Article
Rainforest Foundation US 2021 Year in Review
As the year comes to a close, RFUS takes stock of the progress, victories, and lessons we learned in 2021.
News From the Ground
Top Stories
Article
Equal Rights to Defend the Rainforest: As Rainforest Alert Expands, An Eye Towards Gender Inclusion
Gender inclusion is key to effective and sustainable forest protection, yet many indigenous women have been traditionally excluded from participation. We highlight the work of women who are leaders in our Rainforest Alert program.
Press Release
Significance of Community-Held Territories in 24 Countries to Global Climate
New research shows indigenous peoples and local communities live on at least 3.75 million square miles of land spanning most of the world’s endangered tropical forests—yet have legal rights to less than half of these lands.
News Feed
Multimedia
Video: The Shaman’s Message
The Shaman’s Message is inspired by Yanomami shaman and leader, Davi Kopenawa, whose work “holds up the sky,” protecting the forest, biodiversity and climate stability.
Article
International Statement of Solidarity with Peruvian Indigenous Peoples During the Political Crisis
RFUS and a coalition of nonprofits express their support for indigenous peoples in Peru and rejection of the current Prime Minister.
Article
Meet Fernando Durán, President of the Reforestation Committee of Buen Jardín de Callaru
This is the story of Fernando Durán, who is leading his community of Buen Jardín de Callaru to restore landscapes destroyed by illegal loggers and coca-growers.
Multimedia
Video: Reforestation Alert
Reforestation Alert follows the story of a community in the Peruvian Amazon that, having once successfully eliminated illegal deforestation on their territories, tackles what comes next: reforestation.
Article
Fires in the Amazon Shift with the Seasons, and Rage On
Rainforest Foundation US analyzes Amazon fire data from 2019 and 2020. Indigenous peoples’ traditional land management practices lower the risk of extreme forest fires.
Article
Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied: Saweto Testifies Before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Diana Ríos testifies before the IACHR today regarding delays in the Peruvian judicial system that are denying her community justice.
Article
Land Rights in the Time of COVID-19: An Avenue for Protection and Security
Land rights have been fundamental to the pandemic response of indigenous communities, like that of the Embera of Panama’s Darien.
Article
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Calls on Brazil to Protect the Yanomami
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has called on Brazil to address the COVID-19 pandemic in the Yanomami Territory.
Article
Amazon Emergency Fund Scales Up
The Amazon Emergency Fund (AEF) received a $2 million donation from the French Government to deliver COVID-19 relief to indigenous communities.
Press Release
Murder of Two Yanomami by Illegal Miners Heightens Fears of Renewed Cycle of Violence in the Brazilian Amazon
The murders reinforce the need for the Brazilian government to immediately expel the more than 20,000 miners illegally operating on Yanomami land.
Press Release
Miners Out, COVID-19 Out: The Yanomami and Ye’Kwana People of the Brazilian Amazon Launