This holiday season, support the conservation of the Amazon rainforest while shopping for your friends and family! These forest-friendly companies have partnered with Amazon Conservation in support of our work to protect the Amazon. Any purchase from one of these small businesses includes a contribution to our innovative conservation programs that keep the Amazon thriving, so shopping from these partners is another way you can give your loved ones a unique gift that helps small businesses, nature, and people.

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Shop through this link to support our organization with every purchase you make through Amazon Smile at no extra cost to you.

Makeup and Beauty

Wisdom of Qara skincare uses botanicals from the Amazon combined with science to create wellness products that will help you exist in balance with yourself, your community and Mother Earth. Their commitment to ethical skincare affects every decision they make about formulas, ingredients and packaging. View their skincare line here. (Currently only shipping to within the Europe Union). 

Fashion and Style

Rainy McDry Umbrellas are colorful, eye-catching, and beautiful. Each umbrella line addresses a topic they want to draw attention to. Their “Jungle Collection” benefits the Amazon with 5% of all purchases going towards its protection. (Currently only shipping to the European Union. Check back later for more information.)

Marc Skid underwear is made with the world and its people in mind, crafted using organic Pima cotton grown on family farms that strictly adhere to tried-and-true farming practices that exclude GMOs. Also, one recycled plastic water bottle is used in every waistband, meaning one less bottle in a landfill. Learn more.

Chrysanthoux women’s clothing encourages connection with sustainability which began by creating graphic and basic pieces that one can resonate with and learn about the processes that go into it. Learn more.

Fun and Cheer

Ready for some fun holiday fun? Reckless Conversations is the most hilarious party game of all time! Everyone’s responses to the real life statement cards will have you and your friends laughing for hours, if not for days afterwards!

This year’s Met Gala saw two incredible dresses that will help protect the world’s largest rainforest. 

Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen will soon auction the Met Gala gowns she designed for singer-songwriter Grimes and actress Gabrielle Union with Sotheby’s, and all proceeds raised will benefit the Amazon via our organization and Rainforest Trust.

A lifelong admirer of nature, it is no surprise that Iris Van Herpen draws inspiration from the natural world in a style known as “biomimicry”. This concept looks to implement nature’s intelligence into design and invites to look closely into natural transformations. She credits this interest to her upbringing in the “Land of the Rivers” in the Netherlands, where she became fascinated by water and its movement from a very young age. “The transformations within water are infinite,” Van Herpen explains. “I try to translate its dancing beauty and fluidity into garments. Sometimes literal, like a splash of water, other times I take inspiration from its metamorphosis from liquid stage into crystallized structure.”

Image Source: Irisvanherpen.com

One can recognize this natural inspiration behind the gowns she created for this year’s Met Gala. Grimes’ ‘Bene Gesserit‘ gown, inspired by Frank Herbert’s Dune series, features cascading liquid silicone intertwined with hand-pleated gradient-dyed silk. The concept behind this dress was to have small waves flowing in different directions like a liquid labyrinth to enhance the feminine forms. “The patterns invite the viewer’s eyes to travel through the labyrinth, creating an intimacy in motion. There is a symbiosis between the movement of the body and the garment, an optical illusion is created with water-inspired repetition and pattern,” she comments.

Gabrielle Union’s ‘Aeternus’ gown is inspired by the Apollo crew looking at Earth from the moon’s perspective for the first time. A collection of 10,000 translucent white circles of different size gradients that took over 1,400 hours to create and assemble, Van Herpen sought to capture the dynamics between Earth and moon through this design. “By going away from Earth, there is a change in perspective and a feeling of interconnectedness,” she describes. “I experienced this on a smaller scale when skydiving–a strong connection to Earth where we lose details of what separates us. When we go further away, we come closer to each other.”

Gabrielle Union’s Met Gala Gown. Image Source: Getty / Theo Wargo

Iris Van Herpen’s fuse of 3D printing with craftsmanship in Couture is a flagship technique she’s incorporated into her work for more than a decade, identifying her as a pioneer of the use of modern technology in Haute Couture.”My approach to fashion is very intricate and layered to come very close to the beauty and complexity of designs within nature,” she remarks. “Zooming into the interconnected fabric of life has helped me to look beyond fashion’s borders.” 

