With Respect, Support, and Collaboration
No one knows exactly how many local, Indigenous, and Afro-descendant Peoples live within the Amazon. Estimates range from approximately 1.5 million to more than 3 million. Many of these communities and peoples have lived here for generations upon generations, and evidence suggests humans first populated the Amazon more than 32,000 years ago. These people are an integral part of the ecosystem. We cannot— and should not— protect the Amazon without their partnership.
This belief guides every single Rainforest Trust project, both within the Amazon and beyond.
Brazilian Rainforest | Gustavo Frazao
Not only is this the right thing to do, it is essential for successful conservation. Globally, local and Indigenous Peoples are often excellent stewards of their lands. Ninety-one percent of their lands are in good or moderate condition, and often have a deforestation rate 17-26 % lower than non-protected lands. Within the Amazon, when Indigenous communities secure legal tenure of their lands, the deforestation rate on those lands drops an average of 66 percent.
Achieving Success
We protected our first acres of tropical rainforest 37 years ago. In the decades since, we have honed the Rainforest Trust approach to one that consistently achieves measurable, long-term, species-saving results. Almost 97 % of our projects successfully protect acres, and approximately 99 % of the forests safeguarded within those acres remain standing today.
Now, with our Amazon Strategy, we will use these decades of experience to achieve something truly ambitious and absolutely essential— 20 million acres protected in just a handful of years.
Never before have we sought to protect so many acres within the Amazon rainforest in such a short span of time. This does not diminish our confidence. Our staff have walked miles beneath the Amazon’ s canopy. They have forged lasting and productive relationships with local and Indigenous leaders and community members. They know the most experienced and effective conservationists and organizations with which to partner.
With experience, community, and knowledge— and always with the enthusiastic support of our donors— we will safeguard these 20 million acres, help pull the Amazon back from its looming tipping point, and secure a future for the staggering diversity of plants, animals, and people who rely upon the world’ s largest and most important rainforest.
Both globally and within the Amazon, an increasing number of our projects focus on supporting local, Indigenous, and Afrodescendant Peoples seeking recognition of their rights to their ancestral lands by securing legal tenure or other protections. Once secured, legal tenure ensures they have the necessary rights to manage and protect their land and resources. In 2023, 75 % of our new projects included one or more of these elements as a goal.
We support this work by partnering with in-country organizations that have a proven history of successful and respectful work with local, Indigenous, and Afrodescendant Peoples in their region. Often, these partners are led by individuals who belong to these same communities. Our partners have already secured legal tenure or other protections for more than 35.4 million acres of land stewarded by local and Indigenous communities around the world, with another 31.1 million acres in the process of being protected.
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