Amazon Conservation’s latest analysis finds that 97 million hectares (240 million acres) of primary forest have been lost – an area the size of Texas and California combined – and that the moisture pathways that forests depend on during the dry and transition seasons are the most disrupted.

A new report from Amazon Conservation’s Monitoring of the Andes Amazon Program (MAAP) finds that 15% of the Amazon basin’s original primary forest is already gone, and that the losses are concentrated along the moisture routes some regions depend on most.

The report, MAAP #250: Amazon Tipping Point – Where Are We? (2026 Update), estimates that 97.06 million hectares (240 million acres) of primary forest have been lost across the Amazon biome’s nine countries through the end of 2025, mainly due to human-caused deforestation and fires. Total forest loss rose from 13.2% in 2021, as estimated in Amazon Conservation’s first assessment (MAAP #164), to 15% through 2025. Between 2022 and 2025 alone, an additional 13.04 million hectares (32.2 million acres) of primary forest were lost, an area nearly 15 times the size of Yellowstone National Park. This includes record-breaking losses due to fire in 2024, following the 2023’s strong El Niño season (MAAP #229). This additional loss of primary forest brings the Amazon closer to its tipping point, which scientific literature suggests could be triggered at around 25% forest loss, in combination with climate change impacts.

The analysis also breaks down forest loss along the Amazon’s seasonal flying rivers. It finds that the pathways carrying moisture during the dry and transition seasons have lost nearly three times more forest than the wet-season pathway. These pathways sustain forests in the southwestern Amazon, in Peru and Bolivia, where more than 70% of rainfall depends on moisture recycled by forests across the Basin.

These findings take on added urgency ahead of the very strong El Niño forecast expected to intensify for late 2026. MAAP #248 suggests that El Niño may disrupt the Amazon’s wet-season moisture flow, extending the dry and transition seasons and increasing the risk of forest fires. These are the same regions whose moisture pathways MAAP #250 finds are already the most deforested.

Matt Finer, Director of MAAP & Senior Research Specialist at Amazon Conservation, highlights that “media reports often indicate in general terms that the Amazon is approaching a tipping point, but this is the actual data indicating the magnitude of the problem. With 15% of the original Amazon lost to deforestation and fires, we are approaching the point at which the hydrological cycle that sustains rainforests may be permanently disrupted.”

Why monitoring the Amazon’s tipping point matters

The Amazon’s tipping point hypothesis suggests that parts of the rainforest could shift toward drier savanna ecosystems as deforestation reaches 25% and climate change disrupts rainfall patterns and intensifies dry seasons. However, this threshold is not definitive; the changes may be gradual and piecemeal, and the risk may vary considerably across the Amazon.

Amazon Conservation’s 2022 deforestation analysis illustrated this geographic variation. While an estimated 13.2% of the original Amazon biome forest had been lost at the time, loss in the eastern third of the biome (mainly in the Brazilian Amazon) was already approximately 30.8%, exceeding the hypothesized 25% threshold. In comparison, the central third had lost 10.8% and the western third 6.3%. This finding highlighted the importance of monitoring not only total forest loss, but also where it occurs in relation to the Amazon’s interconnected hydrological system. Because the rainforest generates around half of its own rainfall and recycles moisture up to six times through atmospheric flows known as flying rivers, disruptions to this fragile system in one area of the basin can have a domino effect elsewhere.

Flying Rivers Connect Forest Loss in the East to Rainfall in the West

Flying rivers carry moisture from the Atlantic Ocean westward across the Amazon. Trees are a crucial part of this cycle: they draw water from the soil and release it back into the atmosphere as water vapor, helping sustain rainfall all the way to the Andes.

This connection means that deforestation in one region can have consequences beyond its immediate area. When the forests that help sustain these moisture flows are cleared, the amount of moisture reaching downwind regions may be reduced, potentially threatening ecosystems that depend on recycled rainfall. For this reason, the Amazon’s tipping point is unlikely to be a single, uniform event. Instead, it may unfold gradually, over decades rather than abruptly, and differently across regions, with some areas affected sooner and more severely than others.

In MAAP #232 (2025) and the subsequent white paper, Keeping the flying river flowing: How deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon threatens rainfall in Peru and Bolivia (2026), researchers examined these connections in greater detail. They identified the southwestern Amazon (primarily in Peru and Bolivia) as particularly vulnerable and found that these connections are exacerbated by changing seasons. During the dry and transition seasons, moisture reaching this region crosses the eastern and central Brazilian Amazon, including heavily deforested areas of Brazil’s southern Pará region.

