Wednesday, September 7th, saw the first installment of our State of the Amazon Webinar Series. This edition’s focus was on Fires, Deforestation, and Climate Change. The webinar was co-hosted by us and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) and featured speakers from five of our partners representing five key Amazonian countries. Participants had the privilege of hearing from Fundación EcoCiencia (Ecuador), Instituto Centro de Vida (Brazil), Conservación Amazónica – ACCA (Peru), Conservación Amazónica – ACEAA (Bolivia), Fundación para la Conservación y al Desarrollo Sostenible (Colombia), and MAAP and Global Forest Watch from the US. The broad scope of our panelists and partners allowed us to offer a vast perspective on the threats of fires, deforestation, and climate change and their relation to forest loss from a global scale, down to a focused “on-the-ground” perspective of the effects of those same threats in the 5 different countries represented therein. Apart from their country-specific experiences with environmental threats to the Amazon, each presenter spoke about how fires, deforestation, and climate change are interrelated and work together to create challenging hurdles to achieve a thriving Amazon. Watch the full webinar recording here.

Hilde Dahl, Head of Section for Forests with Norad, opened the session by expressing the urgency with which the environment must be addressed, stating, “Without halting deforestation and bolstering reforestation with urgent action it will be impossible to meet the UN sustainable development goals and the goals of the Paris Agreement.” She also laid out some of the methods and objectives that the Norwegian government has committed to foster in order to address these concerns, including direct support for organizations and initiatives that are heading programs and processes to bolster the well-being of the Amazon with the over-arching goal of Norad being to prevent widespread tropical forest loss. Hilde added finally, “The Amazon is undoubtedly important for the health of our climate, but it is also simply home to millions of people.”

Carmen Josse from EcoCiencia moderated the discussion and opened by introducing the the two scientists presenting in the first section of the webinar – two wide perspectives of forest loss. First, a global perspective from Michelle Sims from Global Forest Watch and World Resources Institute.

 

Understanding Trends in Global Forest Loss

Our first presenter, Michelle Sims, from Global Forest Watch at World Resources Institute, presented a global overview on forest loss. She described what the data is telling us are the actual main drivers of forest loss today. She also presented where the most forest loss is happening by country, stating that Bolivia has overtaken Indonesia for third place for country experiencing most forest loss for the second year in a row. Interestingly, Michelle reports that commodities production, sourcing wood from tropical forests for manufacturing or clearing large swaths of forest for cattle raising, was also a significant driver of forest loss around the world in 2021.

 

 

Zooming in to a regional view of the Amazon as a whole, Amazon Conservation’s own Matt Finer, Director of the Monitoring of the Amazon Project, presented his latest findings using satellite imagery to pinpoint deforestation drivers and shared some thought provoking data. Dr. Finer clearly illustrated how fires, deforestation, and climate change only work to feed each other. These three environmental phenomena are often studied individually or separately, however, it is becoming more and more evident that deforestation brings about more fires and fires bring about more deforestation and both affect the climate and are a result of the changing climate, an interesting and powerfully dangerous relationship indeed.

 

Implications for the Amazon (Bolivia)

 

We heard our first country-specific perspective from Daniel Larrea, Science and Technology Program Coordinator from Conservación Amazónica – ACEAA. Daniel shared that one of the strongest drivers of deforestation in the Bolivian lowlands of the Amazon is forest clearing for cattle raising, a fact echoed by Michelle Sims’s global studies. Daniel reported that what the science is showing in Bolivia as a result of increased cattle production and decreased natural forest cover is an increase in CO2 levels and an increase in high temperature changes in the region’s climate. Daniel ended with a powerful quote summing up the goals of his and ACEAA’s work saying, “If we protect our forest they will be healthy. If our forest are healthy, they will be productive. If they are healthy and productive, they will be resilient.”

