2025 Conservation Resolutions: Maximize Your Impact for the New Year

This year, Amazon Conservation is continuing to ensure that our conservation programs have a real, lasting impact on the ground. Addressing today’s most urgent threats to the Amazon has become more important than ever, as challenges caused by deforestation, illegal mining, and climate change continue to drastically affect local people and wildlife.

We want to make a real difference, so we’re inviting you to join us in paving the way for healthy, thriving, and sustainable forests throughout the Amazon. 

Ever wondered how you can contribute without breaking the bank? Luckily, there are numerous ways you can contribute meaningfully with little to no cost to you today! Check out these 3 nifty ways you can make an impact for the Amazon. 

 

  1. Tap Into Effortless Fundraising with MyGivmo

What if we told you that you can raise funds without lifting a finger? Now you can with the unique giving tool, My Givmo! Simply put, your computer’s unused processing power can be converted into donations for your favorite cause. Your computer’s idle time can earn pennies for the Amazon, without costing you a thing! Just download the MyGivmo app, install it, and enter AMAZON in the code field. Every minute your computer is powered on, you’re helping raise funds to protect one of the world’s most precious ecosystems!

Download MyGivmo today and use code “Amazon”

  1. Leave Your Legacy with FreeWill

It’s never too early to plan for the future, so make 2025 the year to create a lasting legacy that will create a positive impact for generations to come. Plus, you can get started today at no cost! By including the Amazon in your estate plan through FreeWill, you can ensure your values live on in a meaningful way. It’s simple, free, and can have an enduring impact.

Start Your Legacy for Free Today

  1. Get Tax-Savvy 

Did you know that you can still give with non-cash assets? Donating non-cash assets can even come with greater tax benefits, increasing the overall value of your contribution while making a sizable impact on our mission. From donating stock and cryptocurrencies to giving from your IRA or Donor-Advised Fund, tax-efficient giving strategies allow you to make a difference for the Amazon and enjoy financial benefits.

Learn More About Maximizing Your Charitable Impact


With your support, we can help plan long-term solutions to protect and restore forest ecosystems, fight the most urgent threats to the Amazon, and empower local families and communities. Join our resolution for greater conservation impact, and make 2025 a hopeful year for our planet for future generations!

 

Here’s to a brighter, more sustainable future for the Amazon!

New Research Sheds Light on One of the Least Studied Canids in the World

Known for its vast biodiversity, the Amazon is home to thousands of endemic species—some of which researchers have yet to fully study. To deepen our understanding of the Amazon’s ecosystems and the diverse organisms that sustain its vitality, Amazon Conservation’s research hubs in the Peruvian and Bolivian Amazon provide cutting-edge technologies and resources that can empower students, researchers, and scientists to uncover insights into some of the Amazon’s most elusive species.

A radio-collared, sub-adult, female short-eared dog

One of these lesser-known species hiding away in the Amazon is the short-eared dog (Atelocynus microtis), classified as one of the least-studied canids in the world due to its reclusive nature and low population density. As a result, developing targeted research strategies on this species has been underprioritized given the significant lack of baseline data on the species’ behavior, ecology, and population dynamics.

What importance does studying such a secretive species bring to the world of biological diversity? When it comes to the Amazon Biome, everything from the largest birds down to even the smallest ant has a critical role, whether it be decomposition, seed dispersal, population control, pollination, and more, to keep the forest thriving. Many of Amazon Conservation’s research projects, including our Andean Bear Conservation Project, target certain species to analyze how their populations and behaviors affect these certain functions of the forest that are vital to balancing the Amazon’s delicate ecosystem.

This new study carried out at our Los Amigos Biological Station provides the first published comprehensive analysis of wild and re-introduced short-eared dogs’ diets. Once thought to be carnivorous, new data uncovers they are mesocarnivores and omnivorous in nature, shedding light on important potential implications for its role in sustaining forest dynamics via seed dispersal and regulating prey populations.

The study reveals a complex and diverse dietary range that encompasses various insect, amphibian, bird, mammal, and even crustacean species in addition to a variety of plant species. This new research provides new perspectives on the unique ecological role of the short-eared dog in the western Amazon and its relationship to the forests’ trophic dynamics. 

Read the full study here.

 

Launching 2025: Reflecting on Our 2024 Accomplishments

As we begin a new year filled with celebrations of our 25th Anniversary, this is the perfect moment to reflect on the strides we made in 2024 toward conserving and protecting the Amazon. 2024 was a year of incredible progress, collaborative action, and resilience in the face of global environmental challenges. From groundbreaking science that is helping to better understand and protect biodiversity to expanding protection for wild places while using our real-time monitoring capabilities to track and report illegal deforestation in existing protected areas.

