urgent project
Guardians of Biodiversity : Support Indigenous Peoples in Isolation in the Brazilian Amazon
Brazil ’ s Amazon rainforest is home to more Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact than anywhere else in the world . Living harmoniously with nature has left their territories highly intact , storing vast amounts of carbon . Without formal protections , mining and deforestation will likely overtake these Indigenous territories , and the threatened wildlife that live there , like the Giant Otter , Black-faced Black Spider Monkey and the Amazonian Manatee .
Swamp Ghost Crab | Dmitrii Kash
Rainforest Trust and our local partner , Observatory of the Human Rights of Isolated and Initial Contact Indigenous Peoples , are working with the Brazilian government to advance legal recognition and land tenure rights for two territories totaling 1,544,000 acres within these extraordinary regions of the Amazon rainforest . Once legally identified , demarcated and designated as Indigenous Lands , all uses outside those of resident Indigenous Peoples will be forbidden by Brazilian law .
urgent project
Preserve The Amazon ’ s Coastal Gem
The world ’ s largest contiguous belt of mangroves stretches along the coastline of Brazil where the Amazon River pours into the Atlantic Ocean . The vast estuary holds 80 % of Brazil ’ s mangroves and is home to at least 40 globally threatened species . Despite other protections in place for this estuary , however , a serious and significant gap has left mangroves vulnerable .
Rainforest Trust and our local partner , RARE Brazil , are working to safeguard 174,275 acres of unprotected mangroves and coastal waters through government designation of two new sustainable-use reserves and the expansion of an existing reserve . Nearly 3,500 acres have already been protected . Once complete , this project will protect a unique refuge for marine and coastal species facing extinction .
( Top ) Isolated Indigenous Pirititi from Tanaru | FUNAI ; ( Bottom ) Amazonian Manatee | Tharuka Photographer
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