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

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

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

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

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Tell us a little bit about yourself.

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

What sparked your interest in conservation?

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

How did you first connect with Amazon Conservation? 

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

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

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

What have you learned from your Board service thus far?

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

Why is our mission of protecting the Amazon so important?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How one UK entrepreneur is helping businesses find a conservation story worth telling.

When Pam Moore founded Plant Protect, she had one clear conviction: that businesses deserved a conservation partnership they could actually feel proud of, not a compliance checkbox or a one-off transaction. Growing up in Liverpool surrounded by little greenery, she learned early that access to nature matters. Now a grandmother, she channels that lifelong belief into connecting UK businesses to verified, traceable impact in the Amazon and in Malawi.

Plant Protect works with businesses of every size, from founders taking their first step into sustainability to large organizations operating across multiple countries. Through Amazon Conservation’s business partnership program, each client receives specific, traceable impact numbers, a genuine conservation story to share, and regular updates from the field in Peru and Bolivia. It’s the kind of connection that travels through an organization, not just a line in a sustainability report, but something clients and staff talk about, share with their families, and genuinely feel proud of.

For Pam, the decision to build her model around causes like Amazon Conservation came from research and conviction in equal measure. She wanted to work with an organization that never overclaims, that grounds its communications in evidence, and that takes seriously both the protection of the forest and the rights of the indigenous communities who have been its greatest stewards for generations. We recently connected with Pam to hear more about the business she built, why the Amazon holds such a special place for her, and what she would say to any business owner still waiting to take that first step.

If your business is ready to do something real for the Amazon, explore our partnerships page or reach out to us at development@amazonconservation.org to start the conversation.

Read on to learn more about how Pam supports Amazon Conservation’s work as a Business Partner and what keeps her and her clients motivated. 

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Can you tell us about your background and your business, Plant Protect?

My name is Pam Moore and I’m the founder of Plant Protect. I was born in Liverpool in 1967 and grew up through the seventies in a city I love deeply, though the areas I moved through as a child were often quite deprived, with little greenery to speak of. What I noticed early on, and this stayed with me for the rest of my life, was that the places with trees, flowers and open green spaces were always the beautiful areas, the ones with lovely houses and thriving shops. In my young mind people who lived around big open spaces with lots of trees and greenery were happy and had lots of money.

Pam’s granddaughter, Ava.

I’m a grandmother now. My granddaughter Ava is fourteen and she is honestly the reason I do everything I do. When I look at her I think about the world she is going to inherit, and that thought doesn’t leave you alone once it takes hold.

Plant Protect is a UK-based conservation partnership that connects businesses to real, verified environmental impact. We work with two extraordinary organisations, Ripple Africa in Malawi, planting trees and fruit trees that feed families and keep children in school, and Amazon Conservation in Peru and Bolivia, protecting some of the most precious rainforest on the planet. Every business that joins us gets specific, traceable numbers, not estimates or vague promises, and a genuine story to tell. We work with businesses of every size, from smaller businesses taking their first proper step into sustainability, to larger organisations who want a named conservation partnership their people can genuinely feel proud of and share with the world.

Could you explain about how your business model works, as well as how and why it incorporates charitable giving?

The model is built around something I felt was missing when I first started looking at sustainability for businesses. Most options available to a business were either very complex, full of frameworks and audits and compliance language, or very transactional, a one-off contribution with little ongoing connection to the impact it created. I wanted to build something different. Something that didn’t just take a payment and move on, but stayed present, kept the story alive, and gave businesses something they could genuinely point to and feel proud of over time. Something real, structured and human.

For smaller businesses, Plant Protect works as a membership. They join at a tier that suits their size, and a portion of every membership goes directly to conservation, funding trees planted and forests preserved in Malawi, and supporting Amazon Conservation’s work in Peru and Bolivia. Alongside the conservation impact, they get a practical sustainability framework, a questionnaire, a personalised action plan and regular check-ins, so the membership gives them both something to feel and something to build on.

For larger businesses, the model is different. These are organisations that often already have sustainability covered on paper. What they are missing is a human story, something their teams across multiple countries can connect with and feel proud of rather than another policy sitting in a document nobody reads. For these clients we create a named Conservation Partnership, with specific verified impact numbers, quarterly reports featuring real photographs and stories from the field, and a fully managed relationship so they receive content and connection rather than another thing to administer.

