Our Enduring Commitment to the Amazon as US Policies Change

February 7, 2025

As we enter unprecedented times for conservation and climate change around the world, we at Amazon Conservation Association want to reassure you that our commitment to the Amazon and fighting climate change remains unchanged.

The impacts of deforestation and climate change will not stop in the midst of political uncertainty, but neither will our dedication to protecting the largest and most important forest on the planet. If we want the Amazon to carry on providing the world with all that it does now–vital resources like water and oxygen, climate regulation, home to Indigenous groups and their traditional ways of life, a haven for wildlife and biodiversity, and the source of irreplaceable products for local and global economies–then we must continue to move forward with the conservation solutions needed to ensure that the forest thrives, no matter how big the challenges in front of us are.

The latest decisions by the US government on foreign aid, conservation, and climate–among many other decisions affecting everything from humanitarian assistance to science–are already creating major ripple effects on local communities and the protection of nature. For instance, several of our Alliance’s projects previously supported by USAID to combat illegal deforestation in Peru have been halted. We, along with the rest of the conservation community, are deeply concerned about the long-term impacts these decisions will have on the health of forests, survival of wildlife, local people’s livelihoods, and our global climate. Our hearts go out to the people around the world who are being affected by these drastic decisions and all the organizations that are being directly impacted. However, even though this change in funding has already begun to affect our work, it has not moved us away from our core mission to drive conservation action across the Amazon. We remain as committed to protecting the Amazon today as we were on our first day, 25 years ago.

Now more than ever, we ask that you join us and other nonprofit organizations in the fight to protect nature and our collective futures. Civil society organizations are quickly becoming central to filling new gaps in order to continue providing critical social, economic, and environmental services. And we depend on you to help us keep conservation thriving and resilient through these new challenges. We are truly grateful to each of our supporters and partners for your contributions to date that have helped us achieve so much already, and we pledge to continue fighting to ensure that our conservation progress won’t be stopped. 

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