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!

 

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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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This National Estate Planning Awareness Week (NEPAW), October 20-26, Amazon Conservation invites you to be a bridge builder, connecting your actions today with a sustainable future for the greatest wild forest on Earth. Together, we can preserve nature’s treasures for future generations, ensuring that the Amazon’s vibrant biodiversity remains uninterrupted.

Estate planning is more than just financial security for your loved ones; it’s also a powerful tool for creating a legacy that reflects your values and passion for the planet. By including Amazon Conservation in your estate plan, you are not only protecting your family’s future but also supporting the continuous efforts to conserve the Amazon’s remarkable habitats.

No matter your age or circumstances, it’s never too early to guarantee that the Amazon thrives long after you’re gone. And it’s never been easier to make or update your plan. Through Amazon Conservation’s partnership with FreeWill, a secure online tool, you can create or update your will for free from the comfort of your home in just 20 minutes.a

Not sure where to start? We’ve got blueprints and guidance to help you build your bridge to tomorrow. Start my estate plan today!

 

Join us this week and explore the many giving options available to you. Consider how your thoughtful planning can protect the Amazon and become a legacy of conservation and hope. 

More than 1.3 million fellow legacy builders who have created a will with FreeWill. This week, take the opportunity to join them and add an optional gift to Amazon Conservation (EIN 52-2211305). You can include us in your will by naming us as a primary beneficiary of a specific gift, such as an amount of money, a stock, or your IRA, or by allocating a certain percentage of your estate to charity (10% is a common choice).

👉 Consider naming Amazon Conservation as a beneficiary.

For more information on including Amazon Conservation in your estate plan, please visit our website or reach out to our team. Together, we can ensure that the Amazon continues to be a thriving haven for wildlife and a crucial player in the planet’s health.

This National Estate Planning Awareness Week, let’s create a future where the Amazon thrives—because the world needs its wonders now more than ever.

P.S. Already named us as a beneficiary in your plan? Let us know here!

 

 

 

October 9 is DAF Day — a national celebration of giving through Donor-Advised Funds!

This year, Amazon Conservation is proud to join nonprofits nationwide in highlighting the power of DAF giving and how it can protect the Amazon, its wildlife, and the people who call it home.

Your Donor-Advised Fund can do incredible things when you put it to work for both you and the planet.

What Is a Donor-Advised Fund (DAF)?

A Donor-Advised Fund, or DAF, is a simple, flexible, and tax-advantaged way to give back. Anyone can open a DAF through one of more than 1,000 providers nationwide (such as Vanguard Charitable or Fidelity) and receive an immediate tax deduction when contributing to it.

Then, when you’re ready, you can recommend grants to support the causes you care about — like safeguarding the Amazon’s forests, wildlife, and communities through Amazon Conservation.

Why DAF Day Matters

DAF giving is one of the fastest-growing ways people are fueling conservation around the world. And if you already have a DAF, you’re holding philanthropic dollars ready to make a difference right now — no additional cost to you.

By recommending a DAF grant to Amazon Conservation this DAF Day, you can:

• Protect vital rainforest habitat from illegal deforestation and fires.

• Support Indigenous and local communities who have stewarded these forests for generations.

• Advance cutting-edge science and technology, like our MAAP satellite monitoring program, to defend millions of acres of forest in real time.

• Preserve biodiversity, from jaguars and macaws to rare medicinal plants found nowhere else on Earth.

Every single DAF gift, big or small, creates a ripple effect that lasts for generations.

How You Can Take Part

Making your DAF Day gift is quick and easy. You can use our secure DAF giving tool (linked below) to connect directly with your provider, recommend a grant to Amazon Conservation, and help us keep accurate records of your generous support.

👉 Make Your DAF Day Gift Now

Together, We Can Protect the Amazon for the Future

2025 has been a year of both challenges and hope for the Amazon. From halting illegal deforestation to restoring critical headwaters and empowering Indigenous partners, our work is making measurable progress — but we can’t do it without you.

When you make your DAF grant recommendation today, you are joining dozens of others DAF donors to drive immediate, on-the-ground conservation across Peru, Bolivia, and beyond.

This DAF Day, let’s put generosity into action. What will your DAF do for the Amazon?

 

 

In a milestone for Bolivian Amazon conservation, local communities and the Municipal Government of Nueva Esperanza, with support from our sister organization Conservación Amazónica–ACEAA and the Andes Amazon Fund, have joined forces to establish the Río Negro Forest for Integrated Management and Ecotourism (called BAMIT Río Negro). This new protected area strengthens conservation and sustainable development in northern Bolivia’s Amazon.

Spanning more than 209,000 hectares (approximately 516,000 acres), this community-driven initiative was established in response to growing environmental threats to the region, including wildfires, illegal mining, deforestation, and land invasions. The Río Negro Forest will serve as a cornerstone for biodiversity protection, sustainable livelihoods, and the preservation of Bolivia’s Amazonian cultural heritage.

A Natural and Cultural Treasure

The protected area is home to unique ecosystems, including Brazil nut forests (Bertholletia excelsa), flood-prone palm groves, floodplains, and ancient geological formations. In addition, researchers have identified petroglyphs and megalithic structures that reveal the ancestral presence of Indigenous peoples such as the Tacanas, Esse Ejjas, Pacahuaras, Cavineños, Yaminahuas, and Machineri.  

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Community Participation and Shared Commitment

The creation of the Río Negro Forest was the result of a collaborative, participatory process involving Indigenous and campesino (rural farming) communities, social organizations, and the Nueva Esperanza FarmWorkers Union.