What Plant Protect does for larger businesses goes far beyond packaging the work of our conservation partners. We create, manage and deliver a named, verified conservation partnership that belongs entirely to the client. Their specific impact numbers, their certificate, their story. We maintain the relationships with both Amazon Conservation and Ripple Africa on their behalf, we commission and structure the quarterly reports, we write the context and narrative that connects the field updates to the client’s own people and purpose, and we ensure that the extraordinary work happening on the ground in Peru, Bolivia and Malawi is translated into something a company’s people can hold, share and feel genuinely proud of. The photographs, the stories, the verified numbers, packaged and presented in a way that travels through an organisation and keeps the partnership alive and visible, not just at the moment of joining, but every single quarter for as long as the partnership continues.

In doing that, Plant Protect becomes the voice that tells the world what a business truly stands for. We showcase their empathy, their commitment to the planet, its people and its wildlife, in a way that reaches far beyond a policy document or a sustainability report. We help create real cultural change inside organisations, because when a member of staff sees that their CEO has chosen to plant trees in Malawi, to protect the Amazon, to feed families and support indigenous communities, something shifts. They don’t just work for a company anymore. They work for something worth talking about.

What initially inspired you to support environmental causes through your business?

Honestly, I never thought my passion for hugging trees and being in nature could become a business. I have always been that person, the one who stops to look at the trees, who feels genuinely restored by time outdoors, who has walked through green spaces since I was a child and felt something shift inside. But turning that into something commercially viable felt like a stretch for a long time.

What changed everything was a chance meeting with someone who was doing something similar, building a business with conservation at its heart. That conversation opened a door I hadn’t known was there. I thought, if they can do this, maybe I can too, but in my own way, in a way that fits who I am and what I genuinely believe.

And underneath all of it was Ava. My granddaughter is fourteen now and she is the emotional anchor for everything I build. I grew up in an era before we understood what we were doing to the planet. I think about my generation’s footprint, and I feel a real responsibility to spend whatever working years I have left doing something that matters for her future. Plant Protect is my answer to that feeling.

For you, why is it important to protect the Amazon?

Pam in the rainforests of Cambodia

I have always had a passion for the Amazon, ever since I can remember, and one of my genuine dreams is to visit it one day. There is something about the sheer scale and aliveness of it that has always moved me, even from a distance.

When I originally set up Plant Protect, I was working exclusively with Ripple Africa in Malawi. About two months in, I felt strongly that I wanted to do more, that the Amazon had to be part of the picture. So, I did my research, looked carefully at who was doing the most credible and serious work protecting it, and that research led me to Amazon Conservation. I am so glad it did.

Because once the Amazon is gone, it’s gone. That’s not a dramatic statement, it is simply true, and I think we need to say the plain truth more often rather than dressing it up in frameworks and targets. The Amazon is home to around ten percent of all species on Earth, it regulates our climate, shelters indigenous communities who have been its greatest protectors for generations, and supports biodiversity at a scale nothing else on the planet can replicate. Protecting it is not one option among many. It is essential.

What stands out about Amazon Conservation compared to other organizations and why did you choose to support their work?

I have to start by saying how much I love working with Nikki and Heather. They are both so genuinely helpful, warm and committed to what they do, and that matters enormously when you are building a partnership that you want to feel real rather than transactional. I very much hope one day to visit, to meet them both in person and to see for myself the extraordinary work this organisation is doing on the ground.

What drew me to Amazon Conservation above other organisations goes right to the heart of what I care about most deeply, and that is the indigenous communities and the wildlife. I get genuinely frustrated when I hear about the pressure on indigenous peoples to leave or change the way they have lived for generations. These communities are not obstacles to progress, they are the Amazon’s greatest protectors, and they deserve to have their territorial rights defended, not eroded. And the wildlife, the extraordinary, irreplaceable wildlife that exists nowhere else on Earth, the thought of losing species that have evolved over millions of years simply because we failed to act in time genuinely distresses me. What Amazon Conservation is doing on both of these issues, standing firmly alongside indigenous communities and using science and technology to protect the habitats that wildlife depends on, is exactly the kind of serious, committed, long term work that gives me real hope. That’s why I chose this organisation above all others, and why I am so proud to call this a genuine partnership.

