While Black Friday often fuels overconsumption, its alternative Green Friday offers something different—a moment to pause, reflect, and choose impact over excess. It’s an opportunity to uplift businesses that intentionally center sustainability, community, and environmental stewardship in everything they do. These companies measure success not only in profit, but in the real, lasting good they generate for people and the planet.

At Amazon Conservation, we believe every choice matters. When you support businesses that prioritize responsibility and purpose, you help protect the Amazon rainforest, empower Indigenous and local communities, and invest in a healthier future for all.

This Green Friday, we’re proud to spotlight partners who embody these values, and share simple ways you can amplify your impact.

 

Meet Our Green Friday Business Partners 🌿

1. Ecowellness Journeys:   Earlier this month, EcoWellness Journeys, created by Heather Murata, partnered with Amazon Conservation to launch an 8-part Amazon Rainforest video series. The series blends EcoWellness Journeys’ commitment to wellness and mindful living with our mission to protect the Amazon. Viewers explore rainforest biodiversity, Indigenous knowledge, and the deep connections between human and planetary health.

EcoWellness Journeys invites audiences to learn, reflect, and embrace mindful lifestyle choices that honor both people and the planet. 👉 Watch the Video Series here

2. Amazonia Concept: Founded in Amsterdam in 2022 by Raquel Fernandes da Silva, Amazonia Concept is more than a beauty salon—it’s a commitment to sustainability. Inspired by her Brazilian roots and lifelong dedication to protecting biodiversity, Raquel built her business to give back from day one. Through a partnership with Amazon Conservation, Amazonia Concept raises awareness among clients and contributes collective donations to reforestation efforts at the headwaters of the Amazon. 👉 Learn more about Amazonia Concept here

3. SPARKLiNUTS: SPARKLiNUTS is a newly-launched coconut water brand dedicated to giving back. By donating a portion of profits to wildlife conservation efforts in South America—including Amazon Conservation—SPARKLiNUTS ensures that every sip supports biodiversity and rainforest protection. 👉 Shop SPARKLiNUTS here

4. Marc Skid: Marc Skid is an underwear brand built with sustainability and generosity at its core. Made from organic Peruvian Pima cotton grown on family farms without GMOs, each waistband is crafted from a recycled plastic water bottle. With every purchase, $4 is donated to a charity of your choice—be sure to select Save The World / Amazon Conservation at checkout to directly support rainforest protection.  👉 Shop Marc Skid here

 

🌱 Other Ways to Support Sustainable Businesses on Green Friday

Beyond these inspiring business supporters, here are three other partner platforms that offer unique ways to align your values with intentional businesses:

• 1% For the Planet: Join a global network of businesses and individuals committed to tackling pressing environmental issues. By supporting companies that pledge 1% of sales to environmental causes, your purchases contribute to lasting change.
• Shopping Gives: This platform partners with retailers to align your purchases with causes you care about, making it easy to shop with impact.
• MyGivmo: A user-friendly app that enables passive fundraising by verifying blockchain transactions in the background, generating small rewards that can be directed to charities of your choice.

💚 This Green Friday, Choose Impact Over Excess

Green Friday is about more than shopping—it’s about supporting businesses that act with intention. By choosing partners who prioritize sustainability and platforms that make giving back easy, you’re helping protect the Amazon, strengthen local communities, and support a thriving, resilient planet for all.

If you’re a business looking to make a difference, we’d love to connect (send us an email). Reach out to Amazon Conservation to explore partnership opportunities and join the growing community of companies committed to protecting the Amazon and building a sustainable future.

This Green Friday, let’s stand with purpose-driven businesses and turn consumer power into conservation power.

 

 

 

On this day of giving thanks, we pause to honor the people who make meaningful work possible. For us, that includes you.

Across the Bolivian and Peruvian Amazon, our partners wanted to share something simple yet profound: their gratitude. Today, we bring you a short video with messages from forest stewards, Indigenous leaders, forest producers, and families whose daily efforts keep the Amazon resilient. Their words come directly from the field and speak for themselves.

Why Your Support Matters

Because of supporters like you, communities across the Amazon are building sustainable livelihoods that keep forests standing. You help ensure that local and Indigenous leaders have the tools needed to defend their territories. You help strengthen the technology and networks needed to confront the greatest threats to the forest. And you help safeguard one of the world’s most vital ecosystems for generations to come.

Your generosity doesn’t just protect trees—it protects opportunities, dignity, and dreams.

A Message From the Amazon to You

We invite you to take a moment to watch the video below and hear gratitude directly from our partners on the ground. Their voices say it better than we ever could.

From All of Us, With Thanks

As you gather with loved ones today, know that your compassion stretches far beyond your table. It reaches deep into the Amazon, where your support is helping build thriving and resilient communities and forests.

Thank you for standing with the Amazon—today and every day.

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Amazon Conservation.

 

 

 

When COP30 opened its doors in Belém, Brazil, the first United Nations climate summit ever held in the Amazon, it became clear that the world had arrived not only to negotiate but also to listen. With more than 190 countries represented, over 50,000 delegates gathered, and historic participation from more than 2,500 Indigenous leaders,  this COP took on a different tone: grounded in territory, science, and lived experience.

For Amazon Conservation, the summit reinforced a message we have carried for more than 25 years: the Amazon’s future depends on collaboration across borders and sectors. Throughout the week, our events at the Socioenvironmental Journalism House, the Center for Climate Crisis Analysis (CCCA) Climate Hub, and the Colombian Pavilion brought scientists, journalists, civil society and grassroots organizations, policymakers, and forest-based specialists together to discuss actionable solutions for the region.

Science, Monitoring, and Regional Leadership

 

Working alongside our sister organizations Conservación Amazónica-ACCA (Peru) and Conservación Amazónica-ACEAA (Bolivia), we contributed to multiple science-driven discussions throughout COP30. At the session “Amazon Tipping Point at a Bay,” Conservación Amazónica-ACEAA’s Executive Director Marcos Terán emphasized that the tipping point is not only an ecological threshold but also a social one. He noted that “as climate impacts intensify, entire communities and even industries in the eastern Amazon may be forced to migrate westward, accelerating existing pressures. Financial mechanisms must also support this social dimension — including restoration and the needs of climate migrants.”

Building on this regional perspective, Luciana Gatti, from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) connected 46 years of atmospheric and climate data to the findings of our Monitoring of the Andes Amazon Program’s (MAAP) findings on drying patterns and vulnerability. She emphasized that “the more deforested a region is, the more rainfall it loses and the more its temperature increases — especially during the dry season. The time for action is now.”

 

Amazon Mining Watch and Environmental Crime

 

Illegal gold mining was a notable common concern throughout discussions on governance and environmental crime. Amazon Mining Watch (AMW), which we developed with Earth Genome and the Pulitzer Center and implemented with partners such as Fundación EcoCiencia and Instituto Centro de Vida, became an essential tool for journalists, civil society, and Indigenous organizations to address these concerns.

Carmen Josse, Executive Director at Fundación EcoCiencia, highlighted AMW’s added value for cross-border collaboration. She noted that “the platform’s ability to compare legal, fiscal, and enforcement frameworks across countries using the same methodology is extremely valuable, and it helps promote dialogue between authorities in neighboring countries.”

Maria Franco Chuaire, Program Officer at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, reinforced the need for basin-wide coordination: “We need basin-wide solutions, and this alliance with Amazon Conservation — which works with organizations across different countries — is essential to address both local challenges and shared challenges that require transboundary and connected responses.”

We also supported a civil society mapping effort in a working group at COP, for which we are now gathering information for the next steps of the World Bank’s Amazon Sustainable Landscapes Program (ASL) to coordinate responses to environmental crime.

 

Forest-Based Economies and Local Leadership

Conversations about sustainable value chains of Amazon forest products, including Brazil nuts, açaí, cacao, and others, drew on more than a decade of work by our sister organizations Conservación Amazónica-ACCA and Conservación Amazónica-ACEAA in the Madre de Dios–Acre–Pando (MAP) region that covers an overlapping intersection of forest in Peru, Brazil, and Bolivia. Their experience supporting community-led production, expanding market access, and building climate resilience helped guide discussions about expanding forest-based economies, including in Brazil.

Across all sessions, one message remained clear: sustainable livelihoods must be built with local people at the center.

More than 200 participants joined us for six events we co-hosted, while another 60 partners gathered at our networking reception focused on halting illegal deforestation. Leaders from the Norwegian Development Agency (NICFI), the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and others emphasized long-term collaboration and trust. At the reception, Amazon Conservation President John Beavers reflected on how our approach is resonating across the basin, noting that “the great take-home is that there is great enthusiasm for the work we’re doing.Really, it’s about people; it’s about keeping those forests standing — whether it is applying the law or building a forest-based economy. We feel there is a lot of echo for what we’ve been saying in the region, and we feel great about the new partnerships we’re building and what the future holds for the Amazon.”

Outcomes of COP30

According to the United Nations, countries committed to mobilizing a collective $1.3 trillion annually by 2035; doubling adaptation finance by 2025 to build climate resilience, then tripling it by 2035; operationalizing the Loss and Damage Fund; launching the Global Implementation Accelerator; and establishing the Belém Mission to 1.5°C (34.7°F). Countries also pledged for the first time to counter climate disinformation.

However, the absence of a commitment to phase out fossil fuels — an objective supported by more than 80 countries — highlighted a major gap. Brazil announced plans for two new roadmaps: one to halt and reverse Amazon deforestation, and another to guide a just transition away from fossil fuels.

Looking Ahead

From science and monitoring to community-led economies and coordinated action on environmental crime, Amazon Conservation and our partners brought a unified, regionally grounded perspective to COP30. As the world moves on from negotiation towards implementation, we will continue working alongside the people who protect the Amazon every day.

Also, check out the InfoAmazonia story “At COP30, Researchers Call for Expansion of Brazil’s Zero Deforestation Target by 2030″ produced with Amazon Conservation scientific support by clicking here. 

 

What is National Philanthropy Day?

National Philanthropy Day, celebrated annually on November 15th since the 1980s, is dedicated to recognizing and reflecting on the impact of philanthropists like you, who selflessly share their resources to make the world a better place.

Why Do You Give?

National Philanthropy Day is a time to reflect on what motivates us to give and on the good that can come from giving. Amazon Conservation Board Member Jim Brumm shares why he has been supporting our mission for nearly a decade:

When visiting our biological research stations in 2016, Jim was inspired by the great work he saw on the ground from Amazon Conservation, both in better understanding the Amazon through science and in preventing illegal deforestation from logging and gold mining. 

But we can’t do it alone! We hope that the spirit of National Philanthropy Day has you even more inspired to join us today in our fight to keep the Amazon standing. Each gift helps protect the Amazon’s forests for people, wildlife, and the planet. 

Donate Today

Celebrating All the Ways You Give

The result is a strategic collaboration that blends Murata’s concept, storytelling, and production with Amazon Conservation’s field-based knowledge to produce a visually rich, educational, and emotionally compelling series. Viewers are taken from Waimea Valley to the heart of the Amazon, exploring its biodiversity, learning from Indigenous stewards, and understanding the urgent need for action to protect this irreplaceable ecosystem for future generations.

National Philanthropy Day is meant to serve as a thank-you for all forms of giving; whether it’s an annual contribution, a sustained, monthly gift, engaging your community by starting your own fundraiser, or naming Amazon Conservation as a beneficiary in your will or estate plan, your support motivates our work.

Don’t forget to check whether your impact can be doubled– your workplace may offer matches!

Plus, did you know that non-cash giving can actually save you money while making a greater impact in the Amazon? For example, a direct gift of appreciated stock can avoid capital gains taxes and be deducted from your taxable annual income! And without the additional step of liquidating your stock and donating cash, the transfer is not taxed, so the full market value of your stock goes right to the rainforest! You can expect to see similar benefits from other tax-smart giving options like Qualified Charitable Distributions, Donor-Advised Funds, and even cryptocurrency! Learn more by visiting our Ways to Give webpage.

⚠️In case you missed it: tax laws will change starting January 1, 2026. 

