Posts Tagged ‘news’
A Lifesaving Health Campaign for the Matsés
Along the remote Peru-Brazil border, the Matsés Indigenous people continue to uphold a traditional way of life deeply connected to the Amazon rainforest. Their territories — the Matsés Indigenous Territory and the Matsés National Reserve — span approximately 852,000 hectares (2.1 million acres) of pristine forest. The future of this remarkable landscape is inseparable…
Read MoreColombia Earthquake Response: Supporting 1,500 Families Across Five Departments
August 27, 2026 Following the 7.4 magnitude earthquake that struck Colombia on August 10, the Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) in Colombia has been working with Indigenous and Afro-descendant organizations and territorial authorities to identify needs and coordinate an initial humanitarian response. To date, 1,500 beneficiary families have been confirmed for support across Valle del Cauca,…
Read MoreSupporting Our Partner Communities Affected by the Earthquake in Colombia
On August 10, a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia. It was the largest earthquake the country has seen in more than a decade, according to the Colombian Geological Survey. Some of the hardest hit areas from the quake overlap with Indigenous and local afro-descendant communities that the Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) has partnered with over many…
Read MoreAn Amazonian Food Atlas Is Shared with the Communities That Nourished It
Over the last two years, fourteen communities across the Amazon have participated in a collaborative initiative to share the foods that have sustained life and cultures in their territories for generations. Their stories, knowledge, and traditional recipes were woven together into an atlas designed by the Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) as part of the World…
Read MoreMongabay: Suriname will not be saved by soybeans (commentary)
In a new commentary for Mongabay, Dr. Mark Plotkin, ethnobotanist and President of the Amazon Conservation Team, argues that large-scale foreign agribusiness — Brazilian, Mennonite, or otherwise — won’t modernize Suriname’s economy and bring shared prosperity, as promised. Instead, drawing on patterns seen throughout tropical America, he argues it will do the opposite: clearing forest,…
Read MoreACT Featured in Podcast Series on the People and Forces Shaping the Amazon
Staff from the Amazon Conservation Team are featured across multiple episodes of Rewilding Amazonia, an eight-part investigative podcast series from Rewildology examining what it truly takes to protect the Amazon. Hosted by conservation biologist Brooke Mitchell, the series draws on nearly 30 hours of interviews with 22 scientists, practitioners, and community leaders across six Amazonian countries. New episodes release every Tuesday through June…
Read MoreThe Annulment of Decree 1500: What is at Stake for the Indigenous Peoples of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
February 20, 2026 The original article published in Spanish by La Silla Vacia can be found here. Written by Juana Hofman – Director of Technical Territorial Integration at the Amazon Conservation Team Colombia and professor at the Universidad del Rosario. Yesterday’s decision by Colombia’s Council of State (Consejo de Estado) to annul, for formal and…
Read MoreNew StoryMap Shows the Fight for Survival of Isolated Indigenous Peoples in South America
The Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) has launched a first-of-its-kind interactive StoryMap, A Fight for Survival, that shows the territorial areas of Isolated Indigenous Peoples in South America—communities who do not maintain regular contact, or have never had contact, with non-Indigenous peoples as an intentional act of self-determination and resistance to colonization. Created in collaboration with the International Working Group…
Read MoreColombian Court Upholds Landmark Ruling for Indigenous Rights
The Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) welcomes the Constitutional Court’s decision last week to uphold Decree 1275 of 2024, a national framework that strengthens and legitimizes the role of Indigenous authorities in leading environmental management across their territories. For nearly 30 years, ACT has worked alongside Indigenous peoples to protect the Amazon through community-led, culturally grounded conservation. The Court’s decision validates the…
Read MoreProtecting a Global Food Staple: Statement on Cassava Disease
The Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) is monitoring the potential spread of Witches’ Broom disease in cassava crops across the Guianas. The fungal pathogen Ceratobasidium causes broom-like shoots and can sharply reduce yields of one of the world’s most important staple foods. “Cassava is the major food crop in these regions imagine what crop failure would mean,” Dr. Mark Plotkin, ethnobotanist and ACT president, said. “For millions of families,…
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