The 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 MoreApproaching Land Rights for Maroon Peoples of Suriname
Recent momentum toward collective land tenure for Suriname’s afro-descendant groups In the country of Suriname, legislation that has been drafted to finally establish land rights for the nation’s indigenous and Maroon peoples is scheduled to be brought before parliament for a vote soon. In the Americas, the public is familiar with lands rights for indigenous…
Read MoreThe Road to Indigenous Land Rights in Suriname
The last country in tropical South America yet to guarantee collective land tenure for its indigenous peoples Recent years have brought a global explosion of interest in and consciousness of indigenous rights, primarily centered on protecting indigenous land tenure. Across the Americas, the public has witnessed historic indigenous mobilizations to uphold land rights in the…
Read MoreAMAZON CONSERVATION TEAM SURINAME
PROTECTING THE FOREST, PROTECTING THE FUTURE The Amazon is a pivotal, life-sustaining force for people and the planet. It shelters critical biodiversity, absorbs massive amounts of carbon, cools the air, and regulates water cycles worldwide. Beyond its indispensable ecological benefits, the Amazon is home to indigenous and local communities whose physical, material, and spiritual well-being…
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 MoreThe Healing Bees of the Amazon Forest
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.
Read MoreLands of Freedom: the oral history and cultural heritage of the Matawai Maroons in Suriname
Learn about the oral history and cultural heritage of a Surinamese Afro-descendant community who fought for their right to exist in the rainforest centuries ago. (2020, English and Dutch)
Read MoreLands of Freedom: Preserving and Honoring the Heritage of the Matawai
The Matawai Maroons of Suriname—descendants of enslaved Africans who fled into the rainforest over 300 ago, where they have remained ever since— in partnership with ACT, are launching a new interactive Storytelling Map showcasing their centuries-old oral histories about their ancestral lands and culture.
Read MoreOur COVID-19 Response: Update
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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