Our 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.
Read MoreCould the Amazon Save Your Life? – The New York Times
Scientists are looking at the medicinal potential of plants and animals in the region’s vast tropical forests.
Read MoreCountering Emerging Crises in the Amazon: Covid-19 & Fires
In the following report, the Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) highlights some of its on-the-ground efforts in response to the two tragedies that have defined the last year in the Amazon: the fires of 2019, and the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. To view the report, please click on the image:
Read MoreCOVID-19 Response June, 2020
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.
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
Read MoreEmerging diseases and deforestation on a suffering planet
By: Isidoro Hazbun Original article in Spanish in El Heraldo / Opinion More than 60% of human infectious diseases are caused by pathogens shared with wild or domestic animals. Some of these diseases have only recently emerged due to deforestation. Many zoonoses, animal-related diseases that can incidentally be communicated to people, especially those caused by…
Read MoreThe General Secretariat of the Organization of American States and the Amazon Conservation Team Launch Partnership to Strengthen Indigenous Leaders in the Americas
(Washington, DC,) The Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) and the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) announce a partnership to strengthen ACT’s Indigenous Leadership Fellowship program, providing new learning opportunities for indigenous students of the Americas in the OAS. This unique partnership will strengthen and enable leadership development opportunities at global and local…
Read MoreACT President & Co-Founder Receives Humanitarian Award from Harvard Extension School
Harvard Extension School has presented the 2019 “Michael Shinagel Award for Service” to Dr. Mark Plotkin of The Amazon Conservation Team.
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