I also love that Amazon Conservation never overclaims. The communication is honest, evidence-based and grounded in reality. For a business like Plant Protect, where integrity in everything we say is completely central to what we stand for, that alignment of values is not something I take for granted.

How have your business’s community and clients responded to this partnership?

With genuine emotion, which still surprises me sometimes even though it probably shouldn’t. When businesses receive their first update from the field with real photographs of the Amazon and the families in Malawi, something shifts. It stops being a line item or a badge on a website and becomes something their people actually talk about. I’ve had clients tell me their staff brought it up unprompted in a team meeting. One client told me their Managing Director shared it with his family over dinner.

That’s the thing about real stories. People remember them. A carbon reduction percentage doesn’t travel through an organization the way a photograph of a child standing next to a fruit tree their company funded does.

Our Circet partnership has been a particularly meaningful example of this. Circet is one of the UK and Ireland’s leading telecoms and infrastructure companies, operating across six countries, and their teams across all those countries are now connected to the same Amazon Conservation story. That reach, that breadth of human connection through one partnership, is exactly what Plant Protect was built to make possible.

Is there a favorite program or initiative that has stood out to you or your clients most?

For me it has to be the work Amazon Conservation does alongside indigenous communities. The combination of respecting and protecting the territorial rights of people who have called the Amazon home for generations, while at the same time using that deep local knowledge to strengthen conservation efforts, feels like exactly the right approach. These communities are not separate from the forest, they are part of it and supporting them is inseparable from protecting it.

The use of science and technology to monitor threats to the forest also genuinely excites me every time I learn more about it. The idea that deforestation and illegal activity can be tracked and responded to in near real time, that the people working to protect the Amazon have access to tools that give them a fighting chance against the forces that would destroy it, feels like the kind of innovation the planet desperately needs more of.

For our clients, the thing that tends to resonate most is simply knowing the scale of what Amazon Conservation protects, over ten million acres of the most biodiverse forest on Earth. When that number lands in a quarterly report alongside a photograph of the forest and the communities living within it, people feel the weight of it. It stops being an abstract statistic and becomes something worth fighting for.

What would you say to other environmentally-conscious people and businesses about how they can help make a difference and help conserve the Amazon and the planet?

Start. Just start. Don’t wait until you have a net zero strategy and a sustainability director and a perfectly formed ESG framework. Don’t wait until you feel qualified enough or informed enough or big enough. None of that is a prerequisite for doing something real.

The businesses that have moved me most since I started Plant Protect are not the ones with the biggest budgets or the most sophisticated sustainability strategies. They are the ones where someone, a founder, a CEO, a person with influence, decided they wanted their business to mean something beyond its balance sheet, and then took a step. One step. And then another.

The Amazon needs that. Malawi needs that. The planet needs that. And honestly, your people need it too, because there is something that happens inside a business when it connects to something larger than itself. People show up differently. They talk about their work differently. They feel proud.

Pam Moore, Founder of Plant Protect 

www.plantprotect.co.uk | pam@plantprotect.co.uk | +44 7872 330788

If your business is ready to do something real for the Amazon, explore our partnerships page or reach out to us at development@amazonconservation.org to start the conversation.

 

 

Every year, independent evaluators comb through nonprofit financial records, governance practices, and program data to help donors answer one of the most important questions in philanthropy: is this organization worth my trust?

We’re glad to share that in 2026, their answer about Amazon Conservation was yes, across the board.

Candid has renewed our Platinum Seal of Transparency, Charity Navigator has awarded us 4 stars for another consecutive year, and we’ve received accreditation from the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance for the first time. We’re proud of these results, and grateful to the team whose consistent, careful work makes them possible. If you’re not already familiar with how charity watchdogs work, or why their ratings matter to you as a donor, read on. Understanding what these organizations look for, and what it means when a nonprofit earns their top marks, can help you give with greater confidence, not just to us, but to any organization you choose to support.

Plus, if we’ve already earned your trust, scroll to the end: one of the watchdog platforms we work with invites reviews from donors and supporters, and a few words from you can go a long way toward helping others find us.