Seasonal Trends Remain in 2026 Update

Amazon Conservation’s MAAP #250 brings these two lines of research together, updating forest-loss estimates through 2025 and applying the analysis to the three seasonal pathways identified in MAAP #232. The results show a clear contrast between seasons: The wet season pathway, which crosses relatively continuous and well-protected forests in the northern Amazon, remains comparatively intact, with just 3.2% forest loss. In contrast, pathways active during the transition and dry seasons have lost nearly three times as much connectivity, losing 9.1% and 8.6%, respectively. These findings are particularly relevant for the southwestern Amazon, where forest-driven moisture recycling plays an important role in sustaining rainforest ecosystems during the dry and transition seasons.

The update uses the same baseline developed for MAAP #164: a reconstruction of the Amazon’s original forest before European colonization, estimated at 647.6 million hectares (1.6 billion acres). Of the 97.06 million hectares lost, 84.28 million were due to deforestation and other non-fire causes, including natural events such as landslides and windstorms, and 12.78 million to fire. Brazil accounts for the largest share of total loss (79.4%), followed by Bolivia (6.2%), Peru (5.8%), and Colombia (4.5%). Bolivia now ranks second, up from fourth in the 2022 assessment.

Together, Amazon Conservation’s reports show that understanding the Amazon’s tipping point requires more than a single estimate of how much forest has been lost to date. Monitoring and understanding where deforestation occurs, how it intersects with seasonal moisture pathways, and which regions rely most on recycled rainfall can help identify areas of heightened vulnerability and inform conservation priorities. As pressures from deforestation, fires, and climate change continue, it is essential to start looking at the Amazon as an interconnected system rather than as isolated forests separated by country boundaries. A connected forest calls for connected science and conservation.

Read the full report: MAAP #250: Amazon Tipping Point – Where Are We? (2026 Update)

Additional resources: 

MAAP #164: Amazon Tipping Point – Where Are We?

MAAP #229: Amazon Deforestation & Fire Hotspots 2024

MAAP #248: Implications of upcoming major El Niño event on Amazon fires

Keeping the Flying Rivers Flowing: How Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon Threatens Rainfall in Peru and Bolivia

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New analysis assesses the impacts of BR-364 expansion on Acre’s forests and warns of risks to REDD+ investments and the communities that depend on these resources

A new analysis of planned road infrastructure expansion in Acre estimates that a paved international road between the Brazilian state and Pucallpa, Peru, could cause approximately 74,700 hectares of additional deforestation over ten years and 133,800 hectares over twenty years, beyond the losses projected from paving BR-364.

The report, “Acre at the Crossroads: How Road Expansion Threatens a Decade of REDD+ Progress in the Brazilian Amazon”, prepared by researchers from Amazon Conservation and SOS Amazônia, analyzes three infrastructure scenarios and uses as a historical reference the impacts observed along BR-317, the Interoceanic Highway, following its international connection with Peru.

Between 2011 and 2023, Acre’s average annual forest loss rate was 0.58%. In areas within five kilometers of BR-317, the rate reached 2.67% per year, 4.6 times the state average. Between five and 20 kilometers from the road, the rate was 2.54%, or 4.4 times the Acre average, while areas between 20 and 50 kilometers experienced a rate of 1.22%, or 2.1 times the state average.

Based on this historical experience, researchers estimated the impacts on forest areas that would become more accessible under different road expansion scenarios. Paving BR-364 between Rio Branco and Cruzeiro do Sul, combined with improvements to the connection with Porto Walter, could be associated with an additional 857,400 hectares of deforestation over ten years. With a new international road to Pucallpa, the projection reaches 932,100 hectares over the same period. The difference between the two scenarios is approximately 74,700 hectares over ten years and 133,800 hectares over twenty years.

These figures should not be interpreted as precise forecasts. Actual outcomes would depend on several factors, including enforcement and the management of protected areas along road corridors.

Environmental and economic gains at risk

Over the past two decades, Acre has built one of the world’s most established jurisdictional REDD+ programs. REDD+ stands for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and is a mechanism designed to reward countries and jurisdictions for avoiding emissions associated with forest loss.

Since 2012, the REDD+ Early Movers (REM) program, an initiative that rewards verified emission reductions, has provided the state with approximately €56 million, equivalent to R$331 million, for around 21 million tons of verified emission reductions.

In 2025, Acre also signed a presale agreement with Standard Chartered Bank for credits corresponding to up to 40 million tons of emission reductions, with the potential to generate up to US$150 million in carbon credit revenue. The state’s Benefit Sharing Plan allocates 72% of net revenues from the sale of these credits to forest communities.

Maintaining this flow of resources is directly linked to continued reductions in deforestation. Projections presented by the state indicate the potential to generate up to US$1.83 billion between 2023 and 2027 from the sale of credits issued under TREES, the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions’ REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard. These figures depend on both continued reductions in deforestation and demand in the voluntary carbon market.