Not only does Van Herpen have a passion and talent for designing from nature, she also has a strong sense of responsibility for protecting it. “We all have a role in sustainability and environmental awareness,” she explains. “Every person, every discipline. Especially fast fashion—as its impact on our world is devastating.” Van Herpen on the contrary creates ‘slow fashion’ and has been working with sustainable and upcycled fabrics, such as her work with Parley for the Oceans, to continuously explore new sustainable material solutions into the design process. Though she’s never been to the Amazon, she feels a strong connection to it. “The Amazon is home to more animal and plant species than anywhere else on Earth, this incredible biodiversity is key for our own health and wellbeing; we are all interconnected with it. I feel very strongly about helping in its conservation and I will continue to do so. It feels especially critical at the moment.” 

Though Iris Van Herpen notes that the conservation progress being made is impressive, there is still much work left to do, especially in fashion. She lamented the unsustainable elements at the core of the fast fashion industry based on overproduction, and cited that three out of five of all garments made end up in landfill within a year. In contrast, she commended indigenous peoples’ ways of working with natural products they create. “To move forward in time, we have to look back at where we come from,” she commented. “Sometimes we are too focused on the future that we’ve made up with imagination without really understanding our backgrounds. There is lots of knowledge to find again in our past.”

To learn more about Iris Van Herpen,please visit her website here. To follow in Iris’ footsteps and support conservation of the Amazon, see how you can make an impact here. More details about the auction to come. 

As part of the 20th anniversary celebration of the Los Amigos Conservation Concession in mid-July our Los Amigos Biological Station hosted a Technological Knowledge Exchange Workshop to enhance protection systems for the 360,000-acre Los Amigos Conservation Concession. This exceptional event, powered by mutual learning between technology experts, conservationists, and forest park rangers, focused on the development and application of different surveillance strategies to protect the Los Amigos forests from forest crimes such as illegal deforestation, logging, and gold mining.

At this workshop, Los Amigos’s Forest Rangers, who regularly go on multi-day excursions deep into the Amazon to monitor the concession, met with the Satellite Monitoring team that operates from Peru’s capital city of Lima, to create a holistic strategy that more effectively organizes each of their communications. They also increased planning coordination, reporting and feedback tasks, as well as protection and monitoring actions.

The size of the Los Amigos protected area and its location with respect to the Madre de Dios and Pariamanu rivers make it extremely difficult to control and detect illegal deforestation, thus being on top of current technological advances is essential to improving its surveillance. “Technology allows us to enhance the work we do on the ground,” explained Lucio Villa, who is a Senior GIS and Remote Sensing Specialist at our sister organization Conservación Amazónica – ACCA, during a presentation on the analysis of satellite monitoring images and information from the base in Lima. “In this way, thanks to the use of satellites, drones, and GPS, we can perform more efficient and effective work when carrying out activities related to monitoring and surveillance in the Los Amigos Concession.”

They also addressed topics such as reports, monitoring, findings, and analysis. At the end of the day, the satellite monitoring specialists shared their conclusions on the search for evidence and the generation of actionable information for patrols. The latest field activities included the evaluation of data collection (findings, coordinates, tracks and use of drones in the field), which generated new agreements that increased cooperation between both teams. All in all, this workshop was a fantastic day of co-learning, experiential and collective, that reaffirmed everyone’s commitment to protect the environment.

None of this would not be possible without the valuable support of our partners, to whom we express our sincere thanks: Re:Wild, ICFC, Erol Foundation, Amazon Rainforest Conservancy – ARC, and Andes Amazon Fund.

During the first week of November, the best of Peru’s indigenous Amazonian crafts were showcased at the most important art exposition in the country. The National Native Art Fair is an important commercial platform for indigenous artisans from the Peruvian Amazon, and this event brought together 25 Peruvian artists and the best works from the 9 indigenous groups they represent: Awajún, Ashaninka, Matsigenka, Shipibo-Konibo, Yanesha, Ikitu, Kukama Kukamiria, Ese Eja and Harakbut, which come from 8 regions of the Peruvian Amazon, including Amazonas, Cusco , Lima, Pasco, Loreto, Ucayali, Junín and Madre de Dios. 

The Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism selected four artisans from Madre de Dios to participate, including two from Infierno, an indigenous Amazonian Community our on-the-ground sister organization in Peru, Conservación Amazónica – ACCA directly works with. Chosen were Pedro Mishaja, the President of the local Association of Artisans and Livia Meshi, who is also a member of the association. Their involvement during this fair are part of Peru’s strategic economic revitalization and revaluation actions supporting indigenous peoples. We assist their community in the management of non-timber forest resources such as açaí or Brazil nuts, as a strategy for adaptation and mitigation against climate change, a project supported by Euroclima. Together, we have been strengthening Brazil nut harvesting activities and agroforestry systems with an emphasis on cocoa and transformation of Amazonian fruits. 