Throughout this journey, Conservación Amazónica–ACEAA provided technical and strategic support to help design and consolidate the proposal. The Municipal Government will lead the management of the area with support from  local committees, technical coordination teams, and an environmental volunteer program that will strengthen monitoring, enforcement, and education.

A Model for the Future of Conservation

Now part of Bolivia’s National System of Protected Areas, the Río Negro Forest will be managed through a management plan, zoning system, and strategic agenda aimed at ensuring the long-term conservation and sustainable use of its natural resources.

This initiative promotes food security, sustainable economic opportunities, and a balanced relationship between people and nature. It stands as a forward-looking model for conservation, reaffirming Nueva Esperanza’s and its allies’ commitment to protecting the natural and cultural richness of the Amazon for generations to come.

Amazon Conservation is proud to have supported this milestone through the Amazon Conservation Alliance, working alongside its sister organization Conservación Amazónica–ACEAA in Bolivia and local partners to strengthen community-led conservation efforts across the Amazon.

 

 

Groundbreaking analysis shows how the “rivers in the sky” connect the fate of  the entire rainforest and identify which regions are most at risk.

Washington, DC, 16 Sept 2025 – The Amazon will not collapse everywhere at the same time. A new special report by Amazon Conservation’s Monitoring of the Andes Amazon Program (MAAP) reveals how “flying rivers” determine which regions of the Amazon are most at risk of reaching the tipping point that will turn irreplaceable rainforests into dry savannas.

“Flying rivers” are moisture highways in the atmosphere, like rivers of rain in the sky, that travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Andes Mountains and provide vital water resources to the nine countries that form the Amazon Basin. They are the silent and invisible force that drives the water cycle of the entire region, making the rainfall that gives the Amazon its title of “rainforest” possible. As this delicate “flying river” is disrupted by human-caused deforestation and the effects of climate change, the impact on people, nature, and wildlife will be catastrophic, potentially including species extinction, increased droughts and lack of water access, and the end of the forest as we know it. 

Amazon Conservation’s latest analysis has identified that key areas of the Peruvian and Bolivian Amazon are most susceptible to the negative consequences of the breakdown of the region’s flying rivers. This includes areas in southern Peru and northern Bolivia that are home to some of the most iconic and biodiverse places on the planet, such as Manu National Park and Madidi National Park, which together protect 8.9 million acres of rich forests from the high Andes to the lowland Amazon. 

Corine Vriesendorp, Director of Science at Amazon Conservation’s Peruvian sister organization Conservación Amazónica-ACCA, oversees three biological stations along an altitudinal gradient near Manu National Park: “This research shows that some of the most wild places on the planet, like Manu, are at tremendous risk. We need to come together across the whole Amazon to protect these increible flying rivers to have a chance to avoid the tipping point.” The areas identified by this report as most vulnerable to a possible tipping point directly depend on the continued, uninterrupted water cycle provided by these flying rivers, which begins in Amazonian countries that border the Atlantic Ocean, like Brazil and Guyana. The state of deforestation and conservation in these countries on the “eastern” side of the Amazon will determine how much water will get to countries on the “western” side of the region – like Peru and Bolivia – showing the interconnectedness of the rainforest’s ecosystems that goes beyond country borders.

A threat that crosses borders

“The western Amazon relies on flying rivers to bring water all the way from the Atlantic Ocean, crossing millions of acres of forests in the eastern Amazon before it gets there,” said lead author Matt Finer, Senior Research Specialist and Director of Amazon Conservation’s MAAP initiative. “So the survival of rainforests in Peru and Bolivia actually depends on intact forests in Brazil to the east, since if those forests are destroyed, the water cycle that creates the flying rivers is broken, and it can’t reach the western Amazon. It’s all connected.”

Finer highlights that an important contribution of this analysis is that it reveals that, contrary to the common misconception that the tipping point will happen suddenly and uniformly across the region, it will likely happen progressively, beginning in particularly vulnerable areas and escalating from there.  

         

Seasonal shifts will also intensify the impact on these vulnerable areas. As rainforests tend to experience only two seasons (wet, or rainy, and dry seasons), the amount of water carried through the flying rivers is significantly limited during dry seasons, and exacerbated by human-caused deforestation and the effects of climate change, such as droughts.

Daniel M. Larrea, Director of Science and Technology at Amazon Conservation’s Bolivian sister organization Conservación Amazónica–ACEAA, added that  “this report sheds light on the critical role that flying rivers play in preserving standing forests and water access in the Amazon. Understanding their dynamics allows us to better protect vulnerable regions in Peru and Bolivia, where conservation is not only a local priority but a regional imperative. Science, innovation, and technology must guide our actions to ensure these forests can survive and thrive for generations to come.”

Urgent call in the run-up to COP30

These findings come at a crucial moment, with COP30 approaching in Belém and countries negotiating their updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which establish their climate action plans under the Paris Agreement. It highlights how forest conservation is central not only to climate goals but also to the water security for the millions of people and wildlife that call the Amazon home and for the collective survival of entire ecosystems across country borders. Decisions and policies made by Brazilian authorities will directly shape rainfall patterns in neighboring countries, making international cooperation essential.

This groundbreaking analysis was made possible by the Leo Model Foundation, in collaboration with nine scientists and researchers from across the Amazon Basin. It represents the first comprehensive mapping of flying rivers across wet, dry, and transition seasons, with an extensive literature review.

Read the full report here. 

About MAAP
Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP), an initiative of Amazon Conservation, Conservación Amazónica–ACCA (Peru), and Conservación Amazónica–ACEAA (Bolivia), provides cutting-edge, real-time technical analysis on deforestation and fires across the Amazon. MAAP uses satellite imagery, data science, and field information to generate timely reports that support conservation action and policy.

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.