Amazon Conservation Association

SEE PART III, LINE 1.

PUT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TO WORK - AMAZON CONSERVATION DEVELOPS INNOVATIVE CONSERVATION SOLUTIONS THROUGH SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY BY EMPLOYING OUR NETWORK OF CONSERVATION HUBS IN PERU AND BOLIVIA AS LIVING LABORATORIES WHERE WE CARRY OUT AND HOST ROBUST SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, DEVELOP AND TEST CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGIES TO BE USED TO ADVANCE UNDERSTANDING AND PROTECTION OF THE AMAZON, AND FACILITATE LEARNING AND EDUCATION OF THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCIENTISTS AND CONSERVATIONISTS. FURTHERMORE, OUR REAL-TIME REMOTE SENSING PROGRAM UTILIZES THE LATEST IN SATELLITE, RADAR, AND DRONE TECHNOLOGY TO DETECT AND REPORT DEFORESTATION AND FIRES ACROSS THE AMAZON IN REAL-TIME. EXAMPLES OF THIS WORK INCLUDE MONITORING BIODIVERSITY HEALTH WITH CAMERA TRAPS, HOSTING SCIENTISTS AND STUDENTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD TO CONDUCT STUDIES ON THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE ANDEAN AMAZON AT OUR PREMIER BIOLOGICAL STATIONS, AND DEVELOPING A FIRE MONITORING APP THAT CAN BE USED BY THE PUBLIC AND MEDIA TO TRACK FIRES HAPPENING IN ANY AMAZONIAN NATION IN REAL-TIME. IN 2020 ALONE, OUR MONITORING OF THE ANDEAN AMAZON PROJECT (MAAP) EXPOSED OVER 2,500 MAJOR FIRES IN REAL-TIME ACROSS OVER 5 MILLION ACRES IN THE AMAZON WITH DATA FROM OUR NOVEL FIRE TRACKING APP, AS WELL AS HELPED THE PERUVIAN GOVERNMENT AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES STOP 2 NEW FRONTS OF ILLEGAL GOLD MINING DEFORESTATION USING OUR REMOTE SATELLITE MONITORING TECHNOLOGY BEFORE THEY GOT TO A POINT OF NO RETURN. THIS YEAR ALSO MARKED THE LAUNCH OF OUR IN-SITU GENOMICS LAB AT OUR LOS AMIGOS CONSERVATION HUB IN PERU. THE LAB WILL CONDUCT BIODIVERSITY MONITORING AND ANALYSIS USING CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY LIKE GENOMICS, EDNA, AND MORE TO HELP IDENTIFY THE RISK OF ZOONOTIC DISEASES AND POTENTIALLY STOP FUTURE PANDEMICS.

PROTECT WILD PLACES - AMAZON CONSERVATION PROTECTS CRITICAL ECOSYSTEMS AND BIODIVERSITY IN PERU AND BOLIVIA BY CREATING AND STRENGTHENING PROTECTED AREAS; ENSURING LANDSCAPE CONNECTIVITY ESSENTIAL FOR SPECIES SURVIVAL AND CLIMATE ADAPTATION; AND DIRECTLY ADDRESSING THREATS TO LOCAL HABITATS. WE FURTHER HELP PROTECT THE ENTIRE AMAZON BASIN BY EMPLOYING THE LATEST IN REMOTE SENSING TECHNOLOGIES TO IDENTIFY, ANALYZE, AND REPORT THREATS TO THE FOREST ACROSS ALL NINE AMAZONIAN COUNTRIES IN REAL-TIME. EXAMPLES OF THIS WORK INCLUDE OUR SUPPORT IN THE CREATION OF OVER 24 CONSERVATION AREAS PROTECTING 9.1 MILLION ACRES OF IRREPLACEABLE ECOSYSTEMS ACROSS PERU AND BOLIVIA, PROVIDING INDIGENOUS FEDERATIONS REAL-TIME SATELLITE DATA ON INCURSIONS INTO THEIR ANCESTRAL TERRITORIES, AND HELPING LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND GOVERNMENTS DEVELOP "LIFE PLANS" TO ENSURE ENDURING CONSERVATION EFFORTS AND CONTINUED PROTECTION IN PROTECTED AREAS. IN 2020, DESPITE THE GLOBAL COVID-19 PANDEMIC, AMAZON CONSERVATION HELPED ESTABLISH 4 NEW CONSERVATION AREAS PROTECTING OVER 630,000 NEW ACRES OF WILD PLACES.