The Problem These Ratings Solve

Choosing a nonprofit to support isn’t always easy. There are hundreds of thousands of registered charities in the United States alone, and most of them will tell you, in good faith, that their work matters. The ones that are less effective, or less honest, will say the same thing.

Charity watchdogs exist to help donors cut through that noise. They do the investigative legwork that most donors don’t have time to do: scrutinizing tax filings, auditing governance structures, reviewing program data, and interviewing the communities an organization serves. Their ratings aren’t based on compelling storytelling or a beautiful website. They’re based on evidence.

When Amazon Conservation earns top marks from the most rigorous watchdogs in the field, it means independent evaluators, with no stake in our success, have looked hard at how we operate and concluded that we meet the highest standards of transparency, accountability, and effectiveness.

That’s what these ratings mean. That’s why they matter.

What the Watchdogs Found

Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency

Candid (formerly GuideStar) evaluates nonprofits on a single, essential question: how openly does an organization share information about itself? Financials, governance, leadership, strategy, impact metrics — Candid wants it all on the table.

The Platinum Seal is the highest level Candid awards, and it signals that an organization has met the most rigorous public reporting standards in the field. Only a small fraction of U.S. nonprofits hold Platinum status in any given year.

Amazon Conservation has earned and maintained the Platinum Seal for multiple consecutive years. You can explore our full Candid profile, including finances and leadership, here.

BBB Wise Giving Alliance Accreditation

The Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance is perhaps the most thorough evaluator on this list. To earn accreditation, a charity must demonstrate compliance with 20 standards of charity accountability, covering everything from board governance and conflict-of-interest policies to fundraising practices, financial oversight, and donor privacy.

We are honored to receive this accreditation for the first time in 2026. It reflects not just the integrity of our programs, but the care and rigor our team brings to every aspect of how this organization is run.

You can review our BBB Wise Giving Alliance report here.

Charity Navigator: 4 Stars Rating

Charity Navigator takes the broadest view of any major watchdog, evaluating nonprofits across financial health, program effectiveness, cost efficiency, long-term stability, and accountability practices. Its four-star rating, the highest it awards, signals that an organization exceeds best practices across nearly every dimension it measures.

Amazon Conservation has held a four-star rating from Charity Navigator for over 13 consecutive years. That’s not an accident or a lucky streak. It’s the product of consistent, disciplined organizational management across more than a decade.

You can review our full Charity Navigator profile here.

 

What It Means for Your Giving

These ratings don’t tell you whether the Amazon matters. You already know it does. What they tell you is that when you give to Amazon Conservation, your contribution is managed with care and deployed with accountability. That your gift reaches the forests, the scientists, the community rangers, and the policy advocates who are doing the actual work of protecting them. And that we will continue to report back to you, honestly, on what that work has achieved.

In a moment when the Amazon faces some of the most serious pressures in its history, from deforestation, mining, and climate change, the organizations working to protect it need to be as effective as possible. These ratings are independent confirmation that Amazon Conservation is.

One More Way to Help: Leave a Review on GreatNonprofits

There is one watchdog we haven’t mentioned yet, and it works a little differently. GreatNonprofits doesn’t evaluate financial records or governance structures. It asks the people who know us best, donors, partners, volunteers, and community members, to share their firsthand experience.

If you support Amazon Conservation and our mission, we’d love to hear from you. Your review helps others discover why this work is worth their support and contributes to our rating on the platform. Create a free account at GreatNonprofits and share more about why you support our work!

These recognitions belong to everyone who makes this work possible: our team on the ground, our partners across the Amazon, and the donors and supporters who trust us with their resources and their faith in what conservation can accomplish. Thank you, for that trust, and for helping us earn it again.

Amazon Conservation launches a first-of-its-kind tool comparing mining governance across all eight Amazonian countries

As record-high gold prices continue to fuel the expansion of artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASM) across the Amazon, governments face mounting pressure to address one of the region’s most persistent drivers of deforestation, ecosystem degradation, and social conflict. To help strengthen these efforts, Amazon Conservation has launched the Amazon Mining Policy Scoreboard, a new tool that evaluates and compares the legal and policy frameworks governing gold mining across all eight Amazonian countries.

The Scoreboard is the newest feature within Amazon Mining Watch, Amazon Conservation’s online platform that provides comprehensive information on gold mining activity across the Amazon. Developed with support from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation in partnership with Earth Genome and the Pulitzer Center, the platform combines satellite-based monitoring of mining activity with policy and governance information, creating a more complete picture of the challenges and opportunities facing the region.

The Amazon Mining Policy Scoreboard helps fill that gap by providing a transparent, comparative view of mining governance across the region. Together with the mining footprint data available through Amazon Mining Watch, the tool offers decision-makers a powerful resource for identifying weaknesses, sharing best practices, and strengthening the policies needed to protect forests, rivers, Indigenous territories, and communities across the Amazon. Read more about our current findings below or in the platform.

Explore the Amazon Mining Policy Scoreboard

Want to know more? Read the Policy Scoreboard Explainer Report. 

Explainer Report English Explainer Report Spanish Explainer Report Portuguese

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

This month, our Monitoring of the Andes Amazon Program (MAAP) released two major reports on illegal gold mining in two of the Amazon’s most critical territories: the Yanomami Indigenous Territory in Brazil and the Tambopata National Reserve in Peru. The findings are both encouraging and deeply alarming.

Brazil: Progress in Yanomami, but miners are adapting

The new report released by Instituto Socioambiental (ISA) in partnership with our MAAP initiative, documents a sharp decline in mining-driven deforestation inside the Yanomami Indigenous Territory following the Brazilian government’s large-scale intervention in 2023. Newly cleared mining areas dropped from roughly 1,800 hectares in 2022 to just 45 hectares in 2025. This means a reduction of over 90%. But the threat has not gone away, it has shifted. Satellite mapping shows that illegal miners have adopted a more decentralized tactic and are moving toward areas closer to the Venezuelan border to evade enforcement. The Yanomami Indigenous Territory Alert System recorded 66 territorial alerts in 2025 alone, the majority involving clandestine aircraft, river incursions, and the movement of supplies into mining zones.

 

Peru: A dangerous resurgence in Tambopata

The analysis conducted by Conservación Amazónica–ACCA, in partnership with our MAAP initiative, documented more than 500 hectares of forest lost, and identified 183 active mining structures, 67 illegal camps, and an estimated 1,000 people currently operating within the protected area. What makes this resurgence especially alarming is that mining is now expanding close to government control posts inside the reserve, significantly increasing risks for the park rangers who defend it. In 2025 alone, mining-driven deforestation inside Tambopata exceeded 400 hectares, surpassing even the worst years of incursions recorded between 2016 and 2017. The report points some factors driving this return: record-high international gold prices, weakened environmental regulations, and reduced enforcement capacity, all creating conditions in which criminal networks can reorganize faster than the State can respond.

 

Together, these two reports show a defining challenge for the Amazon: enforcement works, but it must be sustained in order to protect these territories.

Earlier this month, Amazon Conservation joined climate and forest leaders from around the world at the 16th Annual Meeting of the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force (GCF Task Force), held in Caquetá, Colombia from May 18–22, 2026. The GCF Task Force unites 45 subnational governments across 11 countries, representing more than a third of the world’s tropical forests.The meeting brought together subnational governments, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, civil society, and the private sector around the theme “New Forest Economy for Climate Action: Territorial Development and Innovation.”

At the meeting, Amazon Mining Watch was highlighted as a valuable tool in the fight against illegal gold mining across the Amazon basin . Discussions made clear that more tools of this kind are urgently needed. Amazon’s Conservation participation in spaces like this is invaluable for building the alliances and cross-sector collaboration required to make lasting progress. 

Andrés Santana, Amazon Conservation’s Senior Manager for Combating Illegal Deforestation, shared his reflections on the meeting: “Since its creation, the GCF Task Force has been mainly oriented to building a forest-based economy, highlighting the role that regional governments can play. This year’s annual meeting was a milestone because organizers and members are increasingly acknowledging the importance of tackling environmental crimes that are preventing the enabling conditions necessary for a thriving bioeconomy.”

