The Brazilian government has built a map to help commodity exporters comply with the European Union’s new regulation on deforestation-free products, or EUDR. The country’s National Space Research Institute, INPE,…
Emotions were running high when Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced the formal recognition of several Indigenous territories at COP30, the U.N. climate conference held in the Amazonian…
What’s lurking in and around the rainforest canopy? That’s a hard question to answer, especially in tall and dense forests. Traditional tracking methods, like camera traps, often miss out on…
Once destined for the priesthood, Edson Abreu dos Santos now shepherds volunteers to tackle Amazon’s fire crisis.
MITÚ, Colombia — Beneath the rising sun, people from nearby Indigenous communities navigate across the Vaupés River in traditional wooden canoes toward Mitú, a rapidly expanding town in the Colombian…
VAUPÉS, COLOMBIA – As a baby, Elisa Fernández Sánchez’ mother would place her into the bow of the canoe and glide across the murky waters of the Vaupés River in…
In the Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve in the Brazilian Amazon, locals tap rubber and extract Brazil nuts from the rainforest for a living. It’s a way of life dependent on…
In Indigenous Asháninka belief, bees were once spirits in human form. Stories tell of a woman who enjoyed making masato, a traditional Amazonian fermented beverage. Every day, she would boil…
Brazil’s Triunfo do Xingu Environmental Protection Area encompasses an area of Amazon Rainforest more than half the size of Belgium. Or at least it used to. The embattled reserve has…
Erosion is natural along Amazonian rivers, but increasing boat traffic can raise the risk of bank collapse.
When rigid loans fail to reach forest communities, they work in favor of invaders.
Fueled by açaí flowers, a bee's resin once used for war wounds is now evolving as a new ingredient for cosmetics.
A new agreement that aims to streamline the monitoring and protection of the Amazon Rainforest was announced at the COP30 climate summit that wrapped up this week in Belém, Brazil.…
After two weeks of negotiations in Belém, Brazil, the COP30 U.N. climate summit delivered mixed outcomes, Indigenous delegates say. The event saw the largest Indigenous participation in COP history and…
Having studied the healing plants and peoples of tropical South America for well over four decades, I am often asked, “What is the conservation status of the Amazon Rainforest? Is…
We all know that “ignorance of the law is no excuse,” but in daily life, ignorance of the consequences of one’s actions is, indeed, an excuse that shields us from…
For several years, illegal gold mining, loggers and other invaders have impacted the territory of the Indigenous Wampís people (or Huambisa) of the northern Peruvian Amazon. To combat these threats…
As the Brazilian city of Belém prepares for this year’s U.N. climate conference, COP30, Indigenous leaders worldwide say they’re getting ready to have their demands addressed. Dubbed the “nature COP”…
Deep in the Peruvian Amazon, a sprawling industrial facility has been carved out of the rainforest. This is the Camisea Gas Complex, a natural gas mega-field operated by a consortium…
Lawmakers in Brazil can scrap a 30-year-old protection to meet global demand for gold and other minerals.
Once a major river city, Belém turned its back on the water, leaving 40% of its urban area vulnerable to floods.
SÃO PAULO AND RIO DE JANEIRO — Despite government efforts to halt violence in the Amazon region where British journalist Dom Phillips and Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira were killed three…
Prosecutors are lawyers employed by the state to investigate crimes and initiate judicial proceedings. Ensuring their integrity and competence is essential to judicial reform and the application of environmental law.…
PAKAYAKU TERRITORY, Ecuador — Deep in the heart of Ecuador's Amazon, where the Bobonaza River winds through ancient forests in Pastaza province, Sacha Gayas spreads out a hand-drawn map across her…
The metal needed in electric cars and solar panels comes with a high cost for Amazonian communities.
Josep “Pep” Canadell, executive director of the Global Carbon Project, says he believes countries large and small need to think twice before pledging to collectively plant billions of trees as…
According to a new report, most of Venezuela’s gold is smuggled and laundered internationally through shell companies and opaque supply chains, including to the U.S. The operations are often controlled…
Now a leading archaeologist, Rostain was discouraged at first. “No one is interested in archaeology of the Amazon.”
This series, Voices from the Land, brings together opinion pieces led and written by Indigenous peoples from around the world. Through these commentaries, we share our lived realities and reflections…
Brazil’s environment minister bets on safeguards for the highway, but history shows similar plans have failed.
After 11 years, the Alto Tamaya Saweto community has finally received confirmation of convictions in the 2014 murders of Indigenous Ashéninka leaders Edwin Chota, Jorge Ríos, Leoncio Quintanísima and Francisco…
In 2017, when Betty Rubio began patrolling the forests of her ancestral land, she began to question why she was doing it. It wasn’t easy. She knew that tackling environmental…
