With summer in full swing and summer vacation plans looming, we were excited to speak with Eleanor and Malcolm whose passion for birding, as well as socially and environmentally responsible travel, has taken them to many incredible destinations. Concurrently, their travels to some of the world’s most biodiverse regions have also exposed them to some of the biggest risks to the planet, including illegal mining and logging. Through their travels and birding, Eleanor and Malcolm have become increasingly committed to helping protect the Amazon and doing what they can in the face of climate change.

While Eleanor and Malcolm normally prefer to support causes local to their home in Maine (where they know their donations will have the greatest impact), Amazon Conservation has demonstrated a comparable level of real, localized impact that empowers local communities through conservation. Malcolm explains, “To see how much you are doing to empower local communities as part of the partnerships, that resonates with what we care about.”

Eleanor and Malcolm first learned about Amazon Conservation through birding trips to our three biological stations in the Madre de Dios region of the Peruvian Amazon. There, they had the opportunity to chat with young researchers and community members to learn more about the value of the work carried out on the ground in Peru to conserve the Amazon biome for the benefit of the entire planet. This first-hand experience inspired the two to become donors to Amazon Conservation’s mission, and to this day, we are one of the few international organizations they choose to support due to our impact on the ground.

Eleanor sums up why they support Amazon Conservation: “You’re a great organization doing good work on the ground with local partners, based on science and technology, and trying to maintain healthy biodiversity that’s critical for the longevity of this planet. What’s more important than that?”

Read on for the full Q&A with supporters Eleanor Goldberg and Malcolm Burson.

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Can you tell us a little background about you?

Malcolm: My primary interest is birding. I’m a lifelong birder, and we’ve done a lot of birding together over the years. I also spent the end of my working career doing policy development for our state environmental agency, so it’s a combination of those things that have been important to me in thinking about the natural world and conservation.

Eleanor: I’m not a lifelong birder. I’ve been birding for about 25 years, but I have developed a real passion for it. Starting in my twenties, I developed a real love for the outdoors and just being out in nature. I certainly have come to appreciate over the years what’s happening to this planet in terms of the loss of biodiversity and the impact of global warming and climate change. We saw some evidence of that in Peru when we were there, and so I have come to appreciate the work that Amazon Conservation does.

Malcolm: My primary work for Maine’s DEP [Department of Environmental Protection] was being in charge of developing the state’s climate change program from the very beginning, back in the early 2000s. So my awareness of the importance of doing this kind of work, as the planet warms, has been magnified.

Eleanor: We are both from the Chicago area, although we met in Maine 22 years ago. I grew up in the city of Chicago, in a very urban environment, moved to Boston after graduating from the University of Michigan, and then lived there for a long time. I moved to Portland in 1987; Malcolm moved to Maine in 1978. Then I bought a summer home on a lake in the woods in Maine where we spent weekends. Since we’ve both retired, we have spent our summers up in Maine for the last 10 or 12 years.

One of the things that Malcolm likes to say is that we used to bird while we traveled because we’re both avid and passionate travelers. But now, birding is often a primary purpose of our travels. I can’t remember a trip in the last 15 years where we didn’t bird. The binoculars are always with us.

Malcolm: Before Peru, we’d made two previous trips to the Ecuadorian Amazon as part of our various adventures, and I think it really elicited my longer-term interest in the Amazon just by being in those places.

Eleanor and Malcom in front of the Madre de Dios river which leads to our Los Amigos Biological Station.

What initially inspired you to care for the environment generally and the Amazon specifically?

Eleanor: I would say the initial interest was birding, as well as being a global citizen, but it’s also recognizing how crucial the Amazon is to the health of the planet overall. It’s so vitally important, so the work to protect the Amazon has ramifications for everybody.

[The Amazon is] so vitally important, so the work to protect the Amazon has ramifications for everybody.

Malcolm: The whole notion of preventing deforestation and on the other hand watching as the numbers come in year by year, particularly from Brazil but also from other places, just how much has been lost and is being lost makes the conservation for the “lungs of the planet” all the more important.

Eleanor: When we were in Peru taking the boat down the Madre de Dios River, we saw a lot of illegal gold mining. It was stunning and shocking in a very negative way to see how much of that was going on. That brought home the destruction of the environment that was occurring, even in very remote locations, and at Los Amigos [Biological Station] where we stayed for a few days, you could just look across the river and see the mining and logging going on right there. It was depressing.

How did you initially learn about Amazon Conservation’s work?

Eleanor: We learned about Amazon Conservation during our trip to Peru, where we stayed at Wayqecha, Manu, and Los Amigos Biological Stations. At Los Amigos, we had an evening presentation by one of the researchers there at the biological station, which was really interesting. So we knew about you through that introduction, and then later more intimately through our friends Laura and Charles when we were sharing notes about our trip. We worked with a man in Cuzco who plans birding trips, and he booked us at your biological stations. We were very happy to learn about it and it was fascinating to learn about all of the different work going on at each of the different locations. It was quite impressive.

Malcolm: One of the high points for me was meeting all the young scientists who were working at the stations. The interesting work they were doing, and the opportunity to see the way in which the kids, two generations down from us, are getting engaged with that kind of work.

Eleanor: Right, kids marching off at 4:30 or 5 in the morning to go sit at the base of the trees where the monkeys were and counting vocalizations – it was very cool.

Eleanor: Over the last 10 or 12 years, we have tried to keep our giving local to Maine, where we know it makes an impact and we know the people involved in the non-governmental organizations or non-profits. That’s different from how we used to give 15 or 20 years ago. Amazon Conservation is really one of the only bigger picture, larger, non-Maine 501(c)3s that we choose to donate to because the work is so important.

What is it about Amazon Conservation that sticks out and motivates you to support our work compared to other organizations?

Eleanor: One of the things that strikes me is that you have so many partners and that the local communities are up front and center in the work you do, as well as the government agencies who are also important. But the fact that you’re working with Indigenous communities, that the projects are all science-based, and that you are on the ground doing the actual work to protect and conserve the Amazon.

Malcolm: On all of our birding expeditions, we have been fortunate to have the opportunity to meet and be with members of Indigenous communities in their communities. That’s been really important and great. So to see how much you are doing to empower local communities as part of the partnerships really resonates with what we care about.

So to see how much you are doing to empower local communities as part of the partnerships really resonates with what we care about.

Eleanor: Way too many organizations come into a place and tell communities, “This is what you should do.” We know better, and we don’t get that from Amazon Conservation.

We also think your website is excellent. It has so much information, is easy to navigate and it tells the story of Amazon Conservation in a powerful way.

Is there a specific program or initiative that stands out to you most?

Malcolm: I’m increasingly interested in knowing that your “heartbeat” has always been Peru and Bolivia, but I think the whole MAAP program is really a step ahead in reaching the whole Amazon. We’re planning a trip to Guyana soon, at the northern end of the Amazon, and it’s great to know MAAP has even done work up there.

What would you say to other environmentally-conscious people who want to make a difference in the Amazon and help fight climate change?

Malcolm: I would be happy to tell anybody about the 3-pronged, thoughtful, well-conceived plan of action that you folks are branching out with in all directions. It’s not just focused on one species, but your combination of science and on-the-ground work seems like a great way forward for an organization like this.

Eleanor: I also think that it’s so important that there’s a plan, a 10-year plan for really getting work done that you’re constantly evaluating and re-evaluating to see whether you’re going in the direction that you want to be going, but the idea of having an overarching plan with strategic steps, partners, and science supporting it makes a big difference in terms of making an impact.

Do you have anything else to add that you’d like people to know?

Eleanor: You’re a great organization doing good work on the ground with local partners, based on science and technology, and trying to maintain healthy biodiversity that’s critical for the longevity of this planet. What’s more important than that?

 

In previous MAAP reports, such as MAAP #199, NASA’s GEDI data has helped measure an estimate of above-ground biomass density per hectare (Mg/ha) which can then be converted to aboveground carbon estimates. Despite this advance, these lasers used by NASA, have not yet achieved full coverage in the Amazon, leaving considerable gaps in the data and resulting maps.

Our newest report MAAP #213 features two new tools that will help us fill in these gaps and provide a more detailed estimate of aboveground biomass for specific areas.

The first is the OBI-WAN forest carbon reporting app, which uses statistical inference to produce mean, total, and uncertainty estimates for biomass baselines at any given scale (from local to worldwide). The second is a fused product from GEDI and TanDEM-X missions. The combination of lidar (GEDI) and radar (TanDEM-X) has started to produce unmatched maps that combine the ability of lidar to retrieve forest structure and the ability of radar to offer wall-to-wall coverage at multiple resolutions.

With the aid of these two tools, this report focuses on estimating aboveground carbon for two critical land designations in the Amazon: protected areas and indigenous territories. Both are critical to the long-term conservation of the Amazon, and we hope that providing precise carbon data will provide additional incentives for their long-term conservation.

Read the full report here.

The Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa) is a key product of wild collection in the Amazon forests and serves as a crucial source of income for families in the Madre de Dios region of Peru. For years, our alliance with our sister organizations Conservación Amazónica – ACCA and Conservación Amazónica – ACEAA has helped Brazil nut, açaí, and other forest product harvesters earn organic certifications to follow forest-friendly guidelines that keep production sustainable and mitigate harm to Amazonian forests. 

What exactly is the significance of organic certification? Organic certification is an incentive mechanism that assesses sustainable wild production for the development of specific markets. Producers must develop proper pre and post-harvest precautions and complete information specific to the harvesting of forest products like Brazil nuts, as well as follow specific norms for organic wild production. Official certification is granted by the international certifier CERES – Certification of Environmental Standards after a long process of inspection, assessments, and evaluation of supporting documentation by a certification committee. 

Overall, these certifications, in combination with Peruvian harvesting laws and standards, help to ensure that safe harvesting practices are being implemented without depleting natural forest resources. Recently, Conservación Amazónica – ACCA began working with 48 Amazonian Brazil nut collectors to help renew their organic certification as they underwent the Conformity Evaluation Service, which is based on national and international regulations for organic certification, such as Peruvian Law 29196 for the Promotion of Organic or Ecological Production, as well as the regulations of the European Union, the United States, and Canada. To follow these guidelines to maintain their certification, these Brazil nut harvesters have demonstrated how they avoid the use of contaminants and pesticides, while consistently training in compliance with Peruvian and international organic production standards. Additionally, they continue to implement the considerations of the Peruvian Technical Standard on Good Collection Practices to ensure production stays sustainable. 

Sustainable management of the Brazil nut is essential for ensuring stable livelihoods and contributing to forest protection, thereby supporting the sustainable economic development of these communities. Read more about our work with productive forest management here.

As leaders in conservation in the Amazon for the past 20+ years, we often receive questions from schools and students eager to learn more about the Amazon Rainforest and our conservation efforts. In this blog post, we provide some key information that we hope will be useful for your research and school projects. 

Unfortunately, due to limited time and capacity, our very small team based in Washington, DC cannot participate in interviews for school projects at this time. However, we hope this FAQ document and the resources listed below will help students gain a better understanding of the Amazon Rainforest and our efforts to protect it.

ABOUT THE AMAZON RAINFOREST

Why is the Amazon Rainforest important? 

The Amazon is home to more than 10% of the world’s known wildlife species, with more than 100 new species discovered each year. It is an incredibly diverse ecosystem consisting of forests, rivers, and savannas that all work together to help regulate the planet’s climate by absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and sequestering it into the ground. Additionally, the Amazon is not only home to a diverse range of fauna and flora, but also to local Indigenous communities and over 400 tribes, each with a distinct culture, language, and territory. These people rely on resources from their forests for their daily needs, such as food, water, fiber, and traditional medicine. Protecting a healthy forest ecosystem in the Amazon helps conserve biodiversity and resources important for the survival of local people and the whole planet.

You can learn more about why the Amazon is important here. 

How big is the Amazon?

The Amazon basin covers more than 1.6 billion acres across nine countries (Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname). It contains the single largest tropical rainforest on the planet and covers about 40% of the South American continent. These forests stretch from the eastern foothills of the Andes Mountains to the upland glaciers, streams, and wetlands that feed the Amazon rivers which end up in the Atlantic Ocean. 

Why is the Amazon being deforested and what are the main drivers of deforestation?

The main drivers of deforestation vary by region and country, so there is no single reason why the Amazon is being deforested. In reality, it’s a complex combination of reasons. Forests are sometimes cut down and cleared for the expansion of farms and agriculture, the conversion of land to cattle pasture, and illegal economic activities like logging and mining. The Amazon is also damaged by fires (in the form of forest fires as well as human-started fires for slash-and-burn agriculture or cattle ranching that may spread out of control), poorly-planned infrastructure (such as roads, which increase access deep into the forest and dams that often cause flooding and alter river structure and paths over time), and climate change (which often causes more extreme weather events like droughts and floods).

You can learn more about threats to the Amazon here.

How does deforestation impact wildlife/fauna and flora?

Deforestation affects habitats and can limit important resources for native flora and fauna, which can cause declining populations or even contribute to the extinction of a species. Each plant and animal plays a vital role in the rainforest ecosystem. If one species is affected, it creates a chain reaction that affects others. For example, keystone species such as the Andean bear (also called the spectacled bear) are vital for seed dispersal. The Andean bear eats fruits and plants, and the seeds of those fruits and plants are generally returned to the soil through the bears’ feces. Because these bears travel far across their large home ranges, they are able to “plant” seeds of various species across long distances, helping regenerate the forest and keep ecosystems diverse as the seeds grow into new plants and trees. When the forest is deforested, the bears’ habitat gets smaller and food sources become more limited, which affects the diversity of plants they eat and their ability to disperse seeds across larger areas. These limitations lead to less plant growth, less plant diversity, and a less healthy forest ecosystem overall. Having a smaller habitat can also limit their ability to find sufficient food sources or meet a mate to reproduce. With forest habitats continuing to be threatened by deforestation and climate change, the Andean bear is considered a species vulnerable to extinction.

What is biodiversity and why is it important for the Amazon?  

Short for “biological diversity,” “biodiversity” is a term that refers to the diverse array of wild plants and animals within an ecosystem. The Amazon is home to a wide variety of species (for example, it’s home to more than 7,500 species of butterflies!), each playing an important and unique role necessary for the ecosystem to thrive. The Amazon is considered by many scientists to be the most biodiverse place on the planet as it contains more species of plants and animals than any other terrestrial ecosystem. When one component of an ecosystem is thrown off, the entire ecosystem can become imbalanced, so protecting biological diversity is extremely important. Some ways to promote and protect biological diversity in the Amazon include pollination, seed dispersal, population and pest control, nutrient cycling, and more. 

Read more about biodiversity and its importance here. 

How many species are there in the Amazon? What are some of the most endangered species in the Amazon? 

The Amazon Rainforest is the most biodiverse place on the planet. It is home to more than 3 million species of animals and plants, including 400 mammal species, 1,300 bird species, 350 reptile species, and 400 amphibian species, and each year, 100+ new species are discovered. Many of these species are endemic, meaning they are only found in the Amazon. It is also home to over 2,700 threatened or endangered species that are important to the overall health of our planet. Some notable endangered species in the Amazon are the jaguar, spectacled bear, giant armadillo, tapir, giant anteater, and the harpy eagle.

Read more about species in the Amazon here.

How does climate change impact the Amazon, its people, fauna, and flora?

The Amazon is home to the greatest diversity of wildlife on the planet and is the birthplace of the waters that feed the Amazon River basin. Additionally, dozens of Indigenous groups, including several uncontacted tribes, reside in the region and depend on its forests and waters to continue their largely traditional lifestyle. As climate change affects global weather patterns, warmer and dryer periods will bring new stresses such as droughts, and make yearly fire seasons even more devastating, limiting critical water and forest resources that people and wildlife depend on.

Why should people care about the Amazon? How is it connected to our daily lives for those of us who live far away from it?

The Amazon’s role as a climate regulator is critical as the planet gets hotter and drier. Amazon forests store over 150 billion metric tons of carbon—more than a third of all the carbon stored in tropical forests worldwide—and they absorb 2 billion tons of CO2 each year, representing five percent of global annual emissions. This helps limit the amount of greenhouse gases present in the atmosphere, leading to less heat being trapped in the air, and keeping temperatures stable. 

The world’s ecosystems are also interconnected and interdependent, and declining ecosystem health in one region can impact ecosystems and species near and far. For example, many migratory bird species go to the Amazon during colder months in the northern hemisphere. If they don’t find the food sources and habitat in the Amazon before they need to make the journey back north in the warmer months, these populations will decline and alter ecosystems in North America.

What are some resources to learn more about the Amazon Rainforest?

Other fellow conservation organizations have created wonderful resources specifically for teachers and students, such as this one and this one. 

ABOUT AMAZON CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION

What is Amazon Conservation doing to protect the Amazon Rainforest?

