Earth Month 2026: How Our Alliance Scales Conservation Across the Amazon

April 29, 2026

Working with communities and partners to protect millions of acres of forest and build long-term conservation solutions across the Amazon.

To close out our Earth Month series, where we’ve been sharing stories of impact showing the Power of Collective Action: Mobilizing Conservation at Scale Across the Amazon, we turn to what has made this work possible over time: collaboration across borders, organizations, and people. For over 25 years with our sister organization Conservación Amazónica-ACCA in Peru and 15 years with Conservación Amazónica-ACEAA in Bolivia, we’ve seen how working as an alliance strengthens impact and extends it further across the Amazon. Together we work with more than 20 local partners across the region and have helped protect over 14.6 million acres of forest, showing that conservation at scale is built through long-term relationships, shared knowledge, and mutual trust.

With local roots on the ground, the Alliance bridges local, regional, and international work through knowledge exchange and strategic partnerships that amplify and elevate the importance of the Amazon Rainforest.

In the Peruvian Amazon, Indigenous leaders are adding drones to improve the safety and efficiency of their forest protection efforts. Representatives from the Native Federation of the Madre de Dios River and Tributaries (FENAMAD) and leaders of the Indigenous Council of the Lower Madre de Dios (COINBAMAD) took part in a hands-on training in drone technology last year that was organized by Conservación Amazónica-ACCA with support from partners. The workshop focused on safely operating and applying these tools to monitor their territories and safeguard their forest homes.

By combining ancestral knowledge with technology, communities are strengthening their ability to detect threats such as illegal logging, mining, and deforestation while reducing the risks of direct confrontation with illegal actors. Beyond technical skills, these efforts reinforce autonomy and long-term capacity for Indigenous-led conservation.

“Putting science and technology to work is a central pillar of our conservation work,” said John Beavers, President of Amazon Conservation. “Being able to share and exchange this technology with communities that need it to safely protect their resources and rights is essential.”

This kind of long-term investment in people and capacity is also what makes larger conservation milestones possible over time.

In Bolivia, this approach contributed to a major achievement: the creation of the Río Negro Forest for Integrated Management and Ecotourism in the last quarter of 2025, a new protected area spanning more than 209,000 hectares. As 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.

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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.

Its creation is a reminder that protected areas don’t happen overnight. They are the result of sustained partnerships, community leadership, and a long-term commitment to conservation.

Across the Amazon, efforts like these continue to shape what long-term conservation looks like in practice. Protected areas and Indigenous territories remain among the most effective ways to reduce deforestation, sustain biodiversity, and support climate stability, but they are built over time through sustained collaboration, mutual trust, and shared commitment.

As these examples show, conservation at scale is not the result of a single action, but of many connected efforts working together across landscapes and borders. From community-led monitoring in Peru to the creation of new protected areas in Bolivia, each step contributes to a broader vision of a thriving Amazon.

Reaching 14.6 million acres of protected areas as an alliance is a milestone worth recognizing and also part of an ongoing process. Together with our partners, supporters, and communities across the region, we continue to build on this foundation, expanding what is possible for forests and for the people who depend on them.

Learn more about the creation of the Río Negro protected area. 
Learn more about community-led drone monitoring in Peru. 

There is still time to be part of this collective effort! This Earth Month, we invite you to join us and become part of a growing community committed to protecting the Amazon. As a special thank you, new and current monthly donors in the US and Canada will receive our exclusive 18-month calendar, created to celebrate the beauty and resilience of the Amazon throughout the year. Click below to learn more.

This Earth Month, we invite you to be part of something bigger. 

Together, we have the power to protect the Amazon, and our planet.