Under the Bolsonaro presidency, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is up 278% and the world’s largest tropical forest is being converted into a mosaic of cattle pasture and soy fields faster than ever before. Deforestation – and now the fires we’re witnessing – is the direct result of the ongoing dismantling of public policies that protect the rainforest and support indigenous rights in Brazil. They’re also the result of insatiable world-wide demand for products including soy, beef, and leather. Both companies and consumers are beginning to take action – already yesterday 18 brands including Timberland, Vans and Kipling have suspended buying Brazilian leather.
Meanwhile, here at the Rainforest Foundation our focus is on our indigenous partners and local communities at the frontlines in the Amazon. Check out this video from the Xingu+ Network to get a feel for what indigenous peoples on the ground are thinking and doing to protect their forests from destruction. It has special resonance for us, as the Rainforest Foundation was founded 30 years ago to support the demarcation of the Menkragnoti Territory where the community in this video lives. And now fires are approaching their lands. They say they will “resist for the forest” by producing without destroying, saying no to deforestation and fires in their lands. All because even though they are from the Xingu region of Brazil, they are all connected with us.
While we are grateful for the interest in sending specialized water bombers and firefighters to extinguish some of the flames, their impact on the 10,000 active fires can’t be sustained over time. The real heroes in this tragedy are the women and men on the ground who work every day to protect their lands – by monitoring their forests, defending their land rights, confronting illegal deforestation head on, building resilient community institutions, promoting sustainable economic alternatives, and planting trees. This work is a critically important contribution to keeping the Amazon standing – and to tackling the climate crisis.
We stand with these brave men and women who are putting their lives on the line for their families, their culture, and for the world as we know it.
In her latest article, Akola Thompson, advocacy coordinator at Guyana’s South Rupununi District Council, delves into the impacts of carbon offsetting on the Indigenous peoples of Guyana. She highlights the government’s persistent refusal to acknowledge Indigenous communities’ claims to their customary lands.
Guyana has added almost all its forests to the carbon market, signing a $750 million carbon credit deal with petroleum company Hess Corporation, of which 15% will go to Indigenous communities. However, climate experts and Indigenous leaders are questioning the scheme’s accuracy in measuring carbon emissions and whether communities were properly consulted.
In this newsletter, you will learn about why our work—protecting rainforest in partnership with Indigenous peoples—is crucial in combating climate change, as highlighted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Additionally, we provide updates about our work in Guyana, Brazil, and Panama.
Rainforest Foundation US is tackling the major challenges of our day: deforestation, the climate crisis, and human rights violations. Your donation moves us one step closer to creating a more sustainable and just future.
Didier Devers
Chief of Party – USAID Guatemala
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Didier has been coordinating the USAID-funded B’atz project since joining Rainforest Foundation US in April 2022. He holds a Master’s in Applied Anthropology and a Bachelor’s in Geography. Before joining the organization, Didier worked for 12 years in Central and South America on issues of transparency, legality, governance, and managing stakeholders’ processes in the environmental sector. Prior to that he worked on similar issues in Central Africa. He speaks French, Spanish, and English, and is based in Guatemala.