EMPOWER PEOPLE: AMAZON CONSERVATION EMPOWERS LOCAL PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENTS BY BUILDING SUSTAINABLE AND RESILIENT LIVELIHOODS THAT PROTECT STANDING FORESTS; STRENGTHENING THE ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE THAT IMPROVES THE LONG-TERM PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES; AND EDUCATING AND INSPIRING CITIZENS OF ALL COUNTRIES ON THE IMPORTANCE, NEEDS, AND THREATS TO THE AMAZON. EXAMPLES OF THIS WORK INCLUDE PROVIDING ENVIRONMENTAL PROSECUTORS TRAINING AND TECHNOLOGY TOOLS TO COMBAT FOREST CRIMES, GIVING LOCAL PRODUCER GROUPS TOOLS TO SUSTAINABLY MARKET FOREST PRODUCTS LIKE ACAI BERRIES AND BRAZIL NUTS AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO DESTRUCTIVE LIVELIHOODS LIKE LOGGING, AND DEVELOPING WORKSHOPS AND TRAINING FOR LOCAL COMMUNITIES ON A WIDE VARIETY OF CONSERVATION-RELATED TOPICS, SUCH AS FIRE PREVENTION, HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICT MITIGATION, CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION, AND MORE. IN 2020 WE ADAPTED TO THE COVID-19 GLOBAL PANDEMIC BY CONVERTING MANY OF OUR IN-PERSON TRAINING WORKSHOPS TO VIRTUAL SESSIONS, HOSTING A TOTAL OF 80 EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR (MORE THAN 1 A WEEK). IN PARTICULAR, OUR AMAZONTEC 2020 EVENT BROUGHT TOGETHER EXPERTS FROM ACROSS THE WORLD, REACHING OVER 250,000 PEOPLE ACROSS 20 COUNTRIES AND EDUCATING THEM HOW TECHNOLOGY, PUBLIC POLICY, AND FOREST GOVERNANCE CAN COME TOGETHER TO PROTECT THE RAINFOREST.

SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS - AMAZON CONSERVATION EMPOWERS LOCAL COMMUNITIES TO BUILD SUSTAINABLE AND RESILIENT LIVELIHOODS THAT PROTECT STANDING FORESTS AND GROW LOCAL AND NATIONAL ECONOMIES, AS WELL AS TO STRENGTHEN ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE THAT IMPROVES PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES. SINCE 1997, AMAZON CONSERVATION'S SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS PROGRAMS HAVE EMPOWERED THOUSANDS OF FOREST USERS AND INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES IN PERU AND BOLIVIA IN DEVELOPING AND IMPROVING THE SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION OF FOREST PRODUCTS INCLUDING BRAZIL NUTS, ACAI BERRIES AND PRECIOUS TROPICAL HARDWOODS, WHICH IMPROVED THEIR INCOME AND QUALITY OF LIFE. AMAZON CONSERVATION ALSO SUPPORTS CONSERVATION-APPROPRIATE AGROFORESTRY INITIATIVES AND MICROENTERPRISES SUCH AS NATIVE FISH FARMING AND COMMUNITY-BASED ECOTOURISM, ALL WHILE WORKING TO MITIGATE THE IMPACTS OF INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT ON THE ENVIRONMENT. SINCE 2015 THE ORGANIZATION HAS MADE STRIDES IN STRENGTHENING ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE BY PROVIDING TECHNOLOGY TOOLS AND BUILDING CAPACITIES OF GOVERNMENTS AND COMMUNITIES TO WORK TOGETHER TO REDUCE THREATS, IMPROVE THE CONTEXT FOR CONSERVATION, AND APPLY THE LAW AGAINST ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES.