Amazon Conservation Team

Land rights, protections & management- in brazil, on bananal island in the state of tocantins, brazil, the awa people are advancing the recovery of their territory through planting, forest management, and initiatives led by the kawu nursery project, created by the community with support from act. Built in may 2025, the nursery ensures a continuous supply of native seedlings for their restoration work and strengthens the community's autonomy in environmental recovery. Over 800 seedlings are currently being planted. Along riverbanks and wetlands, the awa have cultivated caju, buriti, acai, and aroeira - species grown by the community itself, essential for protecting water and soil.- in close consultation with the communities, in 2025, act carried out land tenure studies for the demarcation of kokama territories along the ica river in brazil's upper solimoes river region, covering nearly 300,000 acres and all kokama villages. The demarcation is an essential step toward official collective land rights for the kokama over their ancestral territory. Additionally, act mapped hydrography, vegetation, soil types, and native species. Throughout the fieldwork, ethnomapping workshops were conducted with community members.- in 2025, the communities of brazil's parana do boa-boa indigenous land completed the production and publication of their pgta (territorial and environmental management plan), a formally recognized guide developed by indigenous peoples to support the management and protection of their territories. Comparable to the life plans developed in other act work areas, the pgta was the first supported by act-brasil - a milestone collectively developed with the leadership of the nadeb and kanamary peoples. The pgta is where the indigenous peoples express their aspirations and draw up their pathways and strategies to care for the forest, the waters, the flora and fauna, and their communities over the long term, based on their worldview.- in guyana, ancestral mapping has

Governance and culture -in 2025, in the bona indigenous village in the northern brazilian state of para, on the eastern side of the tumucumaque indigenous area, act sponsored multiple workshops engaging 90 indigenous representatives toward the development of a formal document that lays out an educational plan for a network of 22 wayana and apalai indigenous villages and their schools, known as a projeto politico pedagogico (pedagogical and political project). The plan maps out how western schooling will be integrated with traditional teaching that is culturally essential to the communities. Once ratified in the indigenous assembly, the document will be submitted for approval to the educational secretariat of amapa.-in february 2025, in suriname's para district, 23 village leaders and members from seven villages assembled at cola kreek for a week of leadership training sponsored by act. The training focused on optimizing negotiations with the national government on shared objectives and the priorities of indigenous peoples. -in colombia's sierra nevada de santa marta, multiple workshops were carried out between indigenous communities, local communities and other key stakeholders to bring awareness on the relationship between sacred sites and ecosystems, along with knowledge-exchange dialogue sessions. This work enabled progress in jointly developing protection pathways and led to the signing of intercultural and interethnic agreements to safeguard four sacred sites of the linea negra. The sites now benefit from stronger management and protection, and the exchange and dialogue sessions have helped strengthen understanding of their importance and their relationship to ecosystem balance. -since 2012, in colombia, act has worked in partnership with the sierra nevada de santa marta's kogui, arhuaco, wiwa, and kankuamo peoples to expand indigenous reserves, acquire private lands to safeguard sacred sites, restore biodiversity, and support the development of culturally sign

Community livelihoods and well-being-for the awa community of the itaro village on brazil's bananal island, act has sought to increase the awas' food sovereignty and strengthen their traditional diet through an increase in the availability and diversity of food species, reducing consumption of processed foods by the same proportion. In 2025, act worked with villagers to construct a seedling nursery with capacity for production of 4,000 seedlings annually. Act also provided the community with seeds for 35 different species, with seedlings planted in the raining season. A local labor system provides compensation to community members for time dedicated to the project. The project promotes a process of greater diversification of forest cover in the surroundings of the itar village, contributing to greater direct carbon sequestration and reducing deforestation pressure in other areas. -in 2025, act provided emergency and resilience support to two indigenous communities of brazil impacted and displaced by the effects of climate change, the wauja people of the ulupuene village of the xingu and the awa of the itaro village of bananal island. Housing was rebuilt, and food and essential items were supplied to address immediate living conditions, while indigenous firefighters were equipped and trained for fire prevention and response capacity. For the awa, firefighting training was coordinated with icmbio, the governmental entity responsible for controlling fires in the region, while 24 members of the wauja received training through ibama, the agency responsible for environmental inspection actions in indigenous territories. The fire brigades are closely linked to ecological recovery, as fires are among the main causes of deforestation in the regions. -in the heart of suriname, colombia and brazil, sustainable stingless beekeeping for conservation is sustaining livelihoods, preserving cultural traditions, and protecting vital ecosystems. In suriname, with act's ongoing technic