The week also included field visits across Caquetá, where participants explored community-led initiatives in sustainable ranching, agroforestry, and bioeconomy, living proof that forest-compatible economies are not just possible, but already being built. “During the field visit to the “Territorial Space for Training and Reintegration – ETCR Aguabonita” we could witness first hand how a new and prosperous forest economy can help social reconciliation in post conflict zones by harvesting and transforming fruits such as Açaí, Canangucha, Copoazú and other Amazonian products. That is true peace with nature” states Santana. 

At Amazon Conservation, we recognize the importance of these initiatives for long-term forest conservation. Visiting them is an opportunity to learn, connect, and strengthen our work across the region.

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Flying rivers that sustain forests, agriculture, and water security across the Amazon are increasingly at risk from deforestation and infrastructure expansion.

The white paper, Keeping the Flying Rivers Flowing: How Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon Threatens Rainfall in Peru and Bolivia, released by Amazon Conservation, maps for the first time the flying rivers that span the South American continent and their role in keeping the Amazon Rainforest’s tipping point at bay.

Flying rivers are seasonal pathways of atmospheric moisture flows that act like highways carrying water in the atmosphere, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Andes Mountains and providing vital water resources to the nine countries that form the Amazon Basin. The analysis goes beyond simply identifying the invisible flying rivers’ trajectory to pinpoint the forests most critical to maintaining this system and the areas where deforestation and planned infrastructure projects pose the greatest risks to these pathways.

The report finds that forests and ecosystems in the southwestern Amazon in Bolivia and Peru depend on flying rivers for more than 70% of their annual precipitation. As deforestation advances along these moisture pathways, the forest’s ability to recycle rainfall weakens, increasing the likelihood of drought and ecosystem collapse. The study highlights the dry season flying river as the most vulnerable moisture flow in the Amazon. These findings come after the severe 2023–2024 Amazon drought, the most intense on record, which caused devastating impacts across the region. In Bolivia, soy production in Santa Cruz dropped by 75%, while potato harvests in Peru’s Puno region fell dramatically. River systems, hydropower generation, and bioeconomies dependent on healthy forests, such as Brazil nut production, were also severely affected.. 

“Flying rivers are the invisible engine that sustains life, productive ecosystems, and identity in northern Bolivia. In the department of Pando, where the forest cover still maintains high levels of integrity, this climatic phenomenon is not an abstract concept; it is the direct regulator of the productive cycles of local communities that depend on the fruits produced by their forests,” states Daniel Larrea, Director of Science and Technology at Conservación Amazónica-ACEAA.

Another one of the report’s key findings is the strategic importance of conserving forests in western Brazil, particularly in the state of Acre, where all three seasonal flying river pathways converge before carrying atmospheric moisture toward Peru and Bolivia. This critical corridor acts as a bottleneck for the Amazon’s water cycle, making it especially vulnerable to disruptions caused by deforestation and infrastructure expansion. The pathway already crosses heavily deforested regions across Brazil, including southern Pará, and faces mounting pressure from planned road and infrastructure projects connecting Brazil and Peru. Among the most concerning examples is the BR-319 highway, whose paving could trigger more than 12 million acres of additional deforestation and significantly weaken the forest’s capacity to recycle rainfall across the Amazon Basin.

“These communities have no representation in the infrastructure licensing or land designation decisions that increase deforestation risk. The paper advocates for closing this gap between transboundary impact and national-scale decision making,” states Blaise Bodin, Director of Strategy and Policy at Amazon Conservation. 

Mapping strategic areas where prioritized conservation is needed

To address the growing threats to flying rivers, the report introduces the concept of Critical Moisture Territories: forests at high risk of deforestation that play a vital role in moisture recycling and keeping the flying rivers flowing. Many of the Amazon’s most important Critical Moisture Territories coincide with Brazil’s Undesignated Public Forests (UPFs) or Florestas Públicas Não Destinadas (FPND), making them among the most strategically important areas for prioritized conservation efforts to maintain the flying rivers system. Nearly more than 12 million acres of public Amazon forest currently lack formal legal protection, and many lie directly within key flying rivers paths, leaving these critical atmospheric corridors highly vulnerable to disruption by the impacts of deforestation driven by logging, land grabbing, mining, fires, and other human-caused activities. According to the report, formally protecting these forests could be one of the most effective ways to safeguard the Amazon’s atmospheric water cycle and reduce the risk of widespread regional drought.

Among the report’s six recommendations is the call to move beyond reactive law enforcement and adopt coordinated Amazon-wide policies that recognize Brazil’s critical role in sustaining the flying rivers across the continent and increase conservation efforts and investments in the most vulnerable areas in Bolivia and Peru. The report also highlights the need for forest restoration, climate adaptation strategies, and stronger science and technology to guide conservation decisions.

“At a country level, we need to double down on science to understand exactly how biodiversity is responding to climate change, both higher temperatures and a reduction in rainfall carried by flying rivers. In parallel, we must maintain and expand the forested connection between the slopes of the Andes and the Amazonian lowlands, creating and conserving these key climate corridors,” states Dr. Corine Vriesendorp, Director of Science at Conservación Amazónica-ACCA in Perú. 

A foreword by renowned Brazilian scientist Carlos Nobre, whose groundbreaking work with American biologist Thomas Lovejoy helped shape the global understanding of the Amazon tipping point, speaks to how decision-makers can use this analysis in policies and action: “This white paper by Amazon Conservation represents an important and timely contribution to this body of knowledge. By identifying the forests most critical to maintaining atmospheric moisture transport, it offers a practical pathway from science to action. The window to act is still open, but it is narrowing. Strengthening the resilience of flying rivers through science-backed, prioritized conservation actions is a vital step in the right direction. This white paper offers a valuable, actionable guide to doing so.” 

The report was developed by Amazon Conservation in collaboration with researchers and partner institutions across the Amazon Basin, including the Institut des Géosciences de l’Environnement (IGE), Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, IPAM, FAS (Fundação Amazônia Sustentável), Conservación Amazónica–ACCA, and Conservación Amazónica–ACEAA.

Read the white paper: https://www.amazonconservation.org/publication/ 

Illegal mining–driven deforestation reached its peak in 2022, when roughly 1,800 hectares were cleared. In 2025, monitoring still identified an additional 45.2 hectares of new forest loss.

 Deforestation driven by illegal mining in the Yanomami Indigenous Territory has dropped sharply over the past three years, following a surge in 2021 and 2022. That’s the conclusion of a new report released this Friday (May 22) by the Instituto Socioambiental (ISA), in partnership with MAAP (Monitoring of the Andes Amazon Program), an initiative of the Amazon Conservation Association.

According to the report, satellite mapping suggests that invaders have changed the way they operate in response to increased enforcement, adopting more decentralized tactics and moving toward areas closer to the Venezuelan border. These findings are reinforced by complaints recorded in the Yanomami Indigenous Territory Alert System, which show that both aerial and river‑based incursions continue.

According to the report, the Yanomami Indigenous Territory has accumulated 5,564 hectares of land degraded by illegal mining. The material produced by ISA and the Amazon Conservation Association was developed in partnership with the Hutukara Associação Yanomami (HAY) and the Associação Wanasseduume Ye’kwana (Seduume).

In 2025, 45.2 new hectares were deforested as a result of illegal mining in the territory, nearly half of the 84 hectares recorded in 2024. According to the report, this figure is a warning sign: despite the slowdown in mining activity, the opening of new areas shows that the illegal operations have not been fully neutralized.

In 2023, when the Federal Government declared a Public Health Emergency of National Importance in the territory, 330 hectares of expansion were recorded – an 81.6% reduction compared to the previous year.

In 2020, 400 hectares were deforested, and in 2021 the figure rose to more than 1,000 hectares. The year 2022 saw the largest increase, with approximately 1,800 hectares cleared.

This monitoring is carried out monthly through the visual interpretation of satellite images by geoprocessing specialists. Based on these images, degradation polygons are drawn. Each month, the affected areas are revisited to refine the mapping and check for possible errors.

New areas impacted

In 2025, the mapping identified 121 polygons of newly impacted areas linked to illegal mining, 90% of them measuring one hectare or less. The two largest polygons – each roughly four hectares – are located in the Parima and Surucucus regions, specifically near the Feijão Queimado airstrip in Roraima.

