The Amazon is ablaze again. What it means for us (commentary) – Mongabay.com

Rainfall over the Amazon river. Photo by Rhett A. Butler

The following article by ACT President Mark Plotkin, responding to the renewed and alarming intensity of forest fires in the Amazon, was originally published on MongaBay.com.  In 2019, the world watched in horror as images of the Amazon rainforest ablaze flooded the news. Over 70,000 wildfires raged uncontrollably, killing wildlife, filling hospitals with patients struggling…

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Ancestral Tides Working to Conserve Coastal Ecosystems & Protect Sea Turtles by Laura Monti

Ancestral Tides gathering with leaders from indigenous coastal communities from Mexico, Colombia, Panama, and Costa Rica

“Sea turtles, a species emblematic of the connection between the two great biomes the desert and tropical rainforests, are an indicator of the health of marine and coastal ecosystems. Utilizing both indigenous knowledge and western scientific traditions, the indigenous sea turtle conservation communities exchanged knowledge and strategies to simultaneously conserve these coastal ecosystems and sea turtles while revitalizing associated cultural traditions”.

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Lessons from Costa Rica’s national parks: the Guanacaste Conservation Area and Daniel Janzen

Field Visit to Guanacaste A joint group of scientists from the Amazon Conservation Team’s Colombia, Costa Rica, and United States offices spent several weeks in August traveling throughout the national park system on the pacific coast of Costa Rica to learn about ecological restoration projects from community-based conservation experts. The primary destination was the Guanacaste…

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Approaching Land Rights for Maroon Peoples of Suriname

Recent momentum toward collective land tenure for Suriname’s afro-descendant groups In the country of Suriname, legislation that has been drafted to finally establish land rights for the nation’s indigenous and Maroon peoples is scheduled to be brought before parliament for a vote soon. In the Americas, the public is familiar with lands rights for indigenous…

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The Road to Indigenous Land Rights in Suriname

Wuta, Trio man from the indigenous village of Kwamalasamutu in southern Suriname.

The last country in tropical South America yet to guarantee collective land tenure for its indigenous peoples Recent years have brought a global explosion of interest in and consciousness of indigenous rights, primarily centered on protecting indigenous land tenure. Across the Americas, the public has witnessed historic indigenous mobilizations to uphold land rights in the…

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Breeding bees to combat deforestation in Caquetá

April 8, 2022, by María Paula Lizarazo, original article published in El Espectador In 2020, in Colombia, the department of Caquetá was the second most deforested, a problem generated by extensive cattle ranching and the production of crops for illicit use. The following shows how some families in the region are changing their economy, while…

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AMAZON CONSERVATION TEAM GUIANAS

PROTECTING THE FOREST, PROTECTING THE FUTURE The Amazon is a pivotal, life-sustaining force for people and the planet. It shelters critical biodiversity, absorbs massive amounts of carbon, cools the air, and regulates water cycles worldwide. Beyond its indispensable ecological benefits, the Amazon is home to indigenous and local communities whose physical, material, and spiritual well-being…

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A new healthcare model that seeks consensus among the indigenous peoples of Putumayo

El Espectador / December 17, 2021 In Putumayo, five SISPIs (Indigenous Intercultural Healthcare Systems) are being developed with indigenous communities. This project generates healthcare models that respond to the needs of the communities themselves; however, the process of dialogue with the institutions can be complex. Through December 16, 2021, 2,109 indigenous people had died in…

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