Amazon Conservation Team

ACT WORKS WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES OF TROPICAL SOUTH AMERICA TO IMPLEMENT CONSERVATION STRATEGIES.

LAND PROTECTIONS, MANAGEMENT & RIGHTS- IN COLOMBIA, ACT HELPED EXPAND FIVE EXISTING INDIGENOUS RESERVES AND CREATE ONE NEW INDIGENOUS RESERVE, BRINGING 20,804 ADDITIONAL ACRES UNDER INDIGENOUS COLLECTIVE LAND TENURE AND STEWARDSHIP. WITH THESE COMMUNITIES, ACT CO-CREATED AND FACILITATED THE DESIGN OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND LAND-USE PLANS.- IN COLOMBIA, 23 NEW FAMILIES JOINED OUR AGROFORESTRY PROJECT IN CAQUET, WHICH AIMS TO PREVENT AND REVERSE DEFORESTATION IN PRIORITIZED ECOSYSTEMS. TO THAT END, THESE FAMILIES PLANTED 1,985 CACAY TREES TO HELP CREATE MICRO-CORRIDORS OF ECOLOGICAL CONNECTIVITY. - IN COLOMBIA AND PERU, ACT REMOTELY MONITORED PROTECTED AREAS THROUGH SATELLITE IMAGERY AND TRAINED INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES AND NATIONAL PARKS ON IN-SITU FOREST MONITORING PRACTICES. THROUGH THESE TECHNIQUES, WE WERE JOINTLY ABLE TO DETECT ILLEGAL ACTORS NEAR AREAS WHERE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN VOLUNTARY ISOLATION ARE KNOWN TO LIVE AND COMPILE EVIDENCE-BASED REPORTS FOR GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES TO REMOVE THESE INCURSIONS. - IN SURINAME, ACT SCALED UP THE TECHNICAL TRAINING OF 40 AMAZON CONSERVATION RANGERS MEN AND WOMEN FROM OUR PARTNER COMMUNITIES WHO MONITOR AND PROTECT THEIR TERRITORIES ACROSS SEVEN INDIGENOUS AND MAROON VILLAGES. THE RANGERS WERE TRAINED AND EQUIPPED IN THE USE OF DRONES, GPS, SMARTPHONE MAPPING APPLICATIONS, WATER TESTING FOR MERCURY FROM ILLEGAL GOLD MINING, AND SATELLITE IMAGERY ANALYSIS.- IN BRAZIL, ACT PROVIDED TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION AND MATERIAL SUPPORT TO THE WAUJA AND IKPENG PEOPLE OF THE XINGU INDIGENOUS PARK TO CARRY OUT MONITORING AND VIGILANCE EFFORTS ON THE PERIMETERS OF THEIR TERRITORY TO DETER FURTHER DEFORESTATION BY LANDGRABBERS AND THE ENCROACHMENT OF UNSUSTAINABLE MONOCULTURE. - IN COSTA RICA, 26,788 SEA TURTLE HATCHLINGS WERE SAFELY RELEASED AND OVER 1,500 NATIVE TREES WERE PLANTED TO RESTORE A CRITICAL NESTING BEACH THAT WAS DEGRADED.