The report also notes that illegal miners have dispersed their activities, avoiding the large concentrations seen before federal operations began. Areas previously exploited to exhaustion, such as Alto Catrimani, Médio Uraricoera and Homoxi, now appear to be relatively neutralized.

New tactics

To evade enforcement, the invaders continue relying on the tactic of moving toward areas closer to the Venezuelan border. In this context, the report identified new scars in Parafuri‑Parima, Hokomawë and Cabeceira do Aracaçá.

In 2025, the Yanomami Indigenous Territory Alert System – created and used by organizations within the Yanomami Territory – recorded at least five alerts related to the movement of clandestine aircraft in the Auaris region. In most cases, the aircraft were flying toward Hokomawë, either in the direction of the Gaúcho Animal airstrip, located at the mouth of the Auaris River, or toward the airstrip at the headwaters of the Aracaçá River.

According to ISA geographer Estêvão Senra, with gold prices reaching historic highs on the international market, pressure from illegal mining remains constant.

“Eviction operations are an essential first step, but on their own they do not solve the structural problem. Without medium‑ and long‑term territorial protection strategies – including permanent surveillance and improvements in the regulation of the gold supply chain – there is a significant risk of seeing a new wave of invasions in the near future.”

The same pattern has been observed in other parts of the Amazon where eviction and enforcement operations have taken place, such as the Madre de Dios region in Peru, which destroyed more than 100 mining dredges in recent years. Now, satellite data show the return of incursions into protected areas, including the Tambopata National Reserve, according to a recent report also released by MAAP.

Matt Finer, director of the MAAP program at Amazon Conservation, emphasizes that the data show governments are capable of reducing illegal mining when coordinated interventions and effective enforcement efforts are in place. “In the Yanomami Indigenous Territory, illegal mining reached its peak between 2021 and 2022 but dropped significantly after the major intervention by the Brazilian government beginning in 2023. However, as we have recently observed in Peru and Venezuela, these actions must be part of a continuous, long‑term effort. Otherwise, illegal mining tends to return quickly.”

Territorial Alerts

In 2025, the alert system recorded a total of 66 territorial alerts. Of these, 83% were invasion alerts, which include information on the movement of clandestine aircraft, boats, barges and other vehicles. There were also reports of attacks and the entry of firearms.

The alert system is an initiative of the organizations of the Yanomami Indigenous Territory: Hutukara Associação Yanomami, Associação Wanasseduume Ye’kwana, Urihi Associação Yanomami, Parawamë, Kurikama, AYRCA and Kumirayoma, with technical support from ISA and backing from the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef). The tool began to be implemented in 2023.

Read also Yanomami Indigenous issue cell phone alerts to defend their territory

The system allows community monitors to send alerts through a form with photos, videos, audio recordings and geolocation, even offline. The information is validated and translated by Indigenous researchers, organized into a public dashboard, and forwarded to the authorities. The tool is available in four languages: Yanomami, Ye’kwana, Sanoma and Portuguese.

Among the regions that recorded alerts of airspace invasion, in addition to Auaris, are Xitei, Alto Catrimani and Apiaú (possibly linked to mining activity on the Couto Magalhães River).

“In the case of Catrimani, the link between this movement and the mining activity taking place at the headwaters of the Orinoco, in Venezuelan territory, one of the areas with the highest miner activity in recent years, is striking,” the report notes.

The Taboca airstrip, located in Venezuela, is identified as a strategic part of the logistics that sustain illegal mining in Brazil. The airstrip supports invaders who continue to operate in the Alto Catrimani and Xitei regions.

According to the report, the Ericó region, an area accessible via the Uraricaá River, showed significant signs of deforestation linked to mining activity. During the most critical phase of the invasion, there were reports of dredges operating on the Uraricaá River, but no signs of mining on land. That scenario appears to have changed as part of the invaders’ strategy to evade operations in more heavily monitored areas.

Alerts submitted through the system also indicate the persistence of incursions along the Uraricoera, Catrimani, Apiaú and Ajarani rivers. Reports include barge traffic, dredge operations, the transport of cassiterite and the entry of supplies into mining camps.

Baixo Catrimani is the region that reported the highest number of river‑based invasions. From April to December 2025, the Yanomami sent nine alerts about the presence of barges, dredges and the movement of suspicious boats.