We’re the type of non-profit organization that does a little bit of everything — whatever it takes to protect the forest! Conservation to us is not a one-size-fits-all solution. As the Amazon Rainforest is so vast and diverse, it requires a big-picture approach that adapts to the needs of each region and its people. 

Our comprehensive approach to conservation is developed from three key areas of work: protecting wild places, empowering people, and putting science and technology to work. Together, these areas allow us to create conservation solutions to benefit both nature and people. Some examples of the work we do include reforestation, creating new protected areas, sustainably managing existing protected areas, helping local people build sustainable economies from natural resources from the forest, using technology to stop illegal deforestation, creating spaces for scientists and students to do research in the Amazon, and so much more. 

How we work in the Amazon is also important and unique. We are an alliance of three local sister organizations (Amazon Conservation in the US, Conservación Amazónica-ACCA in Peru, and Conservación Amazónica-ACEAA in Bolivia). We have the shared goal of protecting the Amazon and working together to increase each organization’s impact. We also have an impact in other Amazonian countries like Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Suriname by working with local partners to detect and stop deforestation as it’s happening through our Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Program (MAAP). To implement our on-the-ground efforts, we collaborate a lot with local communities, governments, Indigenous groups, scientists, and other non-governmental organizations. 

Read more about our conservation approach and strategy here.

Where does Amazon Conservation work?

We work on the ground across five interconnected landscapes in Peru and Bolivia: the Manu-Madidi Biodiversity Corridor, Uncontacted Indigenous Peoples Homeland, Productive Forests, Andean Living Waters, and Amazon savannas. Each of these unique landscapes is home to diverse ecosystems, each with its own threats and opportunities, which provide the basis for our unique conservation solutions. Our bold new strategy increases our impact by ensuring the long-term conservation of these 124 million acres of forests, savannas, wetlands, glaciers, and other irreplaceable habitats in these regions. In addition to our work on the ground, our real-time monitoring covers the entirety of the Amazon basin, providing local people, decision-makers, the media, and the general public with key analysis of what is happening across the region to help drive action locally and at scale.

Read more about these landscapes here.

What is the Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Program (MAAP) and how does it help combat deforestation? 

Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Program (MAAP) is an initiative of Amazon Conservation to help stop deforestation in the Amazon. We use satellite technology to monitor deforestation across the entire Amazon as it happens (what we call “real-time”), and then we provide this important information in an easy-to-understand format to policymakers, civil society, researchers, local organizations, media, and the general public so that collective action can be taken against deforestation. We also help empower local people with the data, tools, and technology they need to be able to fight crimes against the forest, such as illegal logging, mining, and wildlife trafficking. 

This program is unique because it uses technology to speed up the process of locating, documenting, and stopping deforestation activities. Before MAAP launched in 2015, it could take months or years before local authorities discovered illegal deforestation in the Amazon because the rainforest is so remote, dense, and difficult to navigate. Local authorities would have to take long boat rides or patrol on foot for days to look for and document where deforestation was happening. The people doing the illegal activities would often move on to their next site within weeks or months, much faster than authorities could organize a team to stop them. This changed with advances in technology and MAAP. Now, we can use satellite images to pinpoint where the deforestation is taking place within a matter of hours or days, and then inform the local authorities of the exact coordinates for where to find the perpetrators and stop the illegal deforestation quickly. So now, instead of letting deforestation go on unnoticed and spread quickly for months or years before it can be stopped, we are able to give local authorities the tools to stop them quickly without spending as much time and as many resources navigating the remote forest.

Visit our MAAP website to learn more.

What can I/my classroom/my school do to help protect the Amazon Rainforest? 

You’re already helping us by sharing a little bit about the Amazon Rainforest with your friends, families, and classmates/students! Sharing this information helps educate people about why the rainforest is so important and how – even though it seems really far away from us – it is very interconnected with our daily lives. 

If you want to go above and beyond to make a difference in the lives of the wildlife and people living in the Amazon, you can create a fundraising campaign for Amazon Conservation, such as organizing a bake sale or lemonade stand, or consider asking for donations from your family and friends for your birthday or special celebration. All donations enable us to make conservation happen across the Amazon and without them, we would not be able to protect the rainforest. Every penny helps, but most importantly, be creative and have fun!

Another way to support our work is to share our content on social media, which helps amplify the voices of the Amazonian people we represent and spreads awareness of the importance of Amazon (we are on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, and LinkedIn).