Signature artwork from the Infierno community include ceramics and textile art, as well as fabrics in tamshi, a plant fiber derived from a set of hemi-epiphytic plants that grow among the treetops in Amazonian forests. The use of tamshi is renowned for being part of the nation’s cultural heritage as its use preserves the legacy of the Peruvian Amazon’s ancestral techniques. A very important resource to local communities, its roots are used to construct houses, manufacture utensils, and design handicrafts. The artisans also showcased topa and palo balta wood carvings representing the most emblematic animals of the jungle such as jaguars, giant otters, jaguars or macaws. Additionally, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets made from organic materials including huayruro palm seeds line the jewelry displays, and coconut-based utilitarian products such as pencil holders and baskets were also shown.

At the opening ceremony of the National Native Art Fair the Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Roberto Sánchez, invited the public to learn about the handmade products on display that included pottery, ceramics, textiles, costume jewelry, carving, jewelry, vegetable fibers, musical instruments and paintings. “I want to invite everyone to get to know the work created by our artisan brothers of the original Amazonian peoples,” he stated. “Here you will be able to shop, chat and learn more about their customs and cultures.”

 With the ability to see through the dense layers of clouds that are a hallmark of the rainforest, track illegal gold mining, and send deforestation alerts throughout the year, RAMI is the most recent ally in the fight against illegal gold mining in the Peruvian Amazon. A newly developed geospatial technology tool, RAMI (Radar Mining Monitoring Tool) monitors the advance of gold mining via satellite and radar in the Amazonian region of Madre de Dios in Peru, a country where the “gold rush” has devastated more than 237,000 acres (96,000 hectares) of primary forest over the past 30 years.

In addition to generating early deforestation alerts and providing real-time information regarding changes in forest cover, the key advantage of this radar mining monitoring tool is its ability to overcome the limitation that satellites encounter when trying to capture photos of the forest on a cloudy day. RAMI’s radar monitoring can “see” through clouds and thus provide information about the forest without weather patterns getting in the way.

“Before using this new platform, we only worked at the level of optical images but the satellites only captured images every six months, with no information during rainy season. With RAMI, monitoring is constant, be it day, night, raining or cloudy,” noted a specialist at the Satellite Monitoring Unit at the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Environmental Matters (FEMA) to Spanish news agency Agencia Efe.

Protecting Forests

The implementation of RAMI since last June looks to strengthen the Peruvian government’s aim to combat the loss of forest cover as a result of illegal gold mining in Madre de Dios. This destructive activity not only causes deforestation, the loss of ecosystems but also the pollution of local water sources by toxic runoff from the mercury used to separate out the gold.

Juan Loja, from Conservación Amazónica – ACCA, explained that the monthly alerts generated by RAMI are not only helpful for those who manage protected areas and governmental decision-making, but also for the indigenous communities of the region. Julio Cusurichi, the president of the Native Federation of the Madre de Dios River and Tributaries (FENAMAD), elaborates upon this, saying that, “the information is very important because in one way or another it supports what one can make known. For example, if there is an invasion in a community’s territory, it can be relayed by phone, but it is much better when there is photographic or video evidence.”

In fact, since the Peruvian government launched Operation Mercury in February 2019, an unprecedented measure to combat illegal gold mining in La Pampa region of Madre de Dios, prosecutors and police have gone out to the field every day with the intention of eradicating new illegal gold mining camps and seizing or destroying associated machinery. Without the reliable and real-time satellite data and imagery, however, this process is slow and time-consuming. RAMI is expected to strengthen these initiatives and other efforts that until now have been unable to reverse the environmental disasters caused by the illegal exploitation of one of the many treasures of the Peruvian jungle.

——

This article was translated and summarized for our audience; click here to read the original article and interviews by Agencia EFE. Read more about the launch of RAMI here. Watch the launch webinar for the RAMI Satellite Monitoring tool (in Spanish). RAMI was developed by Conservación Amazónica – ACCA through the SERVIR-Amazonia program, led by the Bioversity International Alliance and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). Co-developers include Alliance of Bioversity – CIAT/SERVIR-Amazonia, Ministerio del Medio Ambiente del Perú (MINAM), Programa Nacional de Conservación del Bosques y Cambio Climático (PNCBMCC), and the Spatial Informatics Group (SIG).

SERVIR-Amazonia is part of SERVIR Global, a joint development initiative of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). SERVIR-Amazonia is led by the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).