 

Science and Data for Advocacy and Action (Brazil)

Alice Thuault, the Executive Director of Instituto Centro de Vida (ICV), then explained that the future of the Amazon depends scientists and advocacy groups to use the data these new technologies are showing us to reinforce each others’ efforts and best protect the forest. She pointed out that the Amazon is a vast region, one that spans at least 9 countries, that requires strong coordination and action from multiple entities to ensure its protection. Luckily, we have organizations like ICV and the rest that presented at this webinar who are actively heading this union of scientific data and advocacy work to better inform conservation efforts throughout the entire Amazon forest.

 

Understanding the Arc of Deforestation and Road Construction (Colombia)

Luz Alejandra Gomez, GIS Coordinator with Fundación para la Conservación y el Desarrollo Sostenible (FCDS), presented some of her recent work with high-resolution satellite imagery that helped us all to better understand the trends of deforestation in Colombia specifically caused by the construction of new roads. If you have kept up with any  of our MAAP reports, you already know that carving out new roads or even maintaining pre-existing roads is a significant driver of deforestation in the Amazon. Accordingly, Luz Alejandra’s findings show a slight uptick of deforestation caused by road construction from 2019 up to the present, especially surrounding legally protected national parks and reserves. She also offered a stark reminder that the current main objective of these roads is to provide access and link to similarly illegal and unregulated farming and other sites of extractive activities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Composition and Threats (Ecuador)

Attendees then heard from Carmen Josse, Executive Director of Fundación EcoCiencia. Carmen presented an informative look at the composition of the Ecuadorian Amazon regarding land use and classification. 44% of the Ecuadorian Amazon is dedicated Indigenous Territory, 18% is both Indigenous Territory and Natural Protected Area, 17% is Natural Protected Area only, and 21% is without any protection whatsoever. Over all of these combined areas, we see from EcoCiencia’s data that up to at least 14% of the Ecuadorian Amazon is experiencing deforestation due to agricultural activities, authorized or otherwise. Carmen reports that since 2001, EcoCiencia has confirmed 623,151 hectares of deforestation and areas dedicated to extractive mining activities have tripled since as recent as 2010.

Strengthening Environmental Governance (Peru)

For our last country-specific presentation, Humberto Balbuena, Director of Policy and Environmental Governance at Conservación Amazónica – ACCA, offered a look at important conservation and governance efforts in Peru. Humberto identified a few main hurdles to conservation faced by governance objectives. 1) Increase in agricultural activity in forested areas that have potential for greater sustainably productive practices. 2) Expansion of illegal mining activities. 3) A decrease in state presence to effectively combat environmental crimes. 4) Delays in the process of institutionality in the forest sector. Humberto highlights these obstacles as a reminder that the fight to protect the Amazon has to be won not only on-the-ground in the forest, but also within policy and legal frameworks. By using monitoring systems and near real time reports, policy makers and legal actors are better equipped to take justified and informed stands against illegal activity in the Amazon.

 

 

 

 

Q & A

Carmen Josse moderated our Q & A session in which attendees could pose questions to each or all of the speakers. One question pur to Dr. Matt Finer was, “What is the impact of Indigenous Territories and Protected Areas on fires and deforestation?” To which he responded and showed on maaproject.org, “…pretty remarkably we can clearly see that the best protections against the Amazon continue to be Indigenous Territories and Protected Areas. You can almost draw a map of these two classifications based on where the fires are not.”

Closing Remarks

Carlos Nobre provided some profound statements on the urgency of protecting the Amazon when issuing his closing remarks, especially, “We know very well that the Amazon is near its tipping point. Fires, deforestation and climate change are synergistic obstacles which make each other more difficult to combat. The saving grace of the Amazon is its incredible ability to recycle water throughout its ecosystems. Without urgent action, this land use change that we are seeing become the trend, could take away that ability from the Amazon and see it turned into what would be more closely related to a dry savannah.”

To view the full question and answer session and watch the entire presentation, click here.

