the Amazon relies on healthy and dynamic ecosystems as much as climate-smart and forest-friendly economies. Key wildlife like the jaguar serves a dual role as an iconic Amazon species and an indicator species for the rainforest. They hold a central role in local cultures and Indigenous relationships with the forest, and their presence (or lack of) in a region indicates if a forest is healthy or if it needs better protection and restoration.

Since jaguars are a keystone species that helps keep ecosystems balanced, they are an important tool to better understand the state of the Amazon in Bolivia and Peru. Our extensive camera trap network in the Bolivian and Peruvian Amazon utilizes more than 700 cameras to track the presence of this iconic species, which we analyze to find where populations are dwindling so that we can investigate the causes of these changes and understand if local conservation efforts are working. Your support can help to further expand this network of camera traps and analyses across the region to protect jaguar habitats.

Thanks to your support, you are helping us build climate resilience in the Amazon by strengthening healthy and biodiverse wildlife populations and ensuring long-term forest health to withstand the worst impacts of climate change. Your contributions help us continue to improve our programs that protect jaguar habitat and populations, track forest and wildlife health, and host education programs with local communities to train local people in how to safely mitigate human-jaguar conflicts and sustainably manage local forests for healthy jaguar populations.

PLUS, now through the end of the year, your tax-deductible contribution for climate resilience in the Amazon WILL BE MATCHED up to $150,000. This means that YOUR CONTRIBUTION IS ESSENTIALLY DOUBLED, maximizing your impact and our resilience-building efforts on the ground!

Make your end-of-year donation today to protect the jaguar and other iconic Amazon species while also supporting a climate-resilient foundation for the greatest forest on Earth!

Protect Jaguar Habitats and Support Climate Resilience >

This year’s COP28 (United Nations Climate Change Conference), held in Dubai from November 30th to December 12th, brought together more than 190 governments to discuss global climate action. One of our board members, Manuel Pulgar-Vidal who is WWF’s Global Climate and Energy Lead and COP20 President, attended COP28, and noted that this year’s Conference truly showed how nature is the heart of the climate debate. Additionally, numerous conversations at roundtables centered around the planning and development of an integral process to kickstart climate change mitigation efforts.

From what Manuel gathered from the many climate action discussions, a surprising number of countries expressed their concern for conservation and, specifically, highlighted the importance of tackling environmental crimes such as illegal deforestation via nature-based solutions. He explained that nature-based solutions are designed to work with natural processes rather than against them to address threats and challenges to the environment. They aim to utilize and enhance the natural functions of ecosystems, as opposed to previous engineering-based solutions. This problem-solving approach emphasizes the importance of multiple benefits such as mitigating climate change, conserving biodiversity and ecosystems, and overall well-being for nature and humanity.

Additionally, multiple countries pledged $700 million to the Loss and Damage Fund aiming to help develop an action plan by assisting vulnerable countries in coping with and recovering from the impacts of climate change. However, this amount falls far short of the estimated $400 billion in losses faced by developing countries each year.

As we take a look at how these topics affect the Amazon, Manuel further elaborated on the importance of collaboration between Amazonian countries to form an agenda that will detail a long-term strategy concerning economic processes, Indigenous land rights, ecological integrity, and overall practices and standards for taking action on the ground. Furthermore, he noted that when it comes to climate action, it is important to emphasize that this is largely an economic process and to fulfill certain goals and standards, each country must contribute and accomplish its own tasks, such as updating and reviewing their strategy processes by 2025. He continued to explain that many South American countries are still in the process of developing their own long-term strategy and action plans, which are key elements that must be thoroughly progressed before creating a nationwide agenda. 

Moreover, Manuel continued to highlight that many South American countries are seeing significant social progress concerning the importance of Indigenous land rights, food security, wildlife conservation, and nature-positive narratives expressed through public opinion. While it seems many action plans remain in development, countries, and global allies are beginning to implement significant changes to further mitigate and adapt to climate change. 

To further contribute to mitigating climate change and building climate resilience, Amazon Conservation is continuing to form partnerships, such as founding the Nature Crime Alliance (NCA) to fight environmental crimes across the globe, and working with local families and communities who are bearing the brunt of extreme climate events. We are constantly taking proactive actions to minimize the impact of future fires, droughts, and other climate-related issues impacting vulnerable communities, and with your support, can urgently work to address the impacts of climate, deforestation, and social and environmental injustices impacting Indigenous peoples and other communities in the Amazon. 

Take action for the Amazon

During this giving season, we ask you to help us as we urgently work to address the impacts of climate, deforestation, and social and environmental injustices impacting Indigenous peoples and other communities in the Amazon.

