February 15, 2011
Amazon Conservation Team Celebrates 15 Years of Amazon Rainforest Conservation
Feb. 22, 2011 - The Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) and its indigenous partners mark 15 Years of Amazon Conservation in 2011. ACT, an NGO in the entrepreneurial mold, works in direct partnership with indigenous people to conserve biodiversity, improve human health, and fortify traditional culture in greater Amazonia.
ACT was founded in 1996 by ethnobotanist Dr. Mark Plotkin and renowned conservationist Liliana Madrigal. The organization was founded on the idea that to truly conserve the Amazon, the work must begin at the ground level. ACT has spent the last decade and a half forming partnerships and empowering Amazonian indigenous peoples to protect their land and culture through grassroots conservation. ACT's journey is a successful and exciting story of innovative conservation.
During its 15 years, ACT has expanded its field operations to the northwest, northeast and southern Amazonian regions, working directly with 32 indigenous tribes to lay the essential groundwork for better protection of more than 70 million rainforest acres in South America.
"At this milestone, the magnitude of ACT's work is greater than ever. We are working directly with our Amazonian colleagues to mitigate and develop adaptation models for the effects of climate change while using technology to track our collective progress for the entire world to see," said Dr. Mark Plotkin, ACT president. "As portions of the forest succumb to drought and release carbon, the importance of preserving the healthy forest becomes paramount; ACT stands at the ready to help its partner communities-in collaboration with likeminded national agencies and complementary organizations-do just that on ever large scales."
ACT Highlights 1996-2011:
- 1997 - Shaman's and Apprentices programs initiated in the NW and NE Amazon.
- 1999 - First gathering of Shamans of the Colombian Amazon.
- 2000 - First of four traditional medicine clinics opens in Suriname.
- 2002 - Tumucumaque Indigenous Reserve mapped.
- 2004 - First gathering of Women Healers of the Colombian Amazon.
- 2005 - Indigenous land management and protection plans developed in Brazil.
- 2005 - Indigenous Park Guard Training Course initiated in Brazil.
- 2007 - Indigenous Park Guard Training expanded to Suriname.
- 2008 - Google Earth training for Brazil's Surui people.
- 2009 - To date, 130 indigenous park guards trained.
- 2009 - Indigenous-led carbon (REDD) project begun with Surui people of Brazil.
- 2010 - To date, more than 70 million acres mapped across Amazonia.
- 2010 - 90 percent of all indigenous and native lands in Suriname mapped.
About The Amazon Conservation Team
The Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) was founded in 1996 by renowned ethnobotanist Dr. Mark Plotkin and conservationist Liliana Madrigal. By partnering with indigenous tribes throughout the Amazon to map, manage, and protect the rainforest, ACT ensures the successful protection of the biodiversity, culture, and health of the Amazon's ecosystem-the flora, fauna, and the indigenous people. In March 2008, the Amazon Conservation Team received the Skoll Foundation's prestigious Award for Social Entrepreneurship. Recently, ACT was named a 2010 Tech Awards Laureate by Silicon Valley's Tech Museum for their work in Brazil to advance the technology of field data collection in partnership with indigenous communities. To learn more about ACT, visit www.amazonteam.org.
Press Contact:
Jourdan Clandening
Amazon Conservation Team
jclandening@amazonteam.org
703.522.4684