 

 

Over the past month, Amazon Conservation inaugurated two new critical facilities that mark important milestones for our conservation efforts in Peru. The first is a new processing plant, which is fundamental in our Productive Forests program that supports sustainable, forest-friendly livelihoods under our Empowering People strategy. The second is a new Interpretation Center, dedicated to promoting environmental education about the Andean bear and advancing science to help conserve the bear’s habitat as part of our Putting Science and Technology to Work strategy. Both accomplishments are examples of how Amazon Conservation continues to go deep in our work with communities and habitats at the headwaters of the Amazon.

Cacao and Copoazu Processing Plant Inaugurated in Madre de Dios

On June 30, the indigenous community Infierno in Peru’s Madre de Dios department inaugurated a new processing plant for cacao and copoazu, strengthening the sustainable livelihoods of 19 families. With this new plant, local cacao and copoazu producers in the region are now able to produce high-quality products to be marketed both nationally and internationally. With the support of our sister organization Conservación Amazónica–ACCA in Peru, producers from Infierno received organic certification for their cacao through the Cooperativa Agroindustrial de la Interoceánica Ltda. (COOPAIDI), thereby opening up new international markets for their products.

The creation of this processing facility is the result of a public-private effort between private companies, regional governments, and local communities to ensure the preservation of the artisanal quality of cacao and copoazu (a tropical fruit also known as “white chocolate”). At the inauguration, María Elena Gutiérrez, Executive Director of Conservación Amazónica–ACCA, announced, “This is a day of celebration for the people of the Native Community of Infierno, with whom we have been working for many years, and represents a huge step in their ability to make a living from native cacao and copoazu, not only in national but also international markets. At Amazon Conservation, we believe that sustainable livelihoods are vital so that people can live with a healthy and resilient Amazon.”

This project was made possible thanks to financial support from Euroclima+ and the collaboration of technical teams from the Ministry of Production, the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, and the Ministry of External Commerce and Tourism of the Regional Government of Madre de Dios who are working together to rescue and promote native products, in particular cacao, and to strengthen the regulation of these products.

New Andean Bear Interpretation Center Raises Awareness About Keystone Species

On July 1, a new Andean Bear Interpretation Center was inaugurated in our Wayqecha Conservation Hub in Peru’s department of Cusco. Located in a cloud forest in the buffer zone of Peru’s Manu National Park, this area is critical for conservation efforts thanks to its high biodiversity and endemic species and its position as a natural corridor for plant and animal species pushed uphill by global warming, making it an ideal location to connect national and international visitors with nature and science.

The Andean Bear Interpretation Center is an important space for environmental education for local students and our science team at our sister organization Conservación Amazónica – ACCA in Peru as we work to better understand the behavior of the Andean bear, also known as the spectacled bear. A threatened species and the only bear in South America, the Andean bear is a keystone species in this region of Peru, currently under threat by habitat loss, forest fires, hunting, and animal trafficking. Since their territory covers long distances, they also play a critical ecological role in dispersing seeds across high elevations and thus regenerating forests.

Amazon Conservation’s Andean Bear Conservation Program, led by Ruthmery Pillco, has been working to protect their habitats and restore the plants that are part of their diet through conservation efforts alongside local populations, for whom the Andean bear is a cultural icon. Through citizen science, community-based reforestation, and environmental education efforts, we hope to restore the habitat necessary for this species’ survival and raise awareness about the vulnerability of cloud forest ecosystems in the face of climate change.

The Andean Bear Interpretation Center was made possible through the support of the Stadler Foundation, International Conservation Fund of Canada, Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation for the Americas, International Association for Bear Research & Management, Barker Langham, and the neighboring communities of Manu National Park buffer zone.

