Using Innovative Technology for Stronger Conservation

At Amazon Conservation, we bridge the gap between traditional practices of conservation and innovative new technologies by creating a holistic conservation strategy that employs the best of both worlds.

Southwest Amazon Drone Center: Using drones to find and stop illicit deforestation activities

Our drone center, the first of its kind in Peru, is training local landowners, indigenous communities, students, and government officials to use cutting-edge drone technology to find, monitor and stop deforestation.

We provide locals the technology, knowledge, legal support and connections so they can safely and effectively take action

Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP): Using satellites to identify deforestation in near real-time

In the past, deforestation often wouldn’t be discovered until years the damage was already done to an irreversible point.

We created our MAAP project to help combat that. MAAP is dedicated to presenting original analysis related to the dynamic new field of near real-time deforestation monitoring. Our goal is to present timely, high-impact technical reports in an easily accessible and understandable format.

Learn more about MAAP >

Camera Traps: Tracking biodiversity without leaving a footprint

Camera trap technology enables us to document wildlife presence, abundance, and population changes, particularly in the face of deforestation and habitat destruction.

We deploy camera traps all throughout the western Amazon, at our research stations and at multiple conservation areas we help manage. We have deployed over 100 camera traps and gathered over 10,000 photos and videos of more than 40 species of mammals and birds.
Many of the species captured on camera have an endangered status (Near Threatened or Vulnerable) according to the IUCN Red List, including jaguars, giant anteaters, giant armadillos, white-lipped peccaries, tapirs, and pale-winged trumpeters.

Impact Highlights

Over 450,000 acres

Of deforestation exposed to date through our MAAP program

Over 10,000 camera trap images

Taken to monitor local biodiversity and forest health

Over 100 deforestation threat alerts

Published to date, informing the public and local authorities

The Latest from the Amazon

New Research at Los Amigos Shows Critical Role of Forests in Scrubbing Harmful Mercury from the Amazon and Atmosphere

A study conducted at our Los Amigos Biological Station and recently published in Nature revealed that intact forests near gold mining areas provide a critical ecosystem service. They intercept and sequester massive amounts of mercury, keeping it from entering the global atmosphere and preventing it from poisoning nearby ponds and streams, where it is substantially […]

Swift Action Following Our MAAP Report Halts Illegal Mining in Ecuadorian Amazon

Earlier this month, we worked with our in-country partner EcoCiencia to document the rapid illegal mining expansion threatening the Ecuadorian Amazon. With our satellite-based tools, we were able to identify the mining in real-time, and report it to local authorities, media, and the general public. Days after we launched the report, both the government and […]

Radar Monitoring, the Newest Ally in the Fight Against Illegal Gold Mining

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 […]