Learn more about what you can do for the Amazon here.  

What are some resources to learn more about the Amazon Conservation Association?

You can learn more about Amazon Conservation and our conservation efforts by signing up for our newsletter, reading our monthly blog posts, or following our social media pages (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, and LinkedIn). You can also read more about the current state of the Amazon through our MAAP website. 

Gold Mining is one of the major deforestation drivers across the Amazon, often targeting remote areas such as protected areas and indigenous territories. Given the vastness of the Amazon, accurately monitoring mining deforestation in the most real-time, up-to-date format has been a challenge.

To help better analyze deforestation patterns, our latest MAAP report, MAAP #212, gathers results from a new machine learning-based tool known as Amazon Mining Watch, which analyzes satellite imagery archives to detect mining deforestation across the entire Amazon. Machine learning, a subset of artificial intelligence (AI), focuses on the development of algorithms and statistical models that allow computers to learn from and make predictions or decisions based on data. In this case, the use of machine learning in MAAP helps provide a more prompt and accurate analysis of mining deforestation across the entire biome by producing 10-meter resolution mining deforestation alerts based on the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellite imagery. The alerts currently cover each year annually from 2018 to 2023.

This data collected from Amazon Mining Watch reveals that gold mining is actively causing deforestation in all nine countries of the Amazon Biome.

We estimate that as of 2018, there was a historical mining deforestation footprint of over 963,000 hectares across the Amazon. Between 2019 and 2023, we estimate the mining deforestation footprint grew by over 944,000 hectares (2.3 million acres).

Thus, of the total accumulated mining deforestation footprint of over 1.9 million hectares (4.7 million acres), about half has occurred in just the past five years.

The countries with the most overall mining deforestation are 1) Brazil 55%, 2) Guyana (15%), 3) Suriname (12%), 4) Venezuela (7%), and 5) Peru (7%).

We also present five case studies that highlight the power of the data to see recent trends in mining deforestation.

A. Southern Peruvian Amazon. In one of the most emblematic mining sites in the Amazon, we recorded over 135,000 hectares of mining deforestation, of which 38% (51,000 ha) has occurred in just the past five years. We also highlight that 41% (55,000 hectares) is likely illegal.

B. Brazilian Amazon – Yanomami Indigenous Territory. The data shows a major escalation and expansion of gold mining deforestation since 2018, especially along the Uraricoera and Mucajai Rivers. Specifically, we documented the total mining deforestation of over 19,000 hectares, of which the vast majority (93%) has occurred in just the past five years.

C. Brazilian Amazon – Kayapó Indigenous Territory. We documented the mining deforestation of nearly 50,000 hectares, of which 60% (30,000 has) has occurred in just the past five years.

D. Venezuelan Amazon – Yapacana National Park. We documented the mining deforestation of over 6,000 hectares in the southern part of the park, of which just over half (52%) has occurred in just the past five years.

E. Ecuadorian Amazon – Punino zone. We documented the mining deforestation of over 500 hectares in the Punino River area, of which 100% is new (starting in 2023).

Read the full report here.

In addition to our incredibly dedicated staff members, our Board of Directors is made up of passionate science, business, and civic leaders who provide their expertise and financial support to help guide our mission in the most strategic direction. With their commitment to protecting the Amazon Rainforest, we can help take action on the ground for both people and wildlife.

For Board Chair Jim Brumm, who joined Amazon Conservation’s Board of Directors in 2016, the great outdoors has always been a place of solace, especially for bird watching. He has traveled near and far to marvel at the vast array of bird species across the globe and was lucky enough to find the opportunity to become a Board Member through this passion. Jim is also deeply interested in and committed to conservation, Indigenous peoples, and community rights and development, and has served and continues to serve on a number of boards involved in bird conservation, Indigenous peoples’ rights, animal welfare, and conservation science.

Read on to learn about Jim’s journey to taking an active role in protecting the Amazon rainforest!

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Can you tell us a little about you?