“The people of the Liga Verde community are very concerned at the delay of the seasonal rains, so I want to take advantage of this community meeting to suggest something. I think we should burn a bit of the forest, and convert it for cattle ranching. We cannot be tied down to Brazil nut harvesting.”

“Maria, I understand what you say–you’re one of the most active people in the community and you always have good ideas. But we must be very careful not to start fires that can destroy the forest and reach our homes. We are on red alert.”

This month premiered the first few chapters of the new radionovela series, Heartbeats of the Amazon, developed by our sister organization in Bolivia, Conservación Amazónica-ACEAA. This Spanish language radio mini-series follows the fictional Jorge of the close-knit Liga Verde community in the Bolivian Amazon. Like many in northern Bolivia, the people of Liga Verde have traditionally harvested Brazil nuts as their main economic activity, as this this type of trees grow naturally in the dense Amazonian forests.

However, tensions mount when seasonal rains become more and more delayed, leading some to suggest that instead of being “slaves to the Brazil nut”, they use the slash-and-burn method to raise cattle instead. A concerned Jorge painfully reminds everyone of the drought they experienced a few years ago, and how when someone tried to clear land using fire it ended up tearing through their forest and decimating the following year’s Brazil nut production. “In this community we depend on Brazil nuts…there was nothing to live on that year, our harvests were all empty. Now we are going through a difficult drought again and the rains are very late, so I understand what Maria says, but we must be careful so that the medicine is not worse than the disease.”

Though the story is fictional, it is meant to represent and be relatable to the Amazonian communities the mini-series are broadcasted to. The internet is not always strong or reliable in the middle of the forest, so radio is the most sensible way to reach people. The series will cover the effects of climate change and economic activities that encourage keeping forest standing. In fact, the second episode features Jorge’s daughter Ana, who has just returned from studying environmental engineering at a university in the city. She tells her doubtful father that climate change isn’t just a city myth, it “affects us, it affects the entire planet. There are large and fast disturbances in the climate. Unfortunately it’s come to us too, during the drought in 2016 and also now.”

The idea of promoting conservation through short, relatable stories is not only a unique take on environmental ​​education, but also gives an opportunity to showcase the richness of native flora and fauna and the importance of living in harmony with nature.

“How can we help, as a small community, reduce climate change?” Ana poses this question to her father. “We can help reduce it by taking care of the forests and keeping them standing. In this way, the forests absorb pollution and return fresh air. In addition, the integral management of the forest’s resources, such as Brazil nuts, is economically convenient. In this way we have many more resources than clearing the forest and putting in a monoculture. We take care of nature and it also benefits us.”

This initiative is part of the Amazon Forests and Climate Change Project implemented by our sister organizations Conservación Amazónica-ACEAA in Bolivia and Conservación Amazónica-ACCA in Peru, and the Universidad Amazónica de Pando with the support of EUROCLIMA+.

This past week wrapped up a five-part series part of the mega-event AmazonTEC: Technology, Innovation and Empowerment for an Amazon in Crisis, led by our sister organization in Peru, Conservación Amazónica – ACCA who organized four sessions with the support of the United States Embassy in Peru, Norad, NICFI, and in co-creation with USAID Prevent Project.

This was a hybrid event with some sessions hosted in-person in Peru, and the entire conference was streamed virtually. Local, indigenous, regional, national and international speakers all focused on protecting the Amazon shared successful experiences of using technology in the field to combat environmental crimes, and reflected on challenges and opportunities in technological innovation. 

The first of the five sessions began on October 19. Session 1’s Successful Experiences Applying Technology Against Forest Crimes in the Amazon shared how satellite and drone imagery was used in the field to successfully combat deforestation and other forest crimes such as illegal logging and mining. Representatives from nongovernmental organizations and multilateral organizations in Peru, Colombia, Brazil, and Spain also showcased new apps used to identify illegally logged wood, certify origins of non-timber products, and map and monitor protected areas and indigenous territories. Watch the Spanish Language session here.

During the second session, Innovation Pathway for a Thriving Amazon, panelists reflected on advances and challenges related to generating useful information that could be used by forest guardians or law enforcement. Sections covered why we should act for the Amazon during the post-pandemic period, a stocktaking report on the accelerated forest loss, the experience of indigenous people working with technology, and the latest satellite launch to picture Earth, deforestation, and climate change. Watch the English language session here.

During the third session, Technology and Public Policy for the protection of the Amazon analyzed the intersection between technology and politics at the regional level with live broadcasts with local government officials from Madre de Dios, Loreto and Ucayali. They showed the advances and challenges related to the use of geospatial technology and inter-institutional coordination to face environmental crimes in the Peruvian Amazon. View the Spanish Language session here.

The fourth session, organized by Amazon Conservation, was Technology, Climate and the Future of the Amazon. Ahead of the UN Climate Conference (COP26), panelists focused on climate and carbon, its effect on Amazonian species, and impacts on local peoples. Speakers revealed whether the Amazon was moving from a carbon sink to a carbon source, how protected areas and indigenous territories are key measures for combating climate change, and the climate mitigation and resilience measures that could be taken to build a stronger Amazon. Watch the English language sesion here. 

The fifth and final sesion, Indigenous Peoples and Technology for the Defense of the Amazon featured indigenous leaders, local communities, representatives of civil society, and forest guardians who seek to ensure that Amazon-appropriate technologies are designed and implemented. View the Spanish Language session here.

These virtual conferences (session 1, 2, 3 and 5) were organized by Conservación Amazónica – ACCA with the support of the United States Embassy in Peru, Norad, NICFI, and in co-creation with USAID Prevent Project, with whom we share the vision of maintaining a prosperous Amazon and the sense of urgency to multiply efforts and partnerships to substantially reduce deforestation by 2030 and eradicate crimes against the forest. To learn more, please visit amazontec.pe .

About AmazonTEC

AmazonTEC2021 is an annual event which brings together national, regional and local authorities, indigenous communities, civil society, academia, and international stakeholders to learn, innovate, and build technological solutions that protect Amazonian forests.

This past Wednesday saw the fourth installment of the AmazonTEC virtual conference, Technology, Climate and the Future of the Amazon, where participants discovered how climate and carbon affect the greatest rainforest on the planet. Ahead of the UN Climate Conference (COP26), our panel of environmental experts focused on three relevant areas: climate and carbon, their effect on species, and impact on local peoples. Speakers revealed whether the Amazon was moving from carbon sink to a carbon source, how protected areas and indigenous territories are key measures for combating climate change, and the climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience measures that could be created to create a stronger Amazon. Watch the full English language sesion here. 

Renowned Brazilian scientist and meteorologist Carlos Nobre opened the session with cautionary warnings against the “tipping point” of the Amazon, where so much of the rainforest is deforested that the Amazon can no longer generate its own rainfall and subsequently turns into a savanna. Nobre has done extensive research around this concept as well as coined the term, warning that, “The risk [of reaching the tipping point] is very serious because we are already seeing this in areas of the Amazon, mostly in the southeastern Brazilian Amazon. Many studies are showing that in this region the forests have already become a carbon source [due to the extensive deforestation].”

Manuel Pulgar Vidal, who moderated the session, added that, “When we think about climate, we are talking about the big challenges that we have in front of us…We have to continue developing our actions to adapt and be well adapted to the new reality of the Amazon. We have some nature-based solutions despite political resistance.” He then introduced the first panel presentations, which were about what science and technology are saying about carbon and climate in the Amazon.

Climate And Carbon

During the first section, “Climate and Carbon”, David Gibbs, a GIS Research Associate in Global Forest Watch at World Resources Institute, presented a global overview on carbon flux, which describes the exchange of carbon between different carbon reservoirs. The carbon flux maps he showed were created by researchers around the world and will be updated over time. “We have already updated our map once, we will update it again to include emissions. This is a living model, a living map.” He also noted the importance of global forests as carbon sinks, pointing out, “According to these maps, forests are net carbon sinks. They capture about twice as much carbon globally than they emit.”

Matt Finer, our Director of the Monitoring of the Amazon Project, zoomed into the Amazon to present a regional perspective. “A bit of a shocking finding is that the Brazilian Amazon has flipped to becoming a carbon source, but the good news is that the Amazon as a whole is a carbon sink.” He emphasized that this is due to protected areas and indigenous territories in the Andean Amazon region, saying that, “They are very strong carbon sinks…all of the areas outside of these designations are a strong carbon source.”

Climate Impact on Species

The second section focused on the climate impact on ecosystems, species and people. Daniel Larrea, Science and Technology Program Coordinator at Conservación Amazónica – ACEAA focused on the Brazil nut tree as a key method for conservation. “We have to take into account climate change and its effects and impacts on key forest products like Brazil nuts, which in turn impact local communities. I would like to share a quote…’Before being free it’s necessary to be fair,’ and I think that is something we can apply to nature.”