“There is a tension between Acre’s existing REDD+ commitments and progress on reducing deforestation and the new risks associated with road expansion. Some of that new infrastructure is rightly needed but its impact in terms of putting additional forest cover at risk will need to be managed carefully. Some of these infrastructure projects, like the connection between Cruzeiro do Sul and Pucallpa, don’t stand the test of reason. After decades investing in a vision that sees Acre’s forests preserved, some consistency is needed.” says Blaise Bodin, Director of Policy and Strategy at Amazon Conservation.

Regional integration with forest protection

The analysis highlights the importance of infrastructure for Acre’s population and the economic and social benefits of regional integration, particularly in hard to reach areas, while emphasizing the need to incorporate medium and long term environmental and climate impacts into planning, with adequate impact assessment, licensing, monitoring, and enforcement.

 In the case of the proposed connection to Pucallpa, economic evidence included in the report also raises questions about the project’s viability. A 2022 assessment published by Conservation Strategy Fund calculated a negative net present value for both the Peruvian and Brazilian sections of the connection, with an internal rate of return below zero in both cases.

The MAP region, which encompasses Madre de Dios in Peru, Acre in Brazil, and Pando in Bolivia, contains more than 54 million hectares of relatively intact forest and communities with extensive experience in forest management. In Acre alone, the sustainable production of non timber forest products could generate up to US$71 million in net annual revenue while maintaining forest cover.

The Port of Chancay in Peru also expands opportunities to access Asian markets for products from the Amazon forest economy, including açaí, Brazil nuts, certified timber, and ingredients for the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries.

Daniela Dias, Leader of The Protected Areas and Biodiversity Conservation Program at SOS Amazônia, remarks that “Acre has great potential to consolidate its existing climate policy by integrating different sectors around a development model that values standing forests. This is not about choosing conservation over development, but about strategic action to safeguard territorial integrity while creating sustainable economic opportunities through a model of bioeconomy based on local knowledge, REDD+ and environmental services.” 

About the study

“Acre at the Crossroads: How Road Expansion Threatens a Decade of REDD+ Progress in the Brazilian Amazon” examines the potential impacts of road infrastructure expansion in Acre on deforestation, the state’s climate commitments, and REDD+ related revenues. The modeling compares three infrastructure scenarios and uses historical data from BR-317 as a reference to estimate the risks associated with the expansion of BR-364 and a potential international connection to Pucallpa, Peru. The study was prepared by researchers from Amazon Conservation in partnership with SOS Amazônia.

Read the full report: https://www.amazonconservation.org/publication/

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A new analysis by Fundación EcoCiencia and Amazon Conservation shows a sustained expansion of mining activity across five areas in the cantons of Tena and Carlos Julio Arosemena Tola. Between 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, satellite monitoring identified 580 hectares of newly affected land.

Within the framework of the Monitoring of the Andes Amazon Program (MAAP), Fundación EcoCiencia and Amazon Conservation have documented the continued growth of mining operations in the southern part of Napo province. Satellite data reveal 2,321 hectares affected by mining between January 2017 and March 2026 in five zones within the cantons of Tena and Carlos Arosemena Tola. Of that total, 580 hectares correspond to new mining activity detected during 2025 and the first quarter of 2026.

The report updates a previous assessment that had documented 1,741 hectares affected between 2017 and 2024. Through satellite monitoring, the new analysis examines five zones: the Jatunyacu, Anzu, and Huambuno rivers; the Puní–Cotona–Arajuno corridor; and a newly evaluated area along the Napo River near the communities of Sindy and San Carlos.

The findings reveal varying degrees of expansion across these monitored areas. The Anzu River shows the largest accumulated impact, reaching 806 hectares by March 2026, with roughly 13% of that area located outside the official mining cadastre. Along the Jatunyacu River, the affected area totals 561 hectares. In Huambuno, the impacted area reached 674 hectares as of March 2026, and approximately 23% of this activity occurs outside the mining cadastre.

One of the most notable developments is observed in the Puní–Cotona–Arajuno corridor, where the affected area increased from 112 hectares recorded up to January 2024 to 234 hectares by March 2026. In this corridor, 99% of the identified mining activity lies outside concessioned areas in the mining cadastre. During the first quarter of 2026 alone, the expansion exceeded 35% of the total area reported in 2025, underscoring a clear intensification of mining activity.

The report also identifies a new area of mining expansion along the Napo River, near the communities of Sindy and San Carlos. In this zone, the affected area grew from six hectares between 2023 and 2024 to 43 hectares in 2025, and 47 hectares by March 2026. Ninety‑four percent of this expansion lies outside the areas registered in the mining cadastre. Monitoring detected both small‑scale artisanal mining and larger operations using specialized machinery, including industrial classifier plants.

The analysis also documents several impacts associated with mining activity, such as the removal of forest cover, soil disturbance, changes in watercourses, erosion, and the formation of sedimentation pools. Along the Anzu River, interventions were identified near a petroglyph listed in the Ecuadorian Cultural Heritage Information System (SIPCE). Although no direct damage to the carving was observed, the report highlights the cultural sensitivity of the area and stresses the need to strengthen its protection.

In response to these findings, the report urges stronger monitoring, enforcement, and protection measures for the Napo River basin. It recommends integrating satellite imagery and drone surveillance with regular field inspections, community‑based monitoring, and sustained public oversight to ensure more effective control of mining activity.

Read the full report: 

https://www.maapprogram.org/mining-ecuador-napo/

 

 

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New Amazon-wide analysis of eight El Niño events finds that stronger events are followed by greater primary forest fire loss, and that reducing deforestation now could lower the risk of a major fire crisis in 2027.

As forecasts indicate, a very strong El Niño will develop in the last three months of 2026 (from October to December). Headlines around the world have focused on rising ocean temperatures, drought, and extreme weather. But according to a new study from Amazon Conservation’s Monitoring of the Andes Amazon Program (MAAP), a key part of the story unfolds after El Niño peaks.

The report finds that the two most severe Amazon fire seasons in recent history, in 2016 and 2024, both occurred immediately after the two strongest El Niño events of the past two decades (2015 and 2023, respectively). Researchers analyzed all eight El Niño events since 2002 and found a consistent pattern: stronger El Niño events were followed by more severe fire seasons in the following year, leading to greater losses of primary forest to wildfires. 

The numbers illustrate the pattern clearly. The very strong El Niño of 2015 (a sea surface temperature anomaly of +2.34°C) was followed by 4.35 million acres (1.76 million hectares) of primary forest lost to fire in 2016. The strong El Niño of 2023 (+1.49°C) was followed by 6.89 million acres (2.79 million hectares) lost in 2024, the worst fire season on record. By comparison, weak El Niño years were followed by losses under 395,000 acres (160,000 hectares). Researchers note the relationship approaches the traditional threshold of statistical significance, a meaningful signal given the limited sample of only eight qualifying El Niño events.

This report’s analysis focuses on primary forest loss rather than total burned area, because primary forests are the Amazon’s most intact ecosystems, storing great concentrations of carbon and sheltering high levels of biodiversity across the basin. Unlike secondary growth or agricultural land, primary forest does not regenerate on human timescales once lost. And because these forests do not burn on their own, any fire-driven loss signals that flames have likely escaped from recently cleared land into untouched forest, making primary forest loss a direct measure of the most irreversible damage occurring in the Amazon.

What makes this analysis distinctive is this scope: rather than focusing on individual countries or total burned area, as previous studies, researchers analyzed the Amazon as a single connected biome and measured primary forest loss from fires across the entire region, offering a basin-wide perspective on one of its most urgent conservation challenges.

“Our critical finding is all about a lagging or delayed impact for the Amazon,” said Dr. Matt Finer, Director of MAAP and Senior Research Specialist at Amazon Conservation. He explains that “20 years of data indicate a very strong El Niño in 2026, which means a very likely intense Amazon fire season in 2027, creating a critical window for governments to act now, before the next major fire season.”

The report emphasizes that El Niño does not directly cause Amazon fires. Unlike many forests around the world, the Amazon Rainforest does not naturally burn because it’s naturally humid. Nearly all fires are caused by human activity. Most begin when recently deforested land is intentionally burned for agricultural expansion, and then escape into surrounding forests under the hotter, drier conditions associated with El Niño. Previous MAAP analyses have shown that more than 70% of major Amazon fires originate in recently cleared areas, making reductions in deforestation a critical tool for preventing wildfires.

The report also reviews how Amazonian countries responded to the record-breaking 2024 fire season. While preparedness has improved in Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia, researchers caution that the lower fire impacts observed in 2025, 3.71 million acres (1.5 million hectares)  burned, versus 6.9 million acres (2.8 million hectares) in 2024, were largely aided by the wetter conditions associated with La Niña (the cooler counterpart to El Niño that often brings more rainfall to the Amazon) rather than institutional readiness alone. Bolivia illustrates the risk of uneven progress most clearly: the country’s fines for illegal burning remain roughly 2% of Brazil’s, and a land-reform measure that would have accelerated deforestation in the hardest-hit departments of Santa Cruz and Beni was enacted in early 2026 before being repealed amid public protest. Combined with the country’s deepening economic and political crisis, researchers warn that Bolivia could become the epicenter of the 2027 fire season.

However, the true test of preparedness will come in 2027, when the delayed impacts of El Niño reveal whether the decisions governments make now were enough to reduce fire risks across the Amazon.

Understanding El Niño
El Niño occurs when ocean temperatures rise above normal in an area of the Pacific Ocean that strongly influences weather patterns around the world. Scientists consider an El Niño event to be underway when those temperatures are at least 0.5°C warmer than average. Current forecasts suggest they could rise more than 2°C above average by the end of 2026, which would make this a “Very Strong” El Niño. The last event to reach that level was in 2015, shortly before the devastating 2016 Amazon fire season. Some models suggest temperatures could climb close to 3°C above average, potentially making this one of the strongest El Niño events ever recorded. 

“We can’t stop El Niño, but we can act now to minimize its impacts in the Amazon,” said Finer. “Reducing deforestation in 2026 and the fuel load it becomes, is one of the most effective strategies for minimizing fire impact in 2027.”

Read the full report 

 

 

Written by: Emma Rada – Conservación Amazónica-ACEAA, Bolivia

When the boat engine falls silent in the middle of a river that serves as both road and lifeline, nature seems to reclaim the landscape. The water becomes still again, a heron soars across the sky, the wind stirs the crowns of towering trees. And for a fleeting moment, everything seems to breathe without hurry. Jefferson watches. Then smiles.

Long before he ever donned a park ranger’s uniform, Jefferson Gonzales was just a boy who would accompany his father on fishing trips along these rivers. As he watched his father deftly navigate the waterways, he imagined that one day, he would be steering the boat. But he never expected that this childhood daydream would ultimately define his life, leading him to devote his career, his life, to protecting some of Bolivia’s best-preserved natural landscape.

Eleven years ago, Jefferson secured a job as a park ranger for the Manuripi National Wildlife Reserve in Pando, Bolivia. He was only twenty years old, naive, yet perceptive enough to grasp this fundamental truth about himself: he belonged in the forest.

“Being a park ranger isn’t a job,” he says with a knowing smile. “It’s an adventure.”

It only takes a few minutes of conversation to realize he isn’t exaggerating.

The Reserve protects nearly 747,000 hectares (over 1.8 million acres) of forests, rivers, and wetlands that host an extraordinary diversity of wildlife. Overseeing a territory of this scale means hours spent navigating rivers, hiking long forest trails, guiding and managing visitors, and responding swiftly whenever an activity threatens the forest’s integrity. And it all rests on the shoulders of a small team of rangers, whose daily commitment preserves one of the most valuable landscapes in the Bolivian Amazon.

Yet when asked about the hardest part of being a ranger, Jefferson never mentions the rain, the mosquitoes, the snake bites, the strenuous hikes, or the conflicts that arise during the Brazil nut harvest season.

Instead, he talks about his family. 

About the birthdays he has missed. About the special occasions that inevitably pass while he remains stationed at a remote outpost, far from home. “That is the hardest part,” he admits, his voice tightening with emotion.

And so he has come to understand that conserving the forest means accepting the quiet sacrifices of his chosen life: giving up the everyday luxuries most people take for granted.

Protecting nature is not only about preventing illegal logging or safeguarding vulnerable species. It is also about choosing to stay, even when that commitment means missing irreplaceable moments with the people you love most.

And yet, somehow, the forest always finds a way to give that time back.

Jefferson remembers every colleague with whom he has shared a patrol. Some have retired; others have followed different paths. Yet every trail, every tree, every river holds a memory of those years spent together. Now it is his turn to carry that legacy forward, helping new rangers understand that love for a protected area does not appear overnight. It grows with every patrol, every sunrise reflected on the river, and every day spent deep in the forest.

Today, the boy who once admired his father’s harmony with nature is in his second year of environmental engineering studies. After more than a decade of learning the forest through experience, he wanted to see it through yet another lens.

His studies have revealed to him a whole new framework for interpreting the forest: that beneath the water lies an invisible world teeming with microorganisms; that plants such as water hyacinth (Pontederia crassipes) naturally help purify freshwater ecosystems; and that every species plays an essential role in maintaining the balance of the Amazon. What he once understood intuitively, he can now explain.

But perhaps the most important lesson a park ranger can learn takes place neither in the forest nor at school. It happens at home.

Jefferson proudly shares that his children already speak regularly about conservation, pick up any litter they spot on the ground, and care for nature as part of their everyday lives. These small acts were born from watching their father leave, time and again, for the forest, unwavering in his conviction that protecting the Amazon is worth every sacrifice.

In his children, Jefferson witnesses a quiet but essential truth. The spirit of conservation can and must be passed down through generations. An intact forest requires so much more than legal protections and park rangers; it depends on the willingness of those who love it deeply to teach and spread that love.

On International Ranger Day, we celebrate these selfless men and women who walk remote trails, patrol rivers, and protect biodiversity. But rarely do we stop to think about everything that lies behind the uniform: childhood dreams realized, families forced to learn to love across distance, tricks of the trade whispered from one colleague to another. And a man who, even after eleven years of difficult work, looks at the river with the same sense of wonder as the child who once dreamt of mastering the art of navigating its flowing waters.

Thank you, Jefferson.

And thank you to every park ranger who teaches us that once you truly learn to love a forest, you can’t help but dedicate your life, in countless ways, to protecting it.

 

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Opinion Piece by Blaise Bodin, Amazon Conservation’s Director of Strategy and Policy

On July 3, we mark the anniversary of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty (ACT), signed in 1978 by the eight Amazonian nations and institutionalized in 1995 as the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO/OTCA). Nearly five decades later, ACTO remains the only intergovernmental body built specifically to coordinate action across the whole Amazon Basin. Our work at Amazon Conservation, halting illegal mining, deforestation, fires, and Nature crime monitoring, keeps confirming the same lesson: the Amazon functions as an integrated ecosystem with little regard for borders, yet most of the tools we have to protect it are still designed and applied nationally.

This lesson is more pressing than ever as the Amazon is under pressure from several compounding threats. A very strong El Niño is forecast for late 2026, raising the risk of another record-breaking fire season, similar to the one of 2024. Illegal gold mining continues to expand under record-high gold prices, degrading forests and rivers. Criminal networks behind mining, logging, and wildlife trafficking shift their activities to whichever jurisdiction has weaker controls, so the region’s environmental security is only as strong as its weakest link. Yet,  the response has remained overwhelmingly national. ACTO is the only truly Amazon-wide platform positioned to propose a regionally coordinated response.

On this anniversary, we offer the following wishes for ACTO’s future, drawn directly from our recent research across the region:

1. Govern the Amazon as a single “precipitationshed,” not just a river basin. Our recent research, “Keeping the flying rivers flowing: How deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon threatens rainfall in Peru and Bolivia” focused on atmospheric moisture transport shows that forest loss in one country can suppress rainfall hundreds of kilometers away in another; Brazil’s forest cover, for instance, is a primary driver of the “flying rivers” that sustain the wet season in Peru and Bolivia. Effective governance needs to account for both the terrestrial and atmospheric river systems, with differentiated responsibilities for countries whose forests sustain moisture transport for their neighbors. A similar approach is already used to jointly manage transboundary river basins in other parts of the world.
2. Treat fire and drought as basin-wide, not national, emergencies. With a major El Niño approaching, ACTO’s fire management guidelines could translate into coordinated early-warning and pre-season preparedness across borders. This means protecting the forests that sustain the region’s moisture pathways, recognizing they are essential not only for reducing fire risk, but also for maintaining rainfall and water supplies far beyond the Amazon itself.
3. Push harmonization, not just cooperation, on illegal mining. Our governance scoreboard shows that every Amazonian country has adopted at least one strong policy that its neighbors lack. ACTO is well placed to strengthen national frameworks through stronger regional governance and coordination. New ministerial resolutions could help spread replicable regulations on issues such as heavy machinery tracking, gold traceability and mercury controls, to close the regulatory gaps that allow criminal networks to simply shift their operations to jurisdictions with weaker controls. 
4. Strengthen ACTO by recognizing and integrating independent monitoring. Civil society platforms, including our own MAAP (Monitoring of the Andes Amazon Program) and Amazon Mining Watch, alongside MapBiomas Amazonía and RAISG — already provide basin-wide monitoring capabilities that complement official national data. ACTO’s new public security commission (CESPIT) offers an opportunity to establish shared regional standards for incorporating these data into decision-making, moving from fragmented, country-by-country arrangements toward a more regional and coordinated framework.
5. Protect the people who protect the forest. Environmental defenders across the region face serious risk. As cooperation between civil society and enforcement bodies grows, real exposure concerns continue to rise. CESPIT is well positioned to lead the development of a common regional protocol for evidence-sharing and confidentiality with clear safeguards to protect those who provide information.

The Amazon’s challenges have outgrown any single government’s capacity to manage them alone. ACTO already provides the institutional foundation for regional cooperation. Strengthening it, broadening its vision, and bringing more voices to the table such as: independent science, civil society, and Indigenous peoples, along governments, is one of the clearest paths toward matching the scale of the response to the scale of the challenge.

 

Blaise Bodin

Director of Strategy and Policy

 

Amazon Conservation is an international conservation nonprofit working for the past 25 years towards 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.

Behind every success at Amazon Conservation is an array of individuals with a shared passion for the Amazon: our generous donors and funders, dedicated staff (both on the ground in Latin America and at our headquarters in Washington,DC), and world-class Board of Directors. Our Board brings together passionate leaders in science, business, and conservation who selflessly lend their invaluable expertise, vision, and financial support to help protect the rainforest we all love and the people who depend on it.

Doug Sarno has focused on bringing people together to solve complex challenges. Trained as a civil and environmental engineer, he soon discovered that lasting environmental solutions depend not only on science and technology, but also on collaboration, trust, and shared vision. Over the years, he became a recognized facilitator and strategic planner, helping governments, nonprofits, and communities navigate some of the most difficult environmental issues of our time.

That passion for building partnerships eventually led him to Amazon Conservation. What began as a consulting role supporting strategic planning and board development evolved into a deeper commitment to the organization’s mission. Today, as Board Chair, Doug brings decades of experience in stakeholder engagement and consensus-building to help strengthen regional collaboration across the Amazon.

