News Releases

2019 Fire Crisis Situation in the Amazon

August 22, 2019

The Amazon is burning. Parts of the Brazilian Amazon are experiencing unprecedented fires. Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research has…

Continue »

The General Secretariat of the Organization of American States and the Amazon Conservation Team Launch Partnership to Strengthen Indigenous Leaders in the Americas

June 27, 2019

(Washington, DC,) The Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) and the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) announce a…

Continue »

ACT President & Co-Founder Receives Humanitarian Award from Harvard Extension School

May 30, 2019

Harvard Extension School has presented the 2019 “Michael Shinagel Award for Service” to Dr. Mark Plotkin of The Amazon Conservation Team.

Continue »

ACT Indigenous Fellowship Program

April 23, 2019

The Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) has established an Indigenous Fellowship Program in partnership with Colombia’s Universidad Externado to provide indigenous college students with the opportunity to better understand the functioning of international cooperation agencies, international conventions, and funding aimed at supporting the rights of indigenous communities.

Continue »

Amazon Conservation Team Reestablished in Brazil

March 11, 2019

On January 25, 2019, responding to several requests for partnership from indigenous communities in Brazil, the Amazon Conservation Team® (ACT®)…

Continue »

Securing Land Rights for Indigenous Communities in Colombia: A Methodology

January 8, 2019

Ensuring the collective survival of indigenous peoples requires guaranteeing their rights and access to traditional lands. In Colombia, indigenous peoples’…

Continue »

The River School: Indigenous Communities Learning & Working Together for the Protection of Key Ecosystems in Colombia

October 30, 2018
Winding river drone view

Throughout ACT’s more than 20 years of conservation and indigenous rights work in South America, one of the greatest challenges…

Continue »

Colombian Government Signs Decree Recognizing the Ancestral Territory of the Indigenous Communities of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta

August 6, 2018
Sierra Nevada Mountain View

On August 6, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos signed a decree that recognizes the ancestral territory of the indigenous communities…

Continue »

Colombian Government Approves Decree for the Protection of Isolated Indigenous Groups

July 18, 2018
National parkland

On July 17, 2018, the Colombian government approved a landmark national public policy for the protection of isolated indigenous groups. The policy was developed in a collaboration led by the Colombian Ministry of the Interior with the participation of governmental entities and local and regional indigenous organizations, supported by technical and legal assistance from the nonprofit Amazon Conservation Team (ACT). his groundbreaking national public policy was the first in the Amazon region directly led by the grassroots efforts of neighboring indigenous communities and indigenous organizations undergoing a process of free prior informed consent according to international regulations, thus resulting in an unprecedented integration of traditional spiritual worldviews in modern environmental protection strategies.

Continue »

Honoring a Leading Commitment to Conservation in Concert with Indigenous Peoples

September 27, 2017

On September 21, 2017, in the company of indigenous leaders and ACT staff, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was honored at the National Geographic Society for his special leadership in environmental conservation and his commitment to the preservation of biodiversity.

Continue »