Climate, Carbon and Local People

The final two panelists presented about the relationship between climate, carbon and local people. Marcos Terán, the Executive Director of Conservación Amazónica – ACEAA explained that Brazil nuts are key to the conservation of Amazonian forests in Bolivia due to the value they give to standing forests. Harvesting naturally growing Brazil nuts provides an economic alternative to local populations that otherwise may choose to deforest the area and turn it into a monoculture. “In terms of Bolivia, we have an increased interest in Brazil nuts, açaí, and other native palms that can be used to strengthen communities’ livelihoods,” he explains. “And when you have a key resource like the Brazil nut, it values standing forest & gives local populations an alternate way to generate income…Standing forest is worth more than the alternative.”

The final presenter  was Carmen Josse, the Executive Director of the Ecuadorian nonprofit EcoCiencia, who provided a comprehensive overview of the distribution of carbon stored aboveground inside and outside the nine-nation network of Amazon indigenous territories and protected areas. She noted, “Amazonian indigenous territories & protected areas store over half of the region’s above ground carbon (58%)…The carbon net loss over 2003-2016 in these areas is only 0.1% inside indigenous territories, 0.6% in protected areas & 3.6% in other land.”

Question and Answer Session

Following the presentations was a question and answer session. One audience member asked Matt Finer, “How effective are indigenous territories & protected areas across the Amazon?” He referenced the findings from a recent MAAP report. “I think the data points to two major keys: maintaining and strengthening protected areas and indigenous territories. That’s where the big movement for the future will be to safeguard more land.”

Carlos Nobre was asked, “What type of global climate action is needed to avoid the ‘tipping point’?,” to which he replied, “Basically we are saying there has to be a moratorium, zero deforestation, zero degradation, zero fires in the Amazon. There needs to be a global movement led by the Amazonian countries.”

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

Editor’s note: This piece is a translated op-ed written by Maria Elena Gutierrez, the Executive Director of our sister organization on the ground in Peru, Conservación Amazónica-ACCA. The original text in Spanish was published on La Mula and can be found here.

Installation of irrigation system in Infierno. Photo by Yessenia Apaza

A few days ago I visited the Indigenous community of Infierno in Madre de Dios, less than an hour from Puerto Maldonado, Peru in the buffer zone of the Tambopata National Reserve. The community’s name in Spanish, “Infierno”, translates to “Hell” in English; according to some it was given by the ancient merchants of the region who navigated the demanding Tambopata River. They would say, “we’re going to arrive in Hell” while maneuvering through two formidable river bends under a scorching sun and insatiable mosquitoes that blinded and overwhelmed them. After a hundred years, albeit without the sailing, but with masks and the blistering heat of 40 ° C (104 °F), its name still seemed appropriate.

María Cordero, the president of the community, along with some of its members, welcomed us and expressed candidly how difficult it is to motivate entrepreneurship in the Amazon because it requires discipline, perseverance and respect for the land. On top of this are the impacts of climate change. The increase in average temperature and prolonged length of the dry season has been affecting agriculture, an economic activity that the majority of people that live there are engaged in.

One way forward has been the shift to agroforestry, since it combines cocoa or Brazil nut trees with annual crops such as banana or cassava in order to guarantee income during the first years of growth of forest species. Similarly, a promising alternative is the installation of irrigation systems and pumping water from the subsoil, but that constitutes thousands of Peruvian soles that makes it inaccessible to everyone. We were concerned because if we did not identify the appropriate approach to guarantee the sustainability of these technologies, the younger generation who moved back to the countryside due to the pandemic would opt for illegal activities.

From Infierno passing through Lima, the capital of Peru, we headed to the imperial city of Cusco, where my colleagues showed me how in the Andean highlands around the Ausangate mountain range, they are experiencing severe water stress due to the accelerated thawing of ice caps and the intensity of dry periods. For example, the Quechua indigenous communities of Phinaya are dedicated to alpaca farming that depend on a specialized ecosystem, the bofedales, which are highland wetlands.

Alpacas grazing at the foot of Ausangate. Photo by Ronald Catpo

Bofedales are wetlands where small vegetation areas or pastures rejuvenate like sponges from rainfall and moisture, and filter the water through the subsoil, forming lagoons and rivers downstream. Once again, we see how global warming is drying up wetlands at very rapid rates. Now there are alpacas that only manage to drink water every three days.

We hope to soon replicate the success of restoring wetlands and the sustainable management of livestock that we experienced in the Japu Indigenous Community, located at 4,700 meters (15,000 feet) above sea level and considered the last Inca stronghold. But if the world does not manage to control its carbon emissions by 2030 and temperature increases more than 1.5 °C since the industrial era, these ecosystems, and the habitats of our Andean siblings, will soon be inhospitable.