In this Q&A, Doug reflects on his path to conservation, the importance of creating trusted partnerships, and why he believes collaborative action is essential to protecting one of the planet’s most critical ecosystems.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am originally a civil and environmental engineer, but have spent the majority of my career as a facilitator and strategic planner. Much of my work has been to convene and facilitate diverse stakeholders to create consensus on how to address the types of complex and controversial environmental issues I had worked on as an engineer. My real passion has always been planning and process. In the late 1990’s I had the opportunity to serve as Executive Director of the International Association for Public Participation where I oversaw the development of a number of seminal tools and foundational training in establishing the formal practice of Public Participation. Since then I have worked with government agencies and nonprofits as a consultant, facilitator, trainer, and strategic planner in a wide range of issues related to strategic planning, organizational effectiveness, and stakeholder collaboration.

What sparked your interest in conservation?

I have always been interested in environmental issues. In engineering school I sought to focus on environmental engineering at a time when it barely existed as a discipline. This allowed me to begin my career working for environmental consulting firms, environmental nonprofits and the Environmental Protection Agency before starting my own environmentally-focused consulting firm. Much of my work has been for agencies and nonprofits focused on conservation, environmental protection, and environmental remediation. The more I worked in this field exploring solutions to hazardous and radioactive waste disposal, recycling, and the protection of natural resources, the more I witnessed the incredible damage caused by our careless attitudes toward nature. This resulted in my commitment to be part of the solution. I look for opportunities to find balance between human activity and ensuring a sustainable environment both in my work and in my volunteer activities.

How did you first connect with Amazon Conservation? 

A former client was hired by Amazon Conservation and was looking for a consultant to support strategic planning and Board Effectiveness activities. It was a good fit and I worked with Amazon Conservation on a variety of initiatives over a number of years. In the middle of one facilitation, the Board Chair asked me if I would like to join the board. I of course said yes. We joked that it was a clever way to get my services for free, but that was a deal I was more than happy to make.

From your perspective as a Board Chair, what is it that sets Amazon Conservation apart from other similar organizations?

We are a convener and collaborator of the organizations, tools, and science needed to help tackle this enormous and enormously important challenge. In that role we are able to work across political borders without any specific agenda, and without the constraints that country-specific organizations might face. This collaborative regional approach is the only way to get impact at scale. I truly believe that Amazon Conservation is committed to our work to protect and preserve the Amazon without trying to draw attention to ourselves or build the organization with any functions other than what is essential for the mission. This allows us to make sure the vast majority of all money raised goes directly to conservation efforts. 

What have you learned from your Board service thus far?

I think the passion of board members for the Amazon Conservation mission is what makes this board special. There is genuine excitement to learn about the work that is happening and it is always a pleasure to be working with such a diverse group of talented people. Working with partners throughout the region provides us with a big picture view of the causes and challenges of deforestation which allows us to contemplate holistic solutions. On this board we get a front row seat to the challenges and solutions to one of the most important conservation initiatives on the planet.

Why is our mission of protecting the Amazon so important?

Beyond the oceans, the Amazon is perhaps the single largest and most important ecosystem in helping to regulate the earth’s climate. There are so many reasons to protect this diverse wild space, but it’s service as a carbon sink is especially important to maintaining a human-friendly planet. The more we see of large areas of the Amazon shifting from a carbon sink to carbon release, the more essential it becomes to find sustainable solutions to managing deforestation in our lifetime.

What advice would you give to others seeking to make a difference? 

I think many of us are struggling with the immensity of the world’s challenges right now. We want to see a fairer, more humane, and greener planet but struggle to know how to be part of the solution. As so many of our institutions struggle to evolve to meet the technologies and challenges of the 21st Century, I have become more convinced that many of the solutions will fall to civil society. I am reminded of the Margaret Mead quote “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” We need to shift our energy from doomscrolling about what a mess things are to taking some action, no matter how small, toward a future that you want to see. It does not matter what issue or how overwhelming the problem might seem. Find an organization that matches your passion and ask what you can do to help.

Is there anything else you’d like people to know about Amazon Conservation? 

I was recently in Africa and spent some time with former poachers who are now part of the teams helping to protect wildlife. They explained that poaching was never something they wanted to do, but what was available to them to feed their families. They were paid little while others made a fortune on the tusks and horns that were sold for high prices. It reminded me that the solution to conservation is not brute force protection, punishing the small players while the true perpetrators continue their activities. Indeed, much of the gold mining currently destroying large areas of forest is happening in protected areas, by poor people working in terrible conditions. Catching and punishing those people might stop that mine but will not solve the problem itself. The answers are rooted in creating approaches and systems that allow the forest and humans to sustainably co-exist. I think this holistic and sustainable approach to conservation is at the heart of how Amazon Conservation works and is built into our regional partnership approach to all of our activities.