Make your gift today to maximize your tax benefits before these changes go into effect! Here are a few changes we can expect from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

1. For donors who itemize rather than claim the standard deduction:  

• Under the new rules, the first portion of charitable giving won’t be deductible for some donors, thereby reducing the after-tax value of gifts. To maximize their deductions, many donors are preemptively ‘bunching’ multiple years of gifts into 2025 to maximize their deductions– often via Donor-Advised Funds. 
• In addition to this ‘floor,’ new provisions will also add a cap that limits how much of your gift is deductible. This could significantly lower the tax benefits of giving, making 2025 a critical year to act. If you’re considering a substantial cash or stock gift, or planning to contribute to a Donor-Advised Fund, completing that gift by December 31 ensures that you can deduct under the current, more favorable rules.

2. For donors aged 65+: The Bill also created a new tax deduction this year for which only those aged 65+ are eligible. In addition to the pre-existing additional standard deduction for seniors, seniors may now claim an additional charitable deduction of up to $6,000 per individual. Make sure to take advantage of this change while it is in effect!

Donate Today

New platform reveals the expansion of mining fronts across protected areas and Indigenous territories as gold prices soar, but partnerships put science to work for enforcement and accountability. 

Belém, Brazil, November 2025 — Amazon Mining Watch confirms widespread gold mining-related deforestation impacting 222 protected areas and Indigenous territories across all nine Amazonian countries, marking the first time this activity has been mapped basin-wide with an AI tool in near-real time.

The findings, being launched at COP 30, are based on the first quarterly update of the Amazon Mining Watch, an AI-based monitoring platform developed through a partnership between Amazon Conservation Association, Earth Genome, and the Rainforest Investigations Network of the Pulitzer Center, with support from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

As gold prices shatter records, small-scale mining is driving forest loss across the Amazon Rainforest. Many new mining fronts are advancing into areas with legal protection where this type of deforestation is illegal, with 83 protected areas and 139 Indigenous territories already impacted.

“This shows that gold mining is not a local problem; it’s an Amazon-wide crisis that demands coordinated monitoring, enforcement, and accountability,” said Andrés Santana, Senior Manager for Combating Illegal Deforestation at Amazon Conservation. He adds that “uncontrolled gold mining deforestation is contributing to the factors pushing the Amazon closer to its tipping point. It’s paramount that we address this crisis with a comprehensive, regional response focused on dismantling organized crime, strengthening law enforcement, and empowering Indigenous and local peoples to defend their lands.”

 

Mining Fronts Expanding Across the Basin

The newest Amazon Mining Watch data confirms the expansion of gold-mining deforestation across the entire Amazon, with significant new fronts emerging in Peru, Brazil, and Venezuela. In Peru, recent activity has intensified within Indigenous territories and along key tributaries of the Amazon River. In Brazil, deforestation linked to gold mining continues to advance inside protected areas such as Tapajós and Jamanxim. It has now reached regions in the northeast for the first time. In Venezuela, satellite data shows growing mining pressure along the Orinoco River, near its border with Brazil. 

Additional cases of new gold mining fronts were also detected in other Amazonian countries, underscoring how this activity is spreading across borders and into ecosystems once considered intact.

 

Turning Detection Into Action

Amazon Mining Watch is advancing transparent and effective governance of gold mining across the region. Evolving into a one-stop shop for data and policy information, the platform integrates timely detection of new mining areas with land designation data to help users assess whether an activity is likely unauthorized or illegal. It also combines an economic impact assessment tool, developed by the Conservation Strategy Fund (CSF), that estimates the socio-environmental costs of mining damage. 

An upcoming policy tracker and governance scorecard that presents a comparative analysis of policy frameworks and regulations across countries will further enhance the Amazon Mining Watch.

Updated quarterly and enriched with case studies and policy briefs, the initiative counts on more than 10 partner organizations across the Amazon to strengthen on-the-ground vetting of data, advocacy campaigns, and enforcement efforts.

“We’re turning information into action,” said John Beavers, President of Amazon Conservation. “By combining cutting-edge technology, local knowledge, and cross-border collaboration, we’re helping governments and communities protect their forests and their future.”

 

Amazon Mining Watch at COP30

Amazon Conservation and its partners will showcase firsthand how AI, data, and collaboration are transforming conservation across the region at COP30 in Belém, Brazil—the first UN Climate Conference ever held in the Amazon. Learn more at: www.amazonconservation.org/cop30

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About Amazon Conservation Association

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

 

Press Contacts

Priscila Steffen, Communications & Public Relations Manager: info@amazonconservation.org.

 

 

The new Policy Tracker and Scoreboard reveal how Amazonian countries regulate mercury and gold mining, fostering accountability and better environmental governance.

From November 3 to 7, 2025, the 6th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury took place in Geneva, Switzerland,. The Minamata Convention is a global treaty designed to protect human health and the environment from the harmful effects of mercury. At this year’s “COP6”, Amazon Conservation presented the development of our Policy Tracker and Scoreboard on Gold Mining Governance Across the Amazon during the Knowledge Lab organized by Brazil’s Ministry of the Environment and the Conservation Strategy Fund.

Through this initiative, Amazon Conservation aims to strengthen the Amazon Mining Watch platform by offering a comparative tool that enables users to explore national legislations and policies across Amazonian countries, fostering a more transparent and sustainable path for the gold mining sector.

The session brought together participants and stakeholders to discuss how the Policy Tracker and Scoreboard, to be embedded on Amazon Mining Watch, can help combat mercury use in mining. By visualizing geospatial data on mining areas and analyzing how countries regulate illegal gold mining and mercury use, Amazon Conservation seeks to promote transparency, inspire policy improvements through emulation of good practices, and support greater alignment between national frameworks and international environmental standards.

 

 

The Casa do Jornalismo Socioambiental (House of Environmental Journalism) brings together leading Brazilian journalists and media outlets to amplify local voices and share stories about the Amazon, climate, and the environment, aiming for broader national and international reach.

Belém, Brazil, November 4 – Even before COP30 officially begins (it is set to be held from November 10 to 21 in Belém), the city will pioneer a new initiative: the Casa do Jornalismo Socioambiental (House of Environmental Journalism).

The space will serve as an operational base to host journalists from across Brazil and will feature an extensive schedule of activities for communications professionals and civil society. Activities will start on November 3 and are the result of a collaborative effort to bring in new local and global perspectives and expand audience engagement during the event.

Throughout the month, the Casa will offer workshops, panels, debates, and other events on journalism and environmental topics, as well as launch new reports, tools, and other products for both the press and civil society.

See more about Amazon Conservation Association at COP30 and our events here.

Strengthening Environmental Journalism

The Casa will strengthen the journalistic coverage of 21 media outlets, with the support of organizations such as the Amazon Conservation Association. Before, during, and after COP30, these outlets will share and republish each other’s content to better inform their audiences about the conference and the Leaders’ Summit.

“We are proud to support and strengthen independent media outlets that cover the Amazon, the heart of our mission,” said John Beavers, President of the Amazon Conservation Association. “Working across the Amazon, we see journalism as a powerful ally in communicating accurate, science-based information and helping audiences understand the complexity and urgency of the Amazon Rainforest. At COP30, we will share new scientific findings on the Amazon’s tipping point and present our Amazon Mining Watch platform, developed with partners including the Pulitzer Center, to highlight solutions and data that can help drive informed action.”

Partner outlets will also have access to a fully equipped workspace throughout the month.The Casa will serve as a hub for dozens of journalists from across Brazil, providing a space for networking, information exchange, and collaborative reporting.

Who are the Partners?

The Casa was conceived and organized over the past year by the teams of InfoAmazonia, #Colabora, Envolverde, Eco Nordeste, ((o))eco, Amazônia Vox, Associação de Jornalismo Digital (Ajor), and Open Knowledge Brasil.

Also joining the collaborative coverage effort are Agência Pública, Alma Preta, Ambiental Media, AzMina, Carta Amazônia, Ciência Suja, Intercept Brasil, Nexo, O Joio e O Trigo, Repórter Brasil, Revista Cenarium, Site Independente A LENTE, Agência Urutau, O Varadouro, and Voz da Terra. 

To make the coverage more diverse and representative, these outlets will coordinate daily editorial themes of shared interest to avoid duplicating stories and amplify reach while centering the voices of traditional peoples, marginalized communities, and those most affected by climate negotiations.