The Andes and the Amazon of Peru are home to an unmatched diversity of species and ecosystems, which we still have yet to fully discover, but whose functions generate key services for human subsistence such as providing food, fiber, medicines, crop pollination, water and climate regulation, among others.

This is everyone’s responsibility as we consume products produced as a result of deforestation or, on the contrary, we do nothing to stop the loss of forests, which are our key allies in carbon sequestration and the stabilization of the climate. For the COVID-19 pandemic there is a vaccine, but there is not one for the climate crisis. If we don’t do something soon, we are going to rewrite Dante Alighieri’s work with dramatic scenes from the climate emergency, initially starring the most vulnerable.

“The tipping point is here, it is now. A modern vision of the Amazon must include truly innovative elements to create profitable bioeconomies that would immediately eliminate illogical and short-sighted economies.”

-Thomas Lovejoy and Carlos Nobre, renowned climate scientists

On September 22, we hosted the webinar panel “Building a Forest-Based Economy in the Amazon”, where a panel of international speakers discussed what it takes to build a profitable bioeconomy that keeps the Amazon standing for generations to come,  as part of Global Landscape Forum’s “The Tipping Point” conference. Local community members, Indigenous Peoples, and international experts covered three main topics:

• Production Capacity and Market Connections
• Scaling Up
• Building Climate Resilience and Adaptation

Click here to see the full agenda or here to download the presentations (original presentation languages only).

John Beavers, the Executive Director of Amazon Conservation, opened the session affirming how a forest-based economy is a key conservation and development method. “From our view, the local & national economy can sustainably optimize the use of healthy forests as a path to a just and prosperous way of life, and for the effective conservation of the Amazon at scale through a great bioeconomy.”

Thomas Lovejoy, a renowned conservation biologist nicknamed “the Godfather of Biodiversity”, reminded viewers of the ecological importance of the Amazon, highlighting that it makes half of its own rainfall and we are at a tipping point close to where there isn’t sufficient moisture for the Southern and Eastern Amazon to support rainforest. “The solution,” he said, “is to bring back the capacity of the forest to generate moisture, which relates to the new vision of forest-dependent Amazon economies that do not require replacement of forests by large-scale plantations.” He also highlighted the construction of transportation infrastructure and the importance of communication with people on the ground. “We must engage in the local discussions about the infrastructure projects, and what are good and not good ways to go about them, so that wherever the bad ideas begin, there will be a local and informed populace that can argue against them.”

Production Capacity and Market Connections

During the first of three sections, panelists covered how local people are building their capacity to sustainably produce from the forest and create market connections that optimize production and increase incomes from forest-friendly commodities. Marcos Terán, Executive Director at Conservación Amazónica – ACEAA, our sister organization in Bolivia, introduced this section by highlighting the resources the Amazon provides its countries. “If we are talking about building forest-based economies, we cannot overlook the vast biodiversity of the Western Amazon, which gives us resources that directly relate to the development of Amazonian countries.”

One example of a community doing this is Porvenir, in the Bolivian Amazon. Gresley Justiniano, the mayor of this town and the youngest mayor in Bolivian history at 26 years old, discussed how one of their municipal development strategies is to build an economy based on Amazonian products such as açaí, as the region where she is mayor is home to the 79,000-acre Porvenir Conservation Area, an area we helped establish last year. With these resources, they are looking to access larger markets through a better fruit transformation process, sanitary certification, and improved harvesting practices. She also adds that, “our town’s location allows us to access different markets…This allows us to strengthen productive chains and diversify to other Amazonian fruits such as palma real and majo.”

The next speaker was Sara Hurtado, a Brazil nut concessionaire and entrepreneur from the Peruvian Amazon. She is also the manager of the Peruvian Brazil Nut Industry (INCAP in Spanish) and spoke about the benefit of sustainable harvesting, partnering with harvester associations, and Brazil nuts’ importance as a non-wood product that doesn’t result in deforestation. Sara also mentioned how they are working to be resilient to climate change, saying, “We know that climate change will affect Brazil nut production in Madre de Dios and the world. That’s why harvesters are organizing to strengthen our work in the field. We monitor our land to prevent…deforestation, and reforest with Brazil nuts.”

The last speaker of the section was Daniel Larrea, the Science and Technology Program Coordinator for Conservación Amazónica – ACEAA. He provided statistics about Brazil nut capacity in Bolivia, such as that there are 20 million Brazil nut trees in the country valued at USD 130-135 million per year, with 87,000 people participating in their harvest. But, he emphasizes that this productivity is dependent on the well-being of the Amazon. “Maintaining a healthy forest is the first step to keeping it productive, to strengthen the livelihoods of local communities. If a forest is healthy, it is productive, it is resilient to the effects of climate change.”