In the Bolivian department of Pando, Amazon Conservation through our sister organization Conservación Amazónica–ACEAA held workshops in the communities of Holanda, Empresiña, San Antonio, and Luz de América to spread awareness about the impacts of human activities on the Amazon rainforest. These workshops, part of the PRODIGY project financed by the German Ministry of Research and Education-BMBF, included interactive learning activities and games that informed participants from these local communities about the chemical makeup of the Amazon ecosystem and helped demonstrate how human activities can alter the ecosystem’s vulnerable chemistry.

One exercise explored how uncontrolled extractive activities such as illegal gold mining can leave behind harmful substances like mercury that enter and disrupt the natural chemistry of the Amazon as a result of agitating river sediment and destroying river banks. Through workshops like these, we aim to raise awareness among local people in the Amazon, especially young people and future community leaders, about the impacts of human activities on forest ecosystems. Through our Empowering People program, we also work on the ground in these and other communities throughout the region to support them in building forest-friendly and sustainable livelihoods as viable alternatives to activities that negatively impact the Amazon’s ecosystem. Learn more about how we Empower People across the region here.

On June 28, at a meeting of the Inter-Institutional Platform for Connection of Amazon Fruit Products (PICFA) in Cobija, Bolivia, we presented a study that corrects misinformation about the link between açai and the parasite causing Chagas disease in the region. While the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi has been found in the primary açai species produced in Brazil (Euterpe olerásea), the açai species grown in Pando (Euterpe precatoria) is distinct. The presentation of this research, which impacts açai producers across the region, shows the importance of disseminating information through the Observatory of Amazonian Fruits and Climate Change to strengthen local information-sharing resources and networks for forest producers.

According to this study, presented this past month by Daniel Larrea, Coordinator of Science and Technology at Conservación Amazónica – ACEAA in the department of Pando’s capital city, the presence of the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi was not found in any of the local samples studied. These results indicate that the processed product of the local açai species is safe to consume in its initial processing stages. Entitled “Açai and Chagas: Myth or Reality, Molecular detection of the parasite that causes Chagas disease in açai fruit and pulp,” this study also serves as an important tool for early detection measures to control and prevent the spread of diseases like Chagas in the processing of Amazonian fruits in Pando.

The technical manual with the study’s results is available in Spanish on the website of the Observatory of Amazonian Fruits and Climate Change here. Daniel Larrea also gave an interview discussing these important findings, which can be viewed in Spanish here.

To find out more about how we are working to build local networks to support local forest producers and their livelihoods in Pando through the Observatory of Amazonian Fruits and Climate Change, take a look at our latest update or visit the Observatory’s website here.

This study was part of the project, “Strengthening of sustainable productive capacities in communities of the Manuripi National Amazon Wildlife Reserve in Pando, Bolivia,” implemented by our partners in Bolivia, Conservación Amazónica-ACEAA, in collaboration with SWEBOL BIOTECH A.B. S.R.L. with financial support from the World Wildlife Fund and Andes Amazon Fund (AAF), through the Inter-Institutional Platform for Connection of Amazon Fruit Products (PICFA) of Pando in coordination with the Departamental Federation of Açai and Amazonian Fruit Harvesters of Pando (FEDAFAP).

Earlier this year, we launched our new tool in support of forest-based economies called the Observatory of Amazonian Fruits and Climate Change. The Observatory is the culmination of a 10-month project that focuses on strengthening the management of Amazonian fruits in the Bolivian Amazon rainforest such as açai, Brazil nuts, cacao, majo, copoazu and royal palm.

Through the Observatory of Amazonian Fruits and Climate Change, local producers are able to access and share important information like this study, giving them the latest tools, information, and processing protocols to ensure that their products are competitive. To spread awareness and build local capacity among local communities in utilizing this platform, we have hosted events for local producers in Pando to provide training and space to share critical solutions that help producers adapt to the changing climate that increasingly impacts the primary livelihoods for many in the region.

