Urgent Project
The Time is Now : Saving the Brazilian Amazon
Saving the Brazilian Amazon is conservation ’ s greatest challenge and opportunity . This vast area is a refuge for a third of Earth ’ s terrestrial species , stores more than four times the combined annual CO 2 emissions of the world ’ s top 10 emitting nations , and is home to more than 1 million Indigenous Peoples living in about 300 culturally unique tribes .
Nearly 25 % of Brazil ’ s forests have already been lost to agricultural expansion and livestock production , mining and other activities . For better or worse , politics is key to conservation success no matter where on the globe one points . In Brazil , the Jair Bolsonaro presidency enabled a devastating degree of deforestation , 90 % of which happened outside of Indigenous territories . On the other hand , during the first six months of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ’ s presidency , deforestation dropped 36 %. But terms in office are fleeting . We must act to conserve as much as possible of the 141 million acres of unprotected , undesignated lands in the Brazilian Amazon while President Lula leads the country .
Our commitment to the Brazilian Amazon
Rainforest Trust ’ s board of directors and leadership staff developed our ambitious Brazil Strategy in 2022 to tackle the major threats to the Amazon : land-grabbing of unprotected , undesignated lands for illegal mining , logging and the expansion of agriculture and cattle farming . We have committed to protect or be in the process of protecting 20 million acres of the Brazilian Amazon through a $ 40 million investment to be raised over four years , 2023 – 2026 . We have created the Brazilian Amazon Fund for this urgent purpose .
Backing Indigenous and traditional communities to secure land titles and management rights for their territories is the most effective way to achieve results in the Amazon . Why ? Because these communities have been living sustainably for generations on their ancestral lands and waters . Globally , these territories shelter 80 % of the world ’ s biodiversity .
In the short time since launching our Brazilian Amazon Strategy and Fund , we are working with local and Indigenous partners on four new projects across the Brazilian Amazon to secure land titles and / or management rights on an estimated 4 million acres of critical rainforest , 3 million acres of which is high-integrity forest . Our partners for these projects are Instituto Internacional de Educação do Brasil ( IEB ), Centro de Trabalho Indigenista ( CTI ) and RARE , Inc ., representing at least 12,000 Indigenous Peoples and Traditional Amazonian Community members . Once completed , the projects will safeguard 62 unique threatened species and lock up 1,193,482,489 metric tons of CO 2 equivalents . illegal deforestation in the brazilian amazon | tarcisio schnaider
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