International audiences will also have access to this coverage; more than 70 reports will be translated into English and Spanish and distributed to media outlets through LatAm Intersect PR, Burness, and Approach, as well as through the networks of the participating outlets. All content will be made freely available to the InfoAmazonia Citizen Network, a coalition of 25 journalism organizations from the nine Amazonian states.

The Casa do Jornalismo Socioambiental is funded by the Climate and Land Use Alliance (CLUA), whose core support makes the initiative possible. It is also supported by the Itaú Foundation (with expanded participation in activities) and the Climate and Society Institute (iCS), which plays a key role in consolidating the project.

Completing the Casa’s network of supporters are the Amazon Conservation Association, Pulitzer Center, Greenpeace, Covering Climate Now, Heinrich Böll, Oxfam Brasil, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Ciência Hoje, Fundação Rosa Luxemburgo and ITS Rio.

Original Content Production

The outlets participating in the Casa do Jornalismo Socioambiental will produce a variety of content designed to expand reach and ensure real-time, in-depth coverage.

Among the new tools of this collaborative coverage is a real-time feed — a platform that will gather minute-by-minute updates from both official and side events at COP30 in Belém. With multimedia content — including text, photos, audio, and short videos — the feed will be constantly updated by more than 30 reporters from national and local outlets specializing in environmental coverage.

The feed will be integrated into the websites of all partner outlets, allowing readers to follow developments and dive deeper into stories through direct links to full reports.

By bringing together dozens of journalists in a unified effort, this initiative around COP30 represents one of the largest collaborative environmental journalism projects ever organized in Brazil.

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What: Casa do Jornalismo Socioambiental
Where: Casa Carmina – Rua Arcipreste Manoel Teodoro, 864, near Praça da República, Belém (PA)
Press contacts: Priscila Steffen – psteffen@amazonconservation.org ; Thayane Guimarães – thayane.guimaraes@infoamazonia.org 

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About Amazon Conservation Association
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.

 

This November, the world’s largest climate summit, the Climate Change Conference 2025 COP30, will take place in Belém, Brazil, marking the first time it will be held in the Amazon. We at Amazon Conservation Association, along with our partners, will be there to help elevate the voices, science, and on-the-ground solutions from the Amazon to the critical climate talks that will define the future of our planet.

 

8-part video collaboration launched on November 4, 2025, rolling out a new episode twice a week through November 26. 

The series began with an official pre-release episode, Rainforests: Guardians of Earth’s Balance – A Journey from Hawaii to the Amazon, set in Waimea Valley, Hawaii.

 

 

Standing amid the lush rainforests of the Waimea Valley, the importance of preserving tropical ecosystems becomes immediately clear. Inspired by these forests in Hawai‘i, a new eight-part video series begins a journey to the Amazon Rainforest, one of the planet’s most critical life-support systems, which is now approaching an irreversible tipping point.

The series was conceived by Heather Murata, founder of EcoWellness Journeys, who sought to create a program that could inspire global audiences to learn about and protect the Amazon. To ensure scientific accuracy and on-the-ground expertise, Murata partnered with Amazon Conservation, a nonprofit with over 25 years of experience safeguarding the rainforest through real-time satellite monitoring, Indigenous partnerships, and habitat restoration.

The result is a strategic collaboration that blends Murata’s concept, storytelling, and production with Amazon Conservation’s field-based knowledge to produce a visually rich, educational, and emotionally compelling series. Viewers are taken from Waimea Valley to the heart of the Amazon, exploring its biodiversity, learning from Indigenous stewards, and understanding the urgent need for action to protect this irreplaceable ecosystem for future generations.

