United States
Finding Climate Optimism in the Amazon this Earth Day
Earth Day, celebrated this Tuesday, is a global reminder to reflect on the health of our planet. And right now, there’s no sugarcoating it—the biosphere’s vital signs are concerning. The past decade has been the hottest on record. Droughts, wildfires, and hurricanes are growing more intense. The climate crisis feels more real than ever. But…
Read MoreBeyond Borders: Uniting for Indigenous-Led Conservation in the Amazon
Amazon Conservation Team Collaboration in Colombia Earlier this month, ACT’s international staff gathered in Bogotá, Colombia, to reinforce our commitment to working across boundaries and cultures. Team members from the U.S., Brazil, Costa Rica, and the Guianas convened to advance our shared mission: partnering with indigenous and local communities to protect tropical forests and strengthen…
Read MoreRichard Kahn: Sparking the Amazon Conservation Team
Richard Kahn was one of those quiet visionaries—a brilliant lawyer and activist with a profound sense of social and environmental justice and a believer in the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics in healing. Truly, a man ahead of his time. At the end of 1995, Richard, who at the time was a trustee of a family foundation, called to…
Read MoreBiocultural restoration at Jaba Tañiwashkaka
Understand how the Kogui people reclaimed access to the sea and restored nature at a coastal sacred site through our new blog about Jaba Tañiwashkaka.
Read MoreAmazon Conservation Team Guianas at the World Environment Day Expo
A field-based conservation organization that partners with indigenous and other local communities to protect tropical forests and strengthen traditional culture. Visit our booth at the at the World Environment Day Expo, to learn about our unique model of Amazon rainforest management in Suriname. For over 25 years, ACT has co-created new methods of conservation with our…
Read MoreThe Amazon Conservation Team at the Floriade 2022
A Field-based conservation organization that partners with indigenous and other local communities to protect tropical forests and strengthen traditional culture. Visit our booth at the 2022 Floriade, to learn about our unique model of Amazon rainforest management in Suriname. For over 25 years, ACT has co-created new methods of conservation with our partners that honor…
Read MoreThe Shamans and Apprentices Program: A Promise to Kwamalasamutu
The success of the Shamans and Apprentices program was just the beginning of the pioneering biocultural conservation work that ACT has gone on to do. In the spirit of supporting communities in their own efforts — as opposed to implementing foreign, top-down initiatives — ACT sought to secure culturally appropriate means for human and environmental wellbeing, and increase recognition of indigenous culture and self-determination. In this way, we were able to merge the strengths and tools of the Western world in a way that complements but doesn’t dominate the ideals and goals of the local community.
Read More25 Years Ago: Why We Founded the Amazon Conservation Team
Liliana Madrigal, ACT co-founder, recounts what inspired her to leave the world of conventional environmental conservation and create a new and innovative conservation organization that works for and with the indigenous peoples of critical ecosystems in the Amazon.
Read MoreFor the first time, Colombian Constitutional Court rulings are being translated into indigenous languages
The Amazon Conservation Team and the Colombian Constitutional Court have joined forces to culturally and idiomatically interpret the most significant rulings of the Colombian Constitutional Court with respect to the protection of the nation’s ethnic communities. In a first project phase, the partners and indigenous community members adapted these rulings to 26 of the nation’s 65 languages.
Read MoreIndigenous Women Achieve “Mamakunapa” Civil Society Nature Reserve
On December 2, 2020, a species-rich stand of Andes-Amazon rainforest stewarded by indigenous women of ASOMI achieved legal designation as a Civil Society Nature Reserve, “Mamakunapa”.
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