The Amazon Rain Forest
The Amazon spans a vast portion of Brazil, hosting the world’s largest tropical rainforest. It stores vast carbon, regulates regional and global climate, and supports extraordinary biodiversity. Yet it is under threat from agricultural expansion, illegal logging, and infrastructure development.
- The drivers: Cattle ranching and soy for livestock feed drive much of the deforestation, along with mining, oil, and expanding roads.
- The stakes: The Amazon’s carbon stocks are immense; deforestation releases CO2 and weakens a critical climate buffer, while restoration offers outsized climate benefits.
- The guardians: Indigenous peoples and traditional communities safeguard forests, with biodiversity and healthier ecosystems strongest where land rights are recognized.
Learn How to Help Protect the Amazon
“Join us in defending the forest and the people who safeguard it. Your support funds rights-based conservation, transparent supply chains, and on-the-ground monitoring.”
“When Indigenous lands are recognized and respected, forests stay standing, biodiversity thrives, and communities prosper.”
- Secure land rights to reduce deforestation and empower guardians.
- Build deforestation-free, transparent supply chains for beef and soy.
- Invest in real-time forest monitoring and community-led stewardship.
Join the movement
Join and support Environmental and conservation organizations
- World Wildlife Fund (WWF) — Amazon: https://www.worldwildlife.org/places/amazon
- Greenpeace: Amazon Protection and deforestation campaigns: https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/forests/amazon/
- The Nature Conservancy (TNC) — Amazon initiatives: https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/latin-america/brazil/areas-we-protect/amazon/
- Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) — Indigenous-led conservation in the Amazon: https://www.amazonteam.org/
- Rainforest Foundation US — Amazon and forest protection (focus on indigenous rights): https://www.rainforestfoundation.org/
Indigenous rights and guardianship
- Amazon Watch — Indigenous rights and rainforest protection: https://AmazonWatch.org
- International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) — Brazil and Amazon governance: https://www.iwgia.org
- Amazon Basin: Indigenous Peoples and the Environment (various reports) — see linked resources on regional Indigenous organizations (general portal: https://www.iwgia.org/en/regions/latin-america/brazil.html)
- https://www.survivalinternational.org
Indigenous land rights and policy
- Instituto Socioambiental (ISA) — Brazilian NGO focused on Indigenous rights, forests, and policy: https://www.socioambiental.org
- Amazonas Em Movimento (AME) or local networks (varies by year) – check regional Indigenous coalitions for current campaigns
- Indigenous Peoples’ Rights International (IPRI) — Global Indigenous rights advocacy, include Amazon context: https://www.ipri.org
Foundations and philanthropic funders (environment and Indigenous rights)
- Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation (LDF) — Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation sometimes curates Amazon-related grants and content: https://www.leonardodicaprio.org