Based on your area of expertise, how would you describe the importance of creating collaborative and participatory spaces in conservation, and how do you think Amazon Conservation contributes to this? 

I think that I have touched on this throughout but will add one more essential piece of the puzzle. Just as the environmental issues we are seeking to address are almost entirely the result of human action, the success of the solutions we need to build are entirely dependent on human inter-action. It is the human element that must be solved to allow nature to do its thing. To allow conservation to take place, we first need to build the understanding, trust, and relationships to change human behavior in a permanent and sustainable way. That can only occur through ongoing collaboration to address the wide range of needs and conditions that result in deforestation. In my very biased opinion as a lifelong facilitator, meaningful and sustainable collaboration can only occur within a meaningful process and with the support a trustworthy facilitation. I believe that Amazon Conservation has been demonstrating its ability to create and facilitate those collaborative spaces in its ability to convene cross border partnerships and provide the overall facilitation of parties to achieve successful outcomes.

 

 

 

 

 

“To allow conservation to take place, we first need to build the understanding, trust, and relationships to change human behavior in a permanent and sustainable way.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Satellite monitoring and drone analysis reveal the expansion of mining into national parks, biological reserves, and protected forests that are critical for the biodiversity and ecological connectivity of the Ecuadorian Amazon.

The expansion of gold mining in the southern Ecuadorian Amazon continues to push into strategic ecosystems and protected areas of high ecological importance. This is highlighted in the report by Fundación EcoCiencia, “MAAP #243: Mining in the Southern Ecuadorian Amazon – Zamora Chinchipe Province,” which documents the growth of mining activity within and around key conservation zones in Zamora Chinchipe.

Zamora Chinchipe, located at the southern edge of the Ecuadorian Amazon, is one of the country’s most ecologically significant regions due to its position at the transition between the Andes and the Amazon lowlands. This unique geography supports high biological diversity and includes strategic ecosystems such as cloud forests, páramos, and rare formations like the sub-Andean tepuis.

The analysis identifies approximately 111 hectares affected by mining within protected areas and conservation zones across four case studies monitored between 2011 and 2025. The impacted areas include Podocarpus National Park, the Cerro Plateado Biological Reserve, the Maycú Nature Reserve, and the Cuenca Alta del Río Nangaritza Protective Forest, territories that are essential for ecological connectivity and for conserving emblematic species such as the jaguar, tapir, and spectacled bear.

One of the most concerning findings comes from the monitoring conducted in Podocarpus National Park, where 44 hectares affected by mining were identified between August 2023 and December 2025. The study shows that mining activity is taking place inside a protected area where mineral extraction is prohibited by law. In addition to forest loss, satellite monitoring revealed impacts on the Loyola River, part of the park’s hydrological network and a key element for the conservation of cloud forests and Andean páramos.

The report also documents impacts within the Cerro Plateado Biological Reserve, a core zone of high ecological importance in the southern Amazon. Between August 2024 and December 2025, 13 hectares affected by mining were recorded, including areas inside the reserve itself. The analysis further found that 92% of the intervened areas lie outside authorized concessions, indicating possible irregular mining activities in environmentally sensitive territories.

Additional impacts were identified in the Maycú Nature Reserve, where 21.22 hectares were affected by mining, and in the Cuenca Alta del Río Nangaritza Protective Forest, with 44.27 hectares impacted. The study warns that the expansion of mining continues to increase pressure on strategic ecosystems in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

Using high-resolution satellite imagery and drone monitoring, the report identified the clearing of vegetation, soil erosion, sediment pools, and abandoned camps associated with mining activity. These findings reveal an extractive pattern marked by the repeated opening and abandonment of mining fronts, generating cumulative impacts and increasing challenges for environmental oversight.

The report also notes that Zamora Chinchipe has gone from registering around 5 hectares affected by mining in 1995 to more than 6,800 hectares in 2024, solidifying its position as one of the main hotspots of mining expansion in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

In this context, the report recommends strengthening the mandatory use of satellite-monitoring technologies and early-warning systems to detect new mining activities in protected areas and remote zones. It also underscores the need to incorporate technological evidence – such as satellite imagery, drones, and georeferencing systems – into administrative and judicial processes related to environmental crimes and illegal mining.

The study emphasizes that effectively protecting Amazonian protected areas requires reinforcing territorial control, surveillance, and institutional coordination to prevent the expansion of extractive activities in ecosystems that are critical for Ecuador’s biodiversity and ecological connectivity.

The report further warns that the rapid expansion of irregular mining activities in remote and environmentally sensitive areas poses an escalating challenge for territorial governance and the State’s capacity to exercise control. This trend highlights the need to strengthen monitoring systems, early-warning mechanisms, and more robust administrative and judicial processes to address environmental crimes and illegal mining.

Access the full report: https://www.maapprogram.org/ecuador-gold-mining-zamora/