Scaling Up

The following section covered how to scale locally-based production so that it covers the entire Amazon, through strengthening local producer associations and indigenous federations. Isabel Castillo, Country Director of NESsT Peru introduced this section and discussed investment in the Amazon, and how we have to start speaking the language of the two worlds of the financial system. “As facilitators our role is in the world of investment–traditional & nontraditional, but it is also to help local entrepreneurs go national & see their avenue of options to be able to do business.”

Eiji Misael Campos Fernandez was the first speaker of the section, and he currently serves as the President of the Departamental Federation of Açaí and Amazonian Fruits of Pando (FEDAFAP) in Bolivia, a regional association representing rural families and farmers across the Pando Department. He noted the importance of advancing sustainable harvesting saying that, “it is very important. In the Pando department, what was done before was not sustainable…palmera was being lost in this region. Today we have good harvesting practices.” He also emphasized the importance of working within associations, and how they help meet the objectives set for forest concessions.

Martin Huaypuna, the President of the Indigenous Forest Association in Madre de Dios (AFIMAD), spoke next. Based in Puerto Maldonado, Peru, AFIMAD represents seven indigenous communities from the lower Madre de Dios river area who are dedicated to sustainable Brazil nut production. He discussed some lessons learned so far, saying that, “Being an Association has made us stronger, before we were victims of intermediaries, now we can negotiate better with buyers and generate greater volume. Although there is little financing for our activities, we finance ourselves with: contributions from partners, we manage loans with international and national entities, though help is always welcome…Now we are better at conserving our forests.

Building Climate Resilience and Adaptation

The last of our three topics covered at the conference covered some of the ways in which communities are building resilience and adaptation into their forest management and production. James Hardcastle, the Associate Director of IUCN, introduced the section, noting the importance of scaling up through local channels whether that be through local harvesters’ associations or non-governmental organizations on the ground. “When we think of bioeconomy and we think of scaling up we tend to think of volume and finance…but really what we need to see scaling up is the connection to approaches and organizations, to see scaling up as growing something from strong roots…This really means public and private investors need to incorporate these elements that we’re facing, this ability to support good governance and scaling up through the local channels, local connection, peer to peer knowledge and local agents and information flow…bioeconomy is built on financing the whole resilience.”

The first presenter of the section was Hilda Maria Cordero, the first woman President of Ese Eja Infierno, an indigenous community close to Puerto Maldonado in the Peruvian Amazon. She gave firsthand accounts of how her community has noticed the difference in weather patterns the past few years, likely as a result of climate change. “The dry season is getting drier, there are days that reach 104° F (40 °C) at noon…and Brazil nut production has changed a lot. There are years when production drops a lot and affects us economically. In the dry season, the smoke that comes from Brazil and Bolivia (from the fires) reaches Madre de Dios. This affects people (vision, lungs) and we do not know how it is affecting crops or wildlife.” However, she also noted how they’re adapting to this current situation and supporting forest-based economies, saying, “We are empowering community organizations so they can negotiate with buyers and get better prices, and are seeking the organic certification of our agricultural products to have a sustainable production and to be able to enter better markets.”

Adivaldo Moura Silva, the Director of the Amazon Productive Development Service of Integral Technical Assistance (SEDEPRO in Spanish), which is part of the local Pando, Bolivia government spoke about what his community is doing to be resilient to climate change. Pando spans 156 million acres (63 million hectares), with 84% of its surface being Amazon forest. “We are implementing mechanisms that contribute to the mitigation & adaptation to climate change, through the sustainable management of our forests and Mother Earth,” which includes coordination between public and private sectors, and the diversification of the use of Amazonian fruits.

Closing

After a brief question-and-answer session, Fabiola Muñoz, the Former Minister of Environment and Agriculture for Peru, closed the session with the main takeaways from this session. She noted how information to local actors is a key element, with another being financing. “We cannot advance without accessible financing. We also have to work on financial inclusion…show what it is possible that these are truly scale-ready profitable businesses. We have to learn to grow, and we have to start speaking this language of the two worlds of the financial system. We also have to work on financial inclusion, and show that these are truly scale-ready profitable businesses.” She also concluded on a hopeful note, saying, “I believe that this event has shown us that it is possible to have an economy based on the products of biodiversity.”

Thank you to all our participants and panelists for attending our session. To see what other upcoming events there are, please visit amazonconservation.org/events.