Release Schedule

• Oct 23 – Series Premiere: From Hawai‘i to the Amazon – Why Rainforest Protection Matters
• Nov 4 – Episode 1: Amazon Teetering on the Brink? — The urgent truth about deforestation and climate change.
• Nov 6 – Episode 2: Revealing Nature’s Pharmacy — The rainforest’s hidden medical potential—and why it’s at risk.
• Nov 11 – Episode 3: Beautiful Guardians of Life — Why the Amazon’s biodiversity is essential to us all.
• Nov 13 – Episode 4: Unsurpassed Wisdom of the Forest — How Indigenous cultures lead in conservation.
• Nov 18 – Episode 5: Silent Casualties: Wildlife Loss from Deforestation — The devastating impact on wildlife.
• Nov 20 – Episode 6: The Miracle Breath — How the Amazon shapes our weather and climate.
• Nov 25 – Episode 7: The Amazon Under Siege — The truth about illegal exploitation and its consequences.
• Nov 26 – Episode 8: How to Be a Voice for the Amazon — Practical tips to make a difference from anywhere.

 

Why It Matters

A thriving Amazon Rainforest matters to the people who live there, to the countries it encompasses, and to the entire world. The Amazon contains the single largest tropical rainforest on the planet. Covering about 40% of the South American continent, it spans more than 1.6 billion acres across nine countries. Stretching east from the foothills of the Andes Mountains, the upland glaciers, streams, and wetlands feed the Amazon Rivers that wind all the way to the Atlantic Ocean, creating the world’s largest river basin. The Amazon’s forests and waters make it the most important terrestrial biome on the planet.

Yet the Amazon is getting closer to its “tipping point”— when it will no longer be able to generate its own rainfall and support its rainforest ecosystems. Estimates place the current deforestation level of the Amazon at 17%, while its tipping point is estimated at 20-25%. If the tipping point is surpassed, the largest rainforest on Earth could become—at best—a dry grassland. Urgent action is needed now to prevent reaching this irreversible point of no return.

How to Watch & Take Action

The 8-part series, Amazon Rainforest & Beyond: Conservation Series, premiered on November 4, 2025 on YouTube. 

With the holiday season approaching, viewers have an opportunity to turn inspiration into impact. By supporting Amazon Conservation, you can help protect forests and habitat, sustain Indigenous and local communities, and ensure the Amazon’s vital ecosystems and wildlife continue to thrive. Donations can also be made in honor of a loved one, creating a meaningful gift that contributes to lasting change.

Support the Amazon here:

Donate Today

About EcoWellness Journeys

EcoWellness Journeys creates inspiring, educational content that explores the vital connection between human and planetary health, offering stories and actionable steps for living in harmony with the Earth. Their mission is to inspire healthier, more sustainable lives by exploring the symbiotic relationship between Mind, Body, Spirit, and Planet.

 

About Amazon Conservation

For over 25 years, Amazon Conservation has worked to unite science, innovation, and people to protect the Amazon – the greatest wild forest on Earth. We envision a thriving Amazon that sustains the full diversity of life. Amazon Conservation’s focus on protecting wild places, empowering local people and putting science and technology to work has been shaped by the people and land where we began.

 

 

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 (bothon 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.

Andrew Wilcox hit the ground running when he joined the Amazon Conservation Board not too long ago in 2023. Andrew boasts an extensive background in the field of bioeconomy, including in the Amazon, with professional experience in the sustainable commercialization of forest products such as açaí and Brazil nuts — a perfect complement to our forest-based economy initiative. He’s been hard at work behind the scenes at Amazon Conservation, actively leading several exciting pilot projects within the Board.

Keep reading to discover how Andrew found his way from the concrete jungle of New York City to the forests of the Amazon – and to Amazon Conservation!

 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, but some of my happiest memories are from summers spent exploring the Housatonic River in Connecticut, which sparked my lifelong curiosity about and love of nature. After studying Economics and History in undergrad, I joined the Peace Corps and spent more than half a decade living and working in rural Latin America (Paraguay, Peru, and Brazil), followed by two years on an organic farm in New York’s Hudson Valley. Later, I earned Master’s degrees in Sustainability and Forestry, worked at a nature- and space-tech startup, and eventually joined Unilever, where I’ve spent the past eight years sourcing ingredients and commodities sustainably, from palm oil in Indonesia to soybeans in Iowa. My current role is Associate Director of Sustainability for Procurement Strategy & Insights at Unilever.

These days, I live outside Boston with my wife and young daughter. And a fun family fact: one of my distant ancestors actually explored and mapped parts of the northeastern Amazon back in the 1600s in what’s now the Brazilian state of Amapá!