In its first six months, the Observatory has been critical in empowering local people by providing a space to share important research and build networks among local producers across the department of Pando, Bolivia. This past month, we presented important research that corrects misinformation about the link between açai and the parasite causing Chagas disease in the region, which helps establish early detection measures to control and prevent the spread of diseases like Chagas in the processing of Amazonian fruits.

In June, we hosted a webinar that had more than 100 participants from across Pando who joined to learn how to access and utilize the resources, information and technology available through the Observatory. Through the webinar, we also introduced a user’s guide for how to best utilize the Observatory of Amazonian Fruits and Climate Change, which can be accessed in Spanish here.

The Observatory of Amazonian Fruits and Climate Change has two overarching goals that serve to both empower people to build forest-based economies and fight the impacts of deforestation and climate change:

1. Prevent deforestation by placing economic value on keeping forests standing because the diversification of fruits helps local communities mitigate and adapt to climate change.
2. Create a localized network that enables producers to adapt more efficiently to climate change by sharing “early alerts” about the local impacts of climate change on forest products and effective solutions to adapt to these changes.

In Pando, the Observatory stands to directly benefit around 87,500 people linked to the harvest of Amazonian fruits, including indigenous and local communities and nine local enterprises. Once the Observatory is in place with educational workshops and technical training in Pando, we plan to replicate the Observatory in other parts of the Amazon biome to benefit all producers and communities who depend on this ecosystem and whose livelihoods are threatened by climate change.

This project would not be possible without the support of the EUROCLIMA+ program. For more information about the Observatory of Amazonian Fruits and Climate Change, please visit the website here.

Conservación Amazónica–ACCA, Amazon Conservation’s sister organization in Peru, held two workshops alongside geospatial scientists from the University of Richmond’s Amazon Frontier Spatial Analysis (ABSAT) team on June 9-10 and June 13-17 through ACCA’s partnership with the SERVIR-Amazonia program, an initiative of USAID and NASA. The goals of both workshops included showing how to analyze geospatial data and how to use geospatial science to detect ecosystem changes across borders and in indigenous landscapes.

The first workshop, “Ecosystem Services and Socio-Environmental Dynamics in Indigenous Landscapes,” took place on June 9 and 10 in the town of Puerto Breu in east-central Peru near the border with Brazil. In attendance were 122 indigenous leaders and representatives from 13 different Amazonian ethnic groups from Peru and Brazil. The workshop, led by the team from the University of Richmond, focused on how geospatial science can detect changes in Amazonian ecosystems as a result of alterations in the forest surface and these effects relate to climate change.

During the two-day event, indigenous representatives and leaders participated in activities to aid in recognizing and understanding the changes that their forests are undergoing. Participants learned about evapotranspiration, which is the way in which trees remove water from their bark as a result of tree respiration, and how this process has been altered due to climate change, resulting in forest degradation and the loss of the ecosystem services they offer.

The knowledge shared also included how the geospatial applications, known as “dashboards”, developed by the University of Richmond’s ABSAT team, work as information management tools to interactively monitor and analyze indicators and fundamental data related to deforestation, degradation, evapotranspiration, temperature, and precipitation in the cross-border area and territories between Peru and Brazil.

“The dashboard allows anyone to model or simulate a situation in which, for example, if forest is lost or if forest is transformed into another type of cover, what would be the consequences of this loss. If this could cause an increase in temperature, evapotranspiration reduction or water reduction,” said David Salisbury, leader of the University of Richmond’s ABSAT team.

David Salisbury, a professor at the University of Richmond, teaches representatives of different indigenous groups to read geospatial data and maps.

Through this workshop, we recognized the importance of collecting and incorporating the ancestral knowledge of the indigenous peoples of the Yuruá River basin. Given that they are the guardians of the forest, their knowledge and perspective may be able to identify blind spots that technology is not capable of identifying. For this reason, indigenous participation and ancestral knowledge are important contributions in developing the geospatial tool.

