Mobilizing Conservation at Scale Across the Amazon

Thank you for celebrating Earth Month with us this year!

This April, Amazon Conservation and our supporters are celebrating the power we all hold to protect our planet: together. Inspired by Earth Day 2026’s theme, Our Power, Our Planet, we are reminded of a fundamental truth: lasting environmental progress is driven not by any single moment or decision, but by the everyday actions of communities, partners, and people working collectively to protect our planet and the places they call home.

This year’s theme resonates with us so deeply because at Amazon Conservation, we believe that the most effective solutions are built together. From Indigenous communities stewarding their ancestral lands to scientists advancing new tools for conservation and partners collaborating across borders, each plays a vital role in protecting the Amazon.

The Amazon Rainforest is vast, complex, and essential to life on Earth. It is home to unparalleled biodiversity and cultural richness, while also serving as a critical regulator of the global climate. Protecting it requires action at a scale that matches its importance, and that kind of impact is only possible through collaboration.

 

Get Involved: Join the Movement

Collective action requires all of us to work together toward our common objective: a thriving Amazon Rainforest and a healthy planet Earth.

Here are 6 quick and easy ways you can get involved in our conservation efforts:

Sign up for a monthly gift of $10 or more this April* for a special bonus gift: an 18‑month wall calendar with breathtaking photos of the incredible landscape where we work! (Note: signing up in April serves as a pre‑order; calendars will be mailed out in June. This offer is for new and existing monthly donors whose gifts are active at time of shipping. Design pictured is for promotional purposes; final calendar may vary. Shipping is limited to the United States and Canada.)

1. Make a Gift
   

   The quickest, easiest, and perhaps most impactful way to show your support this Earth Month is to make a gift to Amazon Conservation. Click here to make a gift through our secure online platform. Consider signing up for monthly giving for a special gift (more details below)! For more inspiration on how you can get involved with Amazon Conservation, see our Ways to Give webpage.

   Plus, a special surprise for all of our donors: Be on the lookout for an upcoming special invitation to an exclusive Earth Month webinar on April 16! Make a donation today to secure your invitation.

2. Become a Wild Keeper and Get a Free Gift

   We hope you’ll consider joining our global community of sustaining donors who commit to the Amazon with impact that is consistent, easy, and manageable through automated month gifts. Sign up for a monthly gift of $10 or more this April* for a special bonus gift: an 18-month wall calendar with breathtaking photos of the incredible landscape where we work!
   *Please note: You must provide a mailing address when you sign up to take advantage of this limited-time offer. Signing up in April serves as a pre-order; calendars will be mailed out in June. This offer is for new and existing monthly donors whose gifts are active at time of shipping. Shipping is limited to the United States and Canada.

3. Start Your Own Earth Month Fundraiser
   

   Harness the power of your community by getting your family and friends to join together for this cause. We can do more together than we can alone. Creating your personalized, shareable online fundraiser takes just a few clicks!

4. Explore a Business Partnership
   

   Connect your employees and align your company with impactful conservation by supporting our work through in-kind or financial support, event sponsorship, and more. We would love to chat with you and tailor a custom sponsorship package that match your business’s specific goals.

5. Follow Along on Social Media (Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn)

   Connect with us to stay up to date on our work and on the situation on the ground in the Amazon. Throughout Earth Month, we will be sharing meaningful stories about the impact of our partnerships and collaboration on protecting the Amazon and empowering communities. Interact with and reshare our content to help spread our message. You an also tag us in a post about why you’re passionate about protecting the Amazon and why raising awareness about this incredible rainforest is important to you!

6. Make Amazon Conservation a Part of Your Legacy

   One of the most meaningful ways to protect the Amazon for generations to come is by including Amazon Conservation in your estate plans. Through our partnership with FreeWill, you can create a will for free in just 20 minutes and easily designate a gift that reflects your values. Legacy gifts ensure that your commitment to conservation continues far into the future, safeguarding forests, wildlife, and communities. Learn more and start your free will today to make a lasting impact.

This Earth Month, we invite you to be part of something bigger. 

Together, we have the power to protect the Amazon, and our planet.

New publication highlights rapid expansion of mining-related deforestation across the Amazon
countries and provides timely insights to support enforcement and accountability

Washington, DC, March 11, 2026 — Amazon Mining Watch today released the inaugural edition of the Amazon Mining Watch Panorama, a new report series that will provide timely insights into the growing impacts of gold mining across the Amazon Rainforest. Drawing on AI-powered detection of mining scars from the Amazon Mining Watch platform, the series offers a basin-wide snapshot of mining-driven deforestation and emerging threats to protected areas and Indigenous territories as a tool to support informed decision-making on needed action.

The first edition of the Panorama, covering October–December 2025, confirms the continued expansion of gold mining across all nine Amazonian countries. In the last  quarter alone, the report estimates approximately 6,000 hectares (over 14,000 acres) of new mining-related deforestation across the Amazon, highlighting the scale and urgency of the crisis facing the world’s largest tropical forest. That’s an area equivalent to about seven times the size of Central Park in New York City.

Brazil registered the largest expansion in mining activity during the quarter, accounting for roughly 2,000 hectares/ 5,000 acres of new deforestation, followed by Peru (1,700 hectares/ 4200 acres) and Guyana (900 hectares/ 2000 acres). Additional expansion was detected in Venezuela, Suriname, Bolivia, Ecuador, and French Guiana, underscoring the transboundary nature of mining-driven forest loss across the Amazon Basin.

“Illegal gold mining continues to spread across the Amazon, threatening biodiversity, Indigenous territories, and critical ecosystems,” said Andrés Santana, Senior Manager for Halting Illegal Deforestation at Amazon Conservation. “With the Amazon Mining Watch Panorama series, we are providing governments, journalists, and civil society with a regular, data-driven snapshot of where mining is expanding and where urgent action is needed.”

New Mining Incursions and Renewed Pressure on Protected Areas

The report identifies several new incursions into areas that previously showed no evidence of mining, including Indigenous territories such as Territorio Charip in Ecuador, where satellite analysis detected the first mining scar recorded in the area. It also highlights cases where mining activity has resurged after periods of inactivity, suggesting renewed pressure following earlier enforcement actions. For example, new mining scars were detected in Igarapés do Juruena State Park in Brazil and in Indigenous territories in Ecuador and Guyana during the last quarter. Meanwhile, several protected areas and Indigenous territories continue to experience persistent and accelerating mining deforestation, including Tambopata National Reserve in Peru, where more than 200 hectares of new mining expansion were detected during the quarter.

“These findings show that illegal gold mining remains one of the most pervasive threats to the Amazon,” said Blaise Bodin, Director of Strategy and Policy at Amazon Conservation. “Regular monitoring and transparent reporting are essential to understand where this activity is expanding and to strengthen enforcement across borders.”

Reserva Ecológica Cofán Bermejo / Provincia de Sucumbíos, Ecuador. Photo: Fundación EcoCiencia.

The Amazon Mining Watch Panorama synthesizes the latest monitoring data and highlights key trends, new incursions, and hotspots of persistent mining expansion to support accountability and inform policy responses across the region. It highlights the results provided by the Amazon Mining Watch platform, an AI-powered monitoring system that detects gold-mining deforestation across the entire Amazon Basin.

Get access to the full report: https://amazonminingwatchpanorama.org/

About Amazon Mining Watch
Developed through a partnership between Amazon Conservation, Earth Genome, and the Pulitzer Center,
Amazon Mining Watch platform aims to strengthen transparency and help decision-makers respond more
effectively to one of the Amazon’s fastest-growing drivers of deforestation, as well as to help the media
report on escalating threats to nature, people, and wildlife.

About Amazon Conservation Association
Amazon Conservation is an international conservation nonprofit working for the past 25 years toward
building a thriving Amazon. The organization’s holistic approach focuses on working with local partners
and allies to protect wild places, empower people, and put science and technology to work for
conservation. Visit amazonconservation.org for more information.

Press Contacts
Priscila Steffen, Communications & Public Relations Manager: psteffen@amazonconservation.org
Ana Folhadella, Philanthropy and Communications Director: afolhadella@amazonconservation.org