While we continue our vital work with many on-the-ground communities and organizations, local heroes are taking an active role in helping protect the Amazon and guide others to become climate resilient. Read these inspiring stories below about individuals who are making a big impact when it comes to emphasizing people-first, climate-smart, and science-based conservation solutions that enable local families and communities to more easily adapt and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Manuel Lima

Many communities in the Amazon rely on local products for income, which is why it’s important that they integrate sustainable practices and learn to diversify their goods to improve the local forest-based economy and conserve their resources. Local leader and Brazil nut harvester Manuel Lima from the Porvenir community in Pando, Bolivia is a key representative of Brazil nut harvesters, helping to improve the production, economy, and market for Brazil nuts both regionally and nationally.

Support heroes like Manuel to continue training local producers about the impacts of climate change to become more climate resilient.

Pepe Torres

Our satellite monitoring program Monitoring of the Andes Program (MAAP) has tracked deforestation across various Indigenous territories and protected areas, both of which experience half the rate of deforestation as any other type of land.

To help keep these forests standing, individuals like Pepe Torres aim to provide training, staff capacity, technology, and legal support to local communities and individuals to defend their territory and maintain the health of the forest.

Read more about how your support can help people like Pepe make a difference in protecting the Amazon for future generations 

Abraham Pache Canchi

In a region with limited training, knowledge, and tools to prevent or combat fires that escape into forests, controlling fires is critical to minimize their damage to the greater forest and local communities. In response to ongoing droughts and illegal deforestation in the Beni Department in Bolivia, Abraham Pache Canchi, an Indigenous park guard is leading local fire prevention workshops to help local communities and governments be better prepared to swiftly respond to fires.

Learn more about how your support can help heroes like Abraham promote fire-free sustainable development

Take Action to Build Climate Resilience for the Amazon

The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) has announced that this week’s theme is Environmental Protection! For more than 60 years, the Combined Federal Campaign has been the official workplace-giving campaign for federal employees and retirees. It has raised more than $8.6 billion for charities and people in need, making a real and meaningful difference throughout the world.

Thanks to generous contributions made through CFC, many organizations and charities have been able to significantly make a difference in the well-being of the planet, such as helping communities experiencing structural damage from natural disasters, developing new technologies to rid plastic from the ocean, discovering new ways to remove excess carbon from the air, and more! 

As communities across the globe are experiencing the impacts of a changing climate, the CFC provides an ideal opportunity to join forces and support climate-smart and nature-based solutions to protect critical yet vulnerable places like the Amazon Rainforest.

By donating to Amazon Conservation, your support can help make an impact in the following ways: 

• Provide local communities and governments with the knowledge, resources, and capacity needed to prevent and respond quickly to wildfires
• Raising awareness about the importance of protecting and restoring the habitat of critical species like the jaguar
• Teach local producers and harvesters about the impacts of climate change on their harvest and how to sustainably maintain their income via the local forest-based economy
• Train indigenous communities on the latest technology to better protect their territories

Now through January 15, government employees and retirees can Give Happy through the Combined Federal Campaign and join others looking to have a real collective impact and protect the Amazon and its habitat. Anyone can be a changemaker through the CFC, so Give Happy and be a good steward of the Amazon by donating to Amazon Conservation!

Search for Amazon Conservation on the CFC giving page or by using our CFC #49371 to make protecting the Amazon part of your mission as a changemaker! You can also visit the CFC’s Ways to Give page to see other ways you can make your tax-deductible contribution.

Fire is another major obstacle to local communities’ ability to adapt to climate change and sustain a reliable forest-based economy in the Amazon. We are working hard on the ground to provide local communities and governments in Bolivia with the knowledge, resources, and capacity needed to prevent and respond quickly to fires while promoting fire-free sustainable development and more fire-resilient products.

Your contributions are aiding us in encouraging local residents to opt for economic activities that mitigate the risk of fires and may even contribute to slowing their spread. Deforested areas are prone to fire, and fire can spread faster in less forested areas and areas with less diverse crops. Rather than expansive monocultures, we encourage forest-friendly alternatives to destructive economic activities such as sustainable honey, wild cacao, and high-altitude coffee. Product diversification is also important to build resilience in the region so that local income is less susceptible to damage to crops and forests are more fire resilient by being more robust and biodiverse.

Ongoing droughts and illegal deforestation in the Beni Department in Bolivia that exacerbate the likelihood and impact of fires is a growing area of concern for local people. In a region with limited training, knowledge, and tools to prevent or combat fires that escape into forests, the ability to control fires is critical to minimize their damage on the greater forest and local communities.

In Beni, we partner with local municipalities to help support their fire prevention and firefighting efforts, with training, equipment, and tools. One of our partners on the ground is Abraham Pache Canchi, an Indigenous park guard who is leading local fire prevention workshops to help local communities and governments be better prepared to swiftly respond to fires. 

Without brave leaders like Abraham, fires would continue to jeopardize habitat for critical species like the jaguar, local homes and incomes, and the future of the greater Amazon.

Your gift can help brave heroes like Abraham continue to build resilience through climate-smart and fire-free development and strengthen local capacity for effective fire prevention and response.

Take Action to Build Climate Resilience for the Amazon