“Today, new generations are more prepared to face climate change, not only because of the tools that science provides them, but also because of the teachings to be the new leaders and guardians of this great forest – which is the Amazon – that they have learned from their parents and grandparents,” said María Elena Paredes, an Asháninka indigenous leader.

The second geospatial science workshop took place on June 13-17 on the campus of the National University of Ucayali in Pucallpa, Peru and focused on Cross-Border Corridors and Ecosystem Services of the Southwestern Amazon. The workshop included an overview of geospatial science and how it can help communities face climate change as well as the results of the ABSAT team’s latest geospatial research. There were 40 participants in attendance, including GIS analysts from local and national government entities from Peru and Brazil.

These workshops were made possible thanks to the valuable support of USAID. In addition, the technical and logistical needs were provided thanks to the work of various organizations including Conservacion Amazónica–ACCA and Upper Amazon Conservancy, and the workshops themselves were carried out with the support of representatives from SERVIR-Amazonía, the University of Richmond, and NASA.

On Thursday, June 16, Amazon Conservation inaugurated our gallery exhibit “A Changing Amazon: Climate Change and Conservation Solutions in the Amazon” at the Embassy of Peru in Washington, DC. The gallery exhibit, now open to the public through August 17, gives a visual retrospection of our work in Peru, explains how climate is affecting the Amazon, the role of Indigenous peoples in conservation, and showcases our conservation solutions in the region.

The gallery opening event included a cocktail reception with Peruvian fare and more than 40 guests including colleagues from the Norwegian and Peruvian Embassies, partners from IDB, USAID, World Bank, IUCN, an other organizations, as well as some of our most loyal supporters.

The highlight of the evening were the special remarks from the Peruvian Embassy, Bruce Babbitt, the former Governor of Arizona and former Secretary of the Interior; and Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, President of the COP 20 UN Climate Convention, former Peruvian Minister of the Environment, current Leader of the Climate and Energy Global Practice of World Wild Fund for Nature International, and recently-appointed Chair of IUCN’s newly established Climate Crisis Commission.

To kick us off, Germán Prado, Cultural Attaché for the Embassy of Peru, spoke on behalf of the Peruvian Ambassador, Oswaldo de Rivero, who unfortunately was ill and could not attend the event, expressing the importance of the Amazon for climate change and the Peruvian government’s support of conservation efforts to become a model for forest governance.

We then heard motivating words of wisdom from Bruce Babbitt, who reflected on how the beauty of the Amazon initially inspired him to support conservation efforts and how Amazon Conservation’s innovative conservation models centering science, technology, and local peoples has made him a long-time supporter of our work. Bruce also highlighted how working closely with governments like Peru and Norway has been a key to our long-term success on the ground.

John Beavers, Amazon Conservation’s Executive Director, spoke next, reflecting on how the photos in the gallery exhibit reminded him of the Amazon’s incomparable natural beauty as well as its fragility and how quickly it can all disappear without swift action and climate-smart conservation solutions. Spurred on by the desire to protect this fragile ecosystem, John described how Amazon Conservation is working on the ground to empower local people and governments to protect the forests on which they depend through forest-based economies that can better adapt to the changing climate and improved governance to mitigate the main drivers of deforestation.

Finally, Manuel Pulgar-Vidal provided an uplifting outlook on climate solutions and the future of the Amazon. As Manuel has seen in his work with WWF, COP 20, and now IUCN’s Climate Crisis Commission, organizations like Amazon Conservation are evolving and building climate into their work, and he believes that Amazon Conservation is doing the work that is needed to scale up climate and conservation solutions in our efforts to bring our climate-smart conservation solutions to more communities and countries across the region.

The gallery exhibit is open to the public during business hours at the Embassy of Peru in DC now through August 17.

Amazon Conservation would like to thank the Embassy of Peru in DC and Ambassador Oswaldo de Rivero for their support in hosting our “A Changing Amazon” exhibit and opening reception.