The Healing Bees of the Amazon Forest

Stingless bee diversity of southern Suriname/northern Brazil

Ancient human societies were not the first to discover the power of plants for healing: for millions of years, bees have used botanical resin exudates—known as propolis—to control the proliferation of microorganisms in their nests. These Amazonian bees possess innate knowledge of medicinal plants. By collecting resin from different trees and plants, they produce one of the first medicine cocktail of animals’ societies, known as propolis. ACT has been strengthening the communities living in the Amazon forest in order to sustainably harvest this product.

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Our COVID-19 Response: Update

Boats delivering supplies in Medio Rio Caqueta

The pandemic is hitting indigenous communities of the Amazon from all sides. They are in dire need of support to ward off the virus and save human lives right now, and to protect their cultures and forests from mounting ecological threats and economic pressures.

ACT is continuing to scale our efforts to support communities in tackling this critical issue from within in alliance with local organizations and government agencies. In areas where aid is simply not available or public services lack the capacity or will to independently reach communities in need, our work has been indispensable.

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Interview with Evandro Bernardi | Covid-19 Response

We sat down with ACT’s Evandro Bernardi for a firsthand look at how indigenous communties in the Brazilian Amazon are being impacted by the virus, and how ACT-Brasil is helping them respond to this crisis. Evandro has worked with indigenous communities for more than 20 years, and coordinates ACT’s fieldwork in the northeastern region of…

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COVID-19 Response June, 2020

COVID-19 Repsonse, Vaupes, Colombia

The pandemic is still sweeping through the Amazon, showing how exposed this seemingly impermeable forest can be. Indigenous and traditional communities of the rainforest are in dire need of support.
ACT continues to band together with civil society and governments in Colombia, Peru, Brazil, and Suriname to mitigate and manage the crisis locally. Our partners span universities, public health departments, volunteer air patrols, health NGOs, indigenous organizations, ACT-trained Amazon Conservation Rangers, and more.

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COVID-19 Response May, 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread in Amazonia, indigenous and local communities are some of the most vulnerable.

While we have had to leave our offices and field locations and pause many of our projects, we have strategically pivoted to address communities’ most pressing needs in the face of the current global health crisis.

This is how we have reshaped our current priorities in response to COVID-19

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2019 Fire Crisis Situation in the Amazon

The Amazon is burning. Parts of the Brazilian Amazon are experiencing unprecedented fires. Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research has reported a recent 84% increase in forest fires from the same period in 2018. Brazil’s largest city, Sao Paulo, experienced a blackout caused by smoke from the fires. Ecosystems are being devastated and countless indigenous…

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Solar Solutions for Traditional Communities

For remote forest communities, steady sources of renewable power can improve air quality, minimize tree harvesting, and provide domestic lighting for the evening work, especially important for children’s studies. In the Waura village of Ulupuene, which is situated along the banks of the Batovi River within the confines of the Xingu Indigenous Territory in Brazil,…

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