The Unresolved Fight For Indigenous Land Rights In Suriname

Wuta, Trio man from the indigenous village of Kwamalasamutu in southern Suriname.

In recent years, indigenous communities across the Americas have fought hard to protect their land. From Standing Rock in the U.S. to protests in Brazil, indigenous peoples have demanded recognition of their rights. But in Suriname, a small country on South America’s northeast coast, indigenous land rights are still not legally guaranteed.  Suriname is the…

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Stingless Beekeeping: A Sweet Solution for Culture and Community

Sustainable Stingless Beekeeping for Conservation In the heart of Suriname, Colombia and Brazil, sustainable stingless beekeeping for conservation is doing more than just producing honey—it’s sustaining livelihoods, preserving cultural traditions, and protecting vital ecosystems. Through our stingless beekeeping (meliponiculture) initiatives, ACT is working hand-in-hand with partner communities to harness the benefits of native bees for…

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The Amazon is ablaze again. What it means for us (commentary) – Mongabay.com

Rainfall over the Amazon river. Photo by Rhett A. Butler

The following article by ACT President Mark Plotkin, responding to the renewed and alarming intensity of forest fires in the Amazon, was originally published on MongaBay.com.  In 2019, the world watched in horror as images of the Amazon rainforest ablaze flooded the news. Over 70,000 wildfires raged uncontrollably, killing wildlife, filling hospitals with patients struggling…

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Ancestral Tides Working to Conserve Coastal Ecosystems & Protect Sea Turtles by Laura Monti

Ancestral Tides gathering with leaders from indigenous coastal communities from Mexico, Colombia, Panama, and Costa Rica

“Sea turtles, a species emblematic of the connection between the two great biomes the desert and tropical rainforests, are an indicator of the health of marine and coastal ecosystems. Utilizing both indigenous knowledge and western scientific traditions, the indigenous sea turtle conservation communities exchanged knowledge and strategies to simultaneously conserve these coastal ecosystems and sea turtles while revitalizing associated cultural traditions”.

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Lessons from Costa Rica’s national parks: the Guanacaste Conservation Area and Daniel Janzen

Field Visit to Guanacaste A joint group of scientists from the Amazon Conservation Team’s Colombia, Costa Rica, and United States offices spent several weeks in August traveling throughout the national park system on the pacific coast of Costa Rica to learn about ecological restoration projects from community-based conservation experts. The primary destination was the Guanacaste…

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