COMMUNITY LIVELIHOODS & WELL-BEING - IN BRAZIL AND COLOMBIA, ACT CONSTRUCTED THREE NEW HEALTH POSTS FOR INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES IN REMOTE REGIONS OF THE AMAZON. BEFORE THIS INITIATIVE, MANY OF THESE COMMUNITIES' PRIMARY MEDICAL SERVICES WERE HOURS OR EVEN DAYS AWAY BY BOAT. TODAY THEY CAN ACCESS BASIC CARE, INCLUDING TESTING AND TREATMENT FOR COVID-19, CONVENIENTLY IN THEIR COMMUNITIES. THESE THREE POSTS HAVE RUNNING WATER, ELECTRICITY, AND ARE STOCKED WITH ALL NECESSARY EQUIPMENT AND MEDICATIONS. NOW 800 INDIGENOUS INDIVIDUALS FROM NINE ETHNIC GROUPS HAVE IMPROVED ACCESS TO MEDICAL CARE AND PREVENTATIVE SERVICES. - IN COLOMBIA, ACT INDIGENOUS PARTNERS, THE KOGUI, BEGAN SUSTAINABLE COFFEE PRODUCTION TO IMPROVE THEIR FINANCIAL STABILITY AND INDEPENDENCE. TO HELP THE COMMUNITY IMPROVE THE MANAGEMENT OF THIS INITIATIVE AND PROVIDE DATA TO MAKE BETTER CONSERVATION DECISIONS RELATED TO ANY PRESSURES COMING FROM COFFEE PRODUCTION, ACT CARRIED OUT A CARTOGRAPHIC CENSUS OF THE COMMUNITY'S COFFEE PRODUCTION. WITH THE SUPPORT OF 16 COMMUNITY MEMBERS WE TRAINED, 659 COFFEE SMALLHOLDER FARMS, ENCOMPASSING APPROXIMATELY 2,000 ACRES, WERE ANALYZED.- IN SURINAME, THE PRODUCTION AND SALE OF ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE NON-TIMBER FOREST PRODUCTS (NTFPS) GENERATES INCOME TO IMPROVE THE ECONOMIC SECURITY OF REMOTE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES. ACT PROVIDED TECHNICAL SUPPORT TO A COLLECTIVE OF 30 INDIGENOUS WOMEN PRODUCING JEWELRY FROM NFTPS. THEIR JEWELRY LINE WAS OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED IN 2021 AND IS CURRENTLY BEING SOLD BY THREE VENDORS IN THE CAPITAL CITY OF PARAMARIBO. IF THE CURRENT LEVEL OF SALES CONTINUES, THE AVERAGE INCOME GENERATED PER MONTH FOR EACH WOMAN WILL BE WELL OVER THE AVERAGE MONTHLY INCOME LEVEL IN SOUTHERN SURINAME, PROVIDING SECURITY FOR THESE WOMEN AND THEIR FAMILIES.- IN SURINAME, ACT INSTALLED RADIO AND WI-FI INFRASTRUCTURE IN FIVE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES, POWERED BY SOLAR ENERGY. NOW, PUBLIC HEALTH INFORMATION AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL ASSISTANCE CAN EASILY BE SHARED BETWEEN PARAMARIBO AND THESE VILLAGES. TO ENSURE THE LONGEVITY AND AUTONOMOUS USE OF THESE SYSTEMS, ACT TRAINED 15 COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN THEIR OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE. IN TOTAL, THIS INITIATIVE IS BENEFITTING 1,210 INDIVIDUALS AND THREE INDIGENOUS ETHNIC GROUPS WITH RELIABLE COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS.

GOVERNANCE AND CULTURE - THROUGH AN EXCLUSIVE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COLOMBIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT, ACT TRANSLATED COURT DECISIONS AND ASSOCIATED RIGHTS INTO 26 INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES, INDIRECTLY BENEFITTING MORE THAN 920,000 INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE SPEAKERS. THIS INITIATIVE AIMS TO IMPROVE DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION ON INDIGENOUS RIGHTS AS WELL AS CIVIC INCLUSION OF MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES. - IN COLOMBIA, ACT SUPPORTED FIVE INDIGENOUS ETHNIC GROUPS, NUMBERING OVER 17,000 INDIVIDUALS, IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR OWN AUTONOMOUS INTERCULTURAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM. ACT BUILT ALLIANCES BETWEEN INDIGENOUS AUTHORITIES, HEALTH SECRETARIATS, AND LOCAL HOSPITALS, AND ACCOMPANIED COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN ASSESSING CURRENT HEALTH CONDITIONS ACROSS 57 VILLAGES. TOGETHER WITH OUR INDIGENOUS PARTNERS, WE DEVELOPED A ROADMAP FOR THE CREATION OF THE NEW HEALTHCARE SYSTEM THAT MARRIES TRADITIONAL INDIGENOUS AND WESTERN MEDICAL PRACTICES. - SURINAME IS ONE OF THE FEW SOUTH AMERICAN NATIONS THAT DOES NOT RECOGNIZE BASIC POLITICAL, SOCIO-CULTURAL, AND ECONOMIC RIGHTS FOR ITS INDIGENOUS PEOPLESINCLUDING RIGHTS TO THEIR ANCESTRAL LAND. ACT HAS BEEN THE PRIMARY NGO WORKING AT THE GRASSROOTS LEVEL WITH INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES, AND AT THE INSTITUTIONAL LEVEL WITH THE REGIONAL AND NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS, TO RAISE PUBLIC AWARENESS AND PROVIDE TECHNICAL AND LEGAL SUPPORT TO SECURE INDIGENOUS LAND RIGHTS AND INDIGENOUS-LED ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT. ACT PLAYED A VITAL ROLE IN HELPING TO DRAFT LEGISLATION TO ESTABLISH COLLECTIVE LAND RIGHTS FOR THE COUNTRY'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, WHICH IS EXPECTED TO BE BROUGHT TO PARLIAMENT FOR A VOTE IN 2022. - IN BRAZIL, ACT SUPPORTED THE TRAVEL AND PARTICIPATION OF ALMOST 200 INDIGENOUS INDIVIDUALS, INCLUDING TRADITIONAL INDIGENOUS LEADERS, REPRESENTING OVER A DOZEN ETHNIC GROUPS, IN INDIGENOUS MOBILIZATIONS AS A FORM OF PEACEFUL DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION.