Posts by Barbara Illana
Easy Conservation Tips for Kids: How Young Protectors Can Help Nature
Welcome, Young Rainforest Protectors! Caring for nature doesn’t have to be hard. Kids everywhere can help protect forests, animals, rivers, and even the Amazon rainforest by making small choices every day. Here are easy, fun conservation tips that show how young protectors can make a big difference. Protect Nature Every Day Nature gives us clean air, water, and places to…
Read MoreHow Tareno and Matawai Communities Are Advancing Indigenous-Led Development Plans in Suriname
A historic moment for Suriname’s Indigenous and Maroon communities. This December, traditional authorities from the Coeroenie and Matawai regions officially handed over their development plans—the Tareno Development Plans and the Matawai Fiti Plan—to the Government of Suriname. The ceremony was attended by President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons, government ministers, district commissioners, representative from the Inter-American Development Bank, and directors of NGOs working in Indigenous and tribal areas. This event marks more…
Read MoreThe Echoes of the Peoples at COP30
A historic mobilization marks advances in land demarcation and territorial protection. ACT stood alongside communities and helped elevate grassroots leadership in climate decision-making. The 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), held in November in Belém (Pará), was defined by the strength and historic coordination of Brazil’s Indigenous peoples and traditional communities. Through marches, dialogues,…
Read MoreOliver-Ximon Mwiinga (Oli) Joins ACT as an Ambassador
The Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) is delighted to welcome Oliver-Ximon Mwiinga, an 11-year-old nature lover and emerging storyteller from The Hague, the Netherlands, as our newest Ambassador. Despite his young age, Oli has a remarkable sense of curiosity and deep empathy for the natural world. He loves football, animals, reading, and exploring — but above…
Read MoreCosta Rica Gathering 2025: Honoring 30 Years and Building ACT’s Future
From October 20 to October 22, 2025, ACT members from the USA, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, and the Guianas gathered in Costa Rica for a transformative event. Joined by board members, donors, guests, and Indigenous partners — María del Rosario “Charito” Chicunque, Pablo Chindoy, and Marinete Tukano — the gathering focused on strategic conversations to align ACT around its next chapter while…
Read MoreOne Health, Indigenous Knowledge, and Climate Action at COP30
What is One Health The term One Health, translated as “One Single Health” or “Unified Health,” was formally adopted globally after the “One World, One Health” symposium held in 2004 in New York. Since then, international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and…
Read MoreA People Who Resist Collectively: The Gathering of the Wai Wai
The Wai Wai are an Indigenous people who live across portions of the Guianas (Guyana and Suriname) and northern Brazil, especially in the south of Brazil’s Roraima state. Informal records link their name, which derives from the Karib language family, to the armadillo. The armadillo may be perceived as emblematic of the Wai Wai identity…
Read MoreFrom Bogotá to Belém: What’s at stake for the future of the Amazon
Carolina Gil, Regional Director of the Amazon Conservation Team Colombia authored this op-ed, published August 27, 2025 in El Espectador, a daily newspaper in Colombia. OPINION | “Today it is clear: the environmental agenda is the political agenda. What happens in the Amazon will define not only the climatic future, but also the stability of…
Read MoreIndigenous Women March for Territories and Life
In August 2025, more than five thousand Indigenous women occupied Brasília, Brazil’s capital city, to advocate for their rights at the 4th Indigenous Women’s March. The mobilization culminated in the development of proposals for a National Policy Plan for Indigenous Women. From August 3 to 7, 2025, the event assembled thousands of women from Brazil’s…
Read MoreWithout Territory, There Is No Climate Justice for the Kokama People
The 7th Assembly of the Kokama People focused on land rights, education, health, and the preservation of language and traditional knowledge within the broader context of the climate crisis. Held in Amaturá, in the state of Amazonas, from July 8–11, the 7th General Assembly of the Kokama People’s Movements marked an important milestone in the…
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