 

What sparked your interest in conservation?

I’ve had an affinity for nature since childhood, but my first hands-on experience with conservation (or what I like to call “applied nature”) came during my Peace Corps service in Paraguay. I learned so much from the Paraguayans’ deep connection to nature – especially medicinal plants (“pohã” in the native Guarani language) — knowledge I applied when starting a business exporting yerba mate, a caffeinated herbal tea endemic to South America, to a new US consumer market. While operating my yerba mate business, I focused heavily on the lessons I’d learned from local Indigenous peoples with regard to agroforestry, novel ingredients, and the reforestation of key watersheds in the eastern Amazon. 

How did you first connect with Amazon Conservation? 

After my yerba mate business ended, I decided to take a leap of faith and follow a lifelong dream: I went to “the greatest wild forest on Earth.” Amazon Conservation was well-established by then, so I found Amazon Conservation through my online research and applied for a volunteer position at the Manu Biological Station in Peru. I eventually managed a project focused on improving soils for sustainable agriculture and had the incredible opportunity to learn directly from Amazon Conservation’s co-founders, Adrian Forsyth and Enrique Ortiz, whose mentorship played a formative role in how I think about the Amazon, sustainability, and life. 

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

Reaching 25 years is an amazing accomplishment! But what really stands out to me is how Amazon Conservation combines innovation with deep community partnership. From deforestation monitoring to expanding the bioeconomy, Amazon Conservation ensures that technology isn’t just state-of-the-art, but also that it’s accessible to and scalable for the people who live and work in the Amazon. To me, as someone who has spent a significant portion of my career working with technology – in big corporations, startups, and academic research – it is that human-centered approach to conservation that truly makes Amazon Conservation exceptional.

What have you learned from your Board service thus far?

That relationships are everything. Lasting conservation isn’t just about protecting forests; it’s about nurturing the relationships that make protection possible. Amazon Conservation’s widespread impact is possible only thanks to close collaboration with our sister organizations in Peru (Conservación Amazónica–ACCA) and Bolivia (Conservación Amazónica–ACEAA), alongside all of our collective networks of local partners. Having an organization in the Global North working with organizations in the Global South on a complementary and co-equal basis is a unique and potent collaborative model that we believe is the most effective pathway for positive impact – and the whole enterprise relies on good, trusting relationships. 

Why is our mission of protecting the Amazon so important?

The Amazon is essential for life on Earth. It stores vast amounts of carbon, regulates rainfall across South America, and sustains millions of people and an unparalleled diversity of species. But beyond its global importance, the Amazon is a place of transcendental beauty, awesome scale, and inconceivable creativity in both the life strategies of the plants and animals it supports and the cultural expressions of the Indigenous and traditional communities that call it home. It’s an irreplaceable part of the Earth’s patrimony that we share with all life. I challenge anyone to go to the Amazon and not walk away convinced that it must be protected.

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

Support Amazon Conservation! But beyond donating, simply learning about the Amazon – caring about it and sharing that passion with others – makes a big impact. Awareness leads to action, and it takes ongoing attention and focus to stay engaged with what really matters. Attention is the scarcest resource of all these days, but if we stay committed for the long haul, we can build a future for the Amazon, and for the world, that’s both prosperous and sustainable.

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

Despite our name, Amazon Conservation isn’t just about protecting forests; it’s about reimagining what development can look like. The Amazon can and should contribute to human wellbeing and prosperity, but in ways that regenerate, not deplete, its natural and human capital. Currently, huge swaths of the Amazon are still being converted to cattle pastures, soybean fields, and gold mining, all of which are extractive in nature. But it doesn’t have to be this way; there is a path forward in which the region benefits from producing high-demand materials in such a way that regenerates the natural and human capital required for production. The transition starts small, maybe with a handful of Brazil nuts or an açaí smoothie, but it leads to something much bigger: a new vision for the region’s future that’s as dynamic, abundant, and beautiful as the forest itself. 

As Andrew’s journey shows, lasting change for the Amazon starts with people who care deeply, think creatively, and act boldly. Join us in protecting this irreplaceable forest and the people and nature that depend on it by making a tax-deductible gift to Amazon Conservation today.