I grew up in Fresno in Central California and lived there through college. I then went east to go to law school and after becoming a lawyer I worked in law firms in New York and Tokyo. In between New York and Tokyo, I traveled in a camping van through Europe, North Africa, and the Soviet Union for nine months and not only saw big cities and small towns but camped on beaches in southern Morocco, in the Sahara desert beyond the Atlas Mountains and north of the Arctic Circle. This journey gave me an appreciation of how we are all interconnected and how nature is one. I’ve lived in Japan for a total of five years and in Australia for one year and have traveled extensively for work and for environmental non-profit efforts I have had many opportunities to see how the world is changing and how the environment is being impacted. I spent most of my work career at a major Japanese trading company, Mitsubishi Corporation, and was their executive vice president and general counsel in the US. I was also on the board of directors in Japan. I have over the years and currently serve on a number of NGO boards, primarily bird and environmental conservation, and Indigenous people’s rights. I love being in the outdoors and exploring new places. I am not very good but I am a very enthusiastic birder and have birded on every continent except Antarctica.

What got you interested in environmental conservation?

When I was growing up in Central California, I often went camping and spent time in the Sierras and enjoyed nature. However, beyond a general interest in nature and in environmental conservation, I was not actively engaged until the company where I worked, Mitsubishi Corporation, became the target of an environmental campaign. I was put in charge of responding to the campaign. I realized I needed to understand the underlying issues involved and so I began to research the issues and the organizations involved in protecting the environment. Through that engagement in environmental issues, I came to recognize the threats to the environment and how important it was to protect the environment. Once I understood that, I knew I had to become involved in protecting the environment.

How did you initially learn about Amazon Conservation?

The first time I encountered Amazon Conservation was when co-founder Adrian Forsyth speaking at an American Bird Conservancy (ABC) event. Amazon Conservation sometimes used space from ABC so I sometimes met Adrian after that. Jeff Woodman, who was on the ABC board with me and on Amazon Conservation’s board of directors at the time, invited me and my wife Yuko to travel to Manu to see the work Amazon Conservation was doing. We stayed at the Conservación Amazónica-ACCA lodges at Wayqecha and Villa Carmen (now called Manu Biolodge), visited local villages and birded down the Manu road. I saw the beauty of Manu but also was made aware of the threats to its preservation. I also saw first-hand what Amazon Conservation and its sister organization Conservación Amazónica-ACCA were doing to protect the Amazon and knew I wanted to be involved.

As a Board Member, what are you most impressed/proud of from Amazon Conservation?

I am continually impressed with and awed by the enthusiasm, dedication and commitment of the staff and the board members of Amazon Conservation and its two sister organizations in Peru and Bolivia. These are people who are deeply committed to saving the Amazon and who have made sacrifices for the sake of the environment and for all of us. The staff are very talented and have the skills and expertise needed to accomplish what they are committed doing and are great collaborators with each other and with the people who live in the Amazon and the governments, bilateral and multilateral institutions and other NGOs engaged in protecting the Amazon. They are effectively carrying out and building on the vision and accomplishments of Amazon Conservation’s co-founders, Adrian Forsyth and Enrique Ortiz.

What have you learned from being a Board Member?

I have come to have a much deeper understanding of the importance of the Amazon, its threats and how best to preserve it and the livelihoods of the people who live there. I have been able to see firsthand how a shared vision among the staff and board of Amazon Conservation and the staff and board of Amazon Conservation’s two sister organizations (Conservación Amazónica-ACCA in Peru and Conservación Amazónica-ACEAA in Bolivia) executed by dedicated staff can effectively work on the ground to protect the Amazon. I have also experienced the joy of working with board members engaged in a common mission and learning from them in so many ways.

Why do you think it is important to protect the Amazon rainforest?

As the world’s largest rainforest, failure to protect it will have disastrous consequences for the world’s climate. If we don’t protect it, not only will the people who live in the Amazon and who are dependent on it remaining sustainable be harmed, but also the world at large will suffer serious consequences. Not only does the Amazon encompass the single largest remaining tropical rainforest in the world, it also houses at least 10% of the world’s known biodiversity, including endemic and endangered flora and fauna, and its river accounts for 15-16% of the world’s total river discharge into the oceans. The loss of this biodiversity would have catastrophic consequences beyond our imagination.

What would you say to other environmentally-conscious people who want to make a difference in the Amazon and help fight climate change?

Contribute financially to the organizations engaged in protecting the Amazon, get involved as volunteers and as board members of those organizations. Become politically active in supporting legislation and government funding for the Amazon. Visit the Amazon and see for yourself the beauty of the Amazon and deepen your understanding of the threats and challenges to the Amazon and appreciate how the efforts of organizations like Amazon Conservation are making a difference.

