Our Bolivian sister organization  Conservación Amazonica – ACEAA has been working with the Autonomous Municipal Government of Cobija (GAMC) to help protect and manage the main natural water resources in Cobija.

Following a presentation of the project “PROTECTING THE BAY STREAM, WE GUARANTEE WATER FOR COBIJA”, a video presentation and storybook were created to raise awareness for these efforts to strengthen these areas through the Natural Area of Integrated Management of the Bay Stream Basin (ANGICAB) project.

“Healing the Water” is the story of Bruno, a curious child who arrives in the Bolivian Amazon and decides to search for the truth. Download this story HERE,  and immerse yourself and your family in conserving our forests and natural resources like water.

Click HERE to watch the video presentation of the Natural Area of Comprehensive Management of the Basin of the Creek Bay (ANGICAB), where its riches and importance are communicated.

Both materials were created by Conservación Amazonica – ACEAA, with support from the Andes Amazon Fund, to bring awareness to the pollution and environmental degradation in the capital of the Amazon department of Pando and surrounding cities, as well as the Natural Area of Comprehensive Management of the Arroyo Bay Basin (ANGICAB) located near the capital of Cobija.

 

A major roadblock that Amazonian communities face to protect their natural resources and territories is the lack of knowledge and access to legal support. To help fight environmental crimes and empower local people to actively participate in legal processes against forest crimes, our sister organization Conservación Amazónica – ACCA has launched Peru’s first Amazon Legal Clinic.

The Amazon Legal Clinic, created with the support of the Amazonía Que Late Network, connects young attorneys with local people who want to file a deforestation claim or report a forest crime. It enables local people to receive pro-bono support while the attorneys support the conservation of the Amazon. The clinic provides free legal advice, representation, and assistance in criminal and administrative matters for people in the Ucayali, Loreto, San Martín, Amazonas, Cusco, and Huánuco regions.

This transformative initiative will help those affected by forest crimes, such as illegal mining, deforestation, illegal logging, or wildlife trafficking, to have access to the support they need to report the crime and help action be taken on the ground. “Without legal support, many local people end up never reporting environmental crimes. By providing this service for free, we can support our forest guardians and indigenous peoples to take action,” says Claudia Castillo, an attorney at Conservación Amazónica – ACCA.

Recently, our Bolivian sister organization Conservación Amazónica – ACEAA held the Jaguar-People Conflict Mitigation Action Plan socialization workshop at the Manuripi – Abuná Conservation Corridor in Pando, Bolivia. The aim was to forge an alliance meant to protect and preserve this fantastic species and its habitat in Pando. This event discussed governance, knowledge management, awareness, and mitigation strategies.

The Alliance for Jaguar Conservation in Pando brings together prominent entities such as the Pando Government, the Secretariat of Mother Earth, Pando Amazon University, Departmental Assembly, Manuripi Amazon National Wildlife Reserve, Environmental Forest Police (POFOMA), WWF Bolivia, WCS Bolivia and Conservación Internacional Bolivia.

This initiative is a fundamental part of the project “Monitoring with Trap Cameras and Mitigation of Human Conflict – Jaguar in Natural Spaces Conservation of the Panda Department”, funded by WWF Bolivia and executed by Amazon Conservation ACEAA.

In the last two years, radar monitoring has proven to be an especially effective tool in the fight against illegal gold mining in the Amazon. While imaging satellites can be blocked by clouds or smoke, radar technology allows satellites to measure changes on the earth’s surface regardless of cloud cover. In 2021, our Peruvian sister organization Conservación Amazónica – ACCA, worked closely with SERVIR-Amazonia to develop and launch a specialized tool called RAMI (Radar Mining Monitoring Tool), which utilizes radar technology to discover illegal mining deforestation as soon as it happens. Since its launch, ACCA has successfully trained government officials, indigenous peoples, and other land defenders in the use of this technology, saving countless acres of forest by enhancing access to actionable information in an unprecedented way.

Now, ACCA is helping to expand the use of this crucial technology to the rest of the Amazon. Peruvian experts recently traveled to the Brazilian state of Pará to work with government employees of SEMAS (Brazil’s Secretary of the Environment and Sustainability) to implement a system for the application of RAMI in the Tapajós region. Sidney Novoa, the Director of GIS at Conservación Amazónica – ACCA (pictured below left), emphasized the similarities between Tapajós in Pará and Madre de Dios in Peru, an area where monitoring technology has been especially effective at mitigating deforestation. The intersection of national parks, indigenous lands, and conservation areas with land designated for mining yields a similar pattern of conflict and confusion regarding land use disputes. However, the similarity also indicates that our knowledge of the tools utility in Madre de Dios should transfer well to Tapajós.

Mauro O’ de Almeida, Secretary of SEMAS, highlighted that the Tapajós region was chosen for the operation of RAMI due to its high illegal gold mining activity. The Secretary hopes that this tool will address the problem of illegal mining in general, a major obstacle to environmental management in Pará, which harms the economy and natural resources.

In this way, the tool will reinforce SEMAS’ strategy for environmental oversight and monitoring, not only to combat illegal mining but also to supervise licensed companies and protect the environment and communities that depend on these natural resources. Additionally, this technology will be shared with other federal agencies in the state of Pará, such as the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation and IBAMA (the Brazillian Institute of Environment and Renewable Resources), to strengthen the fight against illegal mining and ensure the sustainability of the Amazon.

 

Our newly published MAAP #189 report shows detection of over 260 major fires that have occurred thus far in 2023. Scientists have indicated that this year’s El Niño has the potential to mimic the last 2016-2017 El Niño episode, which produced the most intense Amazonian fires on record.

According to this report, a majority of these fires (54%) have occurred in the Brazilian Amazon. As for the Bolivian Amazon, 40 major fires were detected, and the vast majority (88%) have been areas that were already recently deforested to make way for new soy plantations. Additionally, 30 major fires were found in the Peruvian Amazon in high-elevation grasslands. In the Columbian Amazon, 50 major fires were detected, 100% of them burning recently deforested areas.

Thanks to our Peruvian sister organization Conservacion Amazonica – ACCA, we’ve been able to base our findings on the unique data from the real-time Amazon Fires Monitoring app they have developed. This app combines atmospheric (aerosol emissions in smoke) and ground data (heat anomaly alerts) to detect major fires in a more efficient and precise manner. This app is able to filter out smaller fires ( e.g. controlled fires for burning crops) from major fires, such as those that were detected in the above-mentioned Amazonian countries.

 

Read the full report here.

 

Staying organized is the key to success – especially in today’s fast-paced world. That’s why Amazon Conservation now has its very own set of printable calendars! Whether you’re keeping track of your professional tasks or daily to-dos, we’ve got the right tools for you. Choose between our weekly or monthly template, designed to keep you on top of your schedule.

Click here to download yours now!