Together, we’ve demonstrated the power of unity and unwavering commitment to preserving the greatest wild forest on Earth. Here’s to celebrating what we’ve achieved together, and setting our sights on even greater progress in the year ahead!

Take a moment to reflect with us on some of the most inspiring accomplishments of 2024 that are shaping a more sustainable and thriving Amazon.

 

 


1. New Species Discovery at our Manu Biological Station

Right at the tail end of 2024, a team of researchers at our Manu Biological Station made a groundbreaking discovery: a new species of sandfly: Trichophoromyia macrisae.

Sandflies carry a parasite called Leishmania that can transmit leishmaniasis, a disease known to raise significant public health concerns in tropical regions. Studying this new species has the potential to provide critical insights into disease transmission and help develop effective prevention strategies that can save lives. 

 


2. Amazon Conservation hosted an Exclusive Side Event at COP16

We were honored to participate in last year’s Biodiversity COP16 in Cali, Colombia. As part of our participation, we hosted an exclusive side event, The Power of Partnerships and Technology to Stop Illegal Gold Mining in the Amazon, to emphasize the urgent action needed to prevent the Amazon from reaching its tipping point and converting from a self-sustaining rainforest to a dry savanna ecosystem. 

Data collected through our Monitoring of the Andes Amazon Program (MAAP) show that the severe environmental and social consequences of illegal gold mining are among the leading threats to areas with high biodiversity and ecological integrity, which are vital for maintaining the world’s most biodiverse ecosystem.

We were delighted to receive high praise for this side event and are thrilled to have made connections with other organizations with similar objectives. 

 

 


3. MAAP Report Reveals Effective Results of Mining Intervention Atop a Sacred Tepui in the Venezuelan Amazon

In December 2022, the Washington Post published an article highlighting a MAAP report about illegal mining on top of a sacred tepui in the heart of Yapacana National Park in the Venezuelan Amazon (MAAP #169). In response, the Venezuelan government conducted a military operation against the illegal mining activity on the tepui, dismantling illegal mining camps and equipment.

In April of last year, we published a MAAP report containing satellite images atop the tepui following this intervention, revealing that all illegal mining camps and equipment on top of the tepui have been effectively cleared. All 425 visible illegal mining camps and heavy equipment in December 2022 fell to zero in January 2024. This marks a major victory for Amazon conservation in Venezuela, keeping Indigenous people and important biodiversity safe and protected.

 

 


4. National Geographic Featured Work from our Andean Bear Conservation Project

In National Geographic’s special October issue of “Into the Amazon,” the work of biologist Ruthmery Pillco, lead coordinator of our Andean Bear Conservation Project, and her research team at our Wayqecha Biological Station was featured in its own section of the issue titled “Bears of the Cloud Forests.” The highlighted work emphasizes the importance of Andean bears to Peruvian culture, as well as how their behavior and populations can help us better understand wildlife responses to environmental change and the functional diversity of ecosystems.

We take immense pride in the dedication and hard work of Ruthmery and her research team and extend our congratulations on their well-earned recognition.

 

 


5. Two New Conservation Areas and Counting

One of our biggest accomplishments of 2024 comes in the form of over 1.2 million acres of newly protected areas in the Bolivian Amazon. In combination with your generous contributions, support from the Andes Amazon Fund, and technical support from our Bolivian sister organization Conservación Amazónica – ACEAA, the following two new conservation areas were established in some of the most critical areas of the Amazon:

  • The Arroyo Guarichona Conservation Area in the Beni Department was established in July and now protects 492,815 acres of vital natural spaces with savannas, lowland forests, and high biodiversity as part of the National System of Protected Areas (SNAP). 
  • The Tahuamanu-Orthon Conservation Area in the Pando Department was established just last month to preserve biodiversity and safeguard resources across 762,248 acres. 

Additionally, we also saw progress with a new potential conservation area in Peru, with our Peruvian sister organization Conservación Amazónica – ACCA receiving approval for the first phase of establishing a new conservation area in in the buffer zone of the Bahuaja Sonene National Park in the Puno region. 

Protected areas are critical for conserving vital ecosystems and biodiversity, which can help communities secure clean water and ample food resources. In total, 2024 helped us cross the finish line of protecting 10.5 million acres of the Amazon! We are extremely grateful for the hard work put forth by our sister organization, as well as the generous funds provided by our supporters. 


We, along with the Amazon, thank you for all you’ve helped us accomplish!

Help us start the New Year off right with a 2025 gift today and show your support for a thriving Amazon!