Do you have anything else to add that you’d like people to know?

I find working with the people at Amazon Conservation, their sister organizations, and their other partners one of the most rewarding endeavors of my life.

 

Our newest MAAP report, MAAP #196, shows the results of the socio-environmental impacts caused by illegal mining using a unique tool, the “Illegal Gold Mining Impact Calculator” developed by Conservation Strategy Fund – CSF.

Illegal gold mining has generated massive deforestation in the southern Peruvian Amazon (MAAP #208), and has contaminated the area’s major rivers, tributaries, and secondary water bodies with toxic substances such as mercury and arsenic. Thus, illegal mining generates large economic losses due to the direct impact on biodiversity, ecosystem services, and other more sustainable economic activities.

Quantifying these impacts in monetary terms has been a challenge for national authorities lacking adequate instruments for establishing economic values of illegal mining’s negative impact on the Amazon. In this context, the organization Conservation Strategy Fund (CSF) recently presented the Mining Impacts Calculator. This novel digital economic valuation tool allows users to calculate the social and environmental cost of illegal gold mining in the Amazon.

These results show an economic loss of 593 million dollars for the socio-environmental impacts generated by deforestation, sedimentation, and contamination in just the short period between January 2022 and August 2023.

Read the full report here.

As of late April, Amazon Conservation has officially become a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), an institution that unites governments and civil society to advance sustainable development for a world that deeply values nature. 

With over 1,400 member organizations and and a network of over 16,000 scientists, the IUCN drives conservation among organizations across multi-national levels to bring the necessary, knowledge, tools, and resources to progress toward safeguarding the natural world. Since its creation in 1948, it has become the world’s most prevalent environmental network and continues to build on human and economic development to address key conservation areas such as species survival, environmental law, protected areas, social and economic policy, ecosystem management, and education and communication. Each organization in the IUCN plays a unique role in a democratic process, where they can contribute to discussions, agendas, and resolutions that develop the foundation for global conservation. This system has helped to establish significant environmental agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

To expand our reach across the Amazon and globally, Amazon Conservation has formed alliances and partnerships both on the ground and internationally to strengthen conservation efforts and maximize its impacts. Starting in Peru, we began working with local government officials and organizations to address gaps in deforestation prevention to improve technological capacity for forest monitoring and help indigenous communities defend their territories. While it is urgent that we address solutions to deforestation to help protect lands, we also recognize that the Amazon has become vulnerable to other threats such as wildlife trade, land conversion, and various other illegal activities. Considering this, we co-founded the Nature Crime Alliance, a global multi-sector initiative led by the World Resources Institute (WRI) to fight environmental crimes across the globe. 

Now, as a part of the IUCN, we aim to continue expanding our allyships to raise awareness for nature-positive solutions and strengthen our efforts to help combat negative climate and environmental impacts in the Amazon.

Thanks to support from USAID (United States Agency for International Development) and NORAD (Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation), we’ve been able to publish a series of reports on the dynamic situation of gold mining in the southern Peruvian Amazon over the past several years.

Illegal gold mining continues to raise concern in this area, eliminating thousands of hectares of primary forest in the Madre de Dios region. The Peruvian government responded to this crisis with Operation Mercury at the beginning of 2019, followed by the Restoration Plan in 2021. MAAP #208 summarizes the complex mining situation from January 2021 to March 2024 in the southern Peruvian Amazon and outlines the gradual effects of illegal mining on its forests.

We documented the total mining deforestation of 30,846 hectares (76,200 acres) during this period, equivalent to over 40,000 soccer fields. Of this total, three-quarters (74%) of mining deforestation has occurred within the Mining Corridor, a large area where the government permits small-scale mining as part of a formalization process. Thus, the vast majority of mining deforestation is not necessarily illegal, because it is in the corridor designated for this activity. The remaining one-quarter (26%) of mining deforestation corresponds to probable illegal mining occurring in prohibited areas outside the Mining Corridor.

The majority of this illegal mining deforestation is occurring in Native Communities and buffer zones of Protected Areas. Additionally, in the second half of the report, we describe (for the first time) our strategic collaboration with the regional representative organization of indigenous peoples, known as FENAMAD. This process has led to the execution of 5 major government operations between 2022 and 2024.

Read the full report here.