News
ACT Board Member Dr. Thomas Lovejoy Named President of the US branch of IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature)
The Board of Directors of the International Union for Conservation of Nature—United States (IUCN-US) voted ACT Board Member Thomas E. Lovejoy its new president at their March 24, 2017, Board Meeting. Lovejoy assumes the post previously held by John G. Robinson, Chief Conservation Officer, Wildlife Conservation Society.
Read MoreEnhancing Youth Awareness About Suriname’s Extraordinary Natural Richness
Earlier this year, a completed series of Junior Park Ranger guides was presented during a special event in at the Tori Oso cultural center in Suriname’s capital city of Paramaribo. The purpose of the series is to enhance the awareness of both indigenous and non-indigenous students regarding Suriname’s extraordinary natural richness.
Read MoreA Taste of Honey: Stingless Bee Breeding Commences in Kwamalasamutu
In Suriname, ACT has sought to identify alternative sustainable livelihoods to strengthen the income of indigenous and semi-indigenous families living in the Amazon forest. A recent path of interest to both the Trio and Maroon villages and ACT has been the introduction of honey produced by native stingless bees.
Read MoreElías García, the Guardian of Native Seeds
On the banks of the Caquetá River, in Colombia, lives Elías García Ruíz, a member of the Murui Muina indigenous group who collects and cultivates native seeds such as that of the cacay tree (Caryodendron orinocense), which is disappearing from their territory because of selective logging of trees of high commercial value and an alarming advance of deforestation.
Read MoreLast of the Isolated: Houses and a History for Surviving Elders of the Amazon
Komuyaroke, Káemaña and Rugáña are the last surviving members of a previously isolated division of the northwest Amazon’s Murui-Muina tribe. Neglect had left them homeless and in precarious living and health conditions. In 2016, ACT responded by building them homes
Read MoreA digital map of the heart of the Amazon
The Amazon Conservation Team produced a virtual tour documenting the legacy and journeys of the biologist Richard Evans Schultes in Colombia. The project celebrates the 20th anniversary of the organization.
Read MoreMark Plotkin: Maps, Magic and Medicine in the Rainforest | Bioneers 2016
ACT President Mark Plotkin depicts ACT’s work partnering with over 30 South American tribes, including the Kogi, to map, manage and protect over 70 million acres of ancestral forests. He describes collaboration with elder healers to develop and implement successful “Shamans and Apprentices” programs to transmit sacred healing information down through generations within the tribes themselves.
Read MoreInteractively Tracking Stolen Land in the Name of Oil
Kichwa activists in Ecuador have a new tool for showing the oil-related theft of their territory: an interactive digital story map with details of how the land has been stolen — sold mostly to oil companies— and is still dangerous because of leftover explosives.
Read MoreNew ACT documentary: Kwamalasamutu – In Pursuit of Human Wellbeing
ACT is pleased to share Kwamalasamutu – In Pursuit of Human Wellbeing, a short documentary film that highlights nearly two years of participatory research in the Trio indigenous village of Kwamalasamutu, Suriname conducted by ACT-trained indigenous Amazon Conservation Rangers together with students from the University of Utrecht and local partners.
Read MoreSpecial Podcast Episode with Julian Lennon: Listen Younger Brother
Julian Lennon, musician, photographer, and founder of the White Feather Foundation hosts this special episode of Maps, Magic, and Medicine about the Kogi indigenous people of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia. Kogi community members discuss the importance of water, sacred sites, and protecting their ancestral territory and Julian Lennon reflects on the impact of his visit to the Kogi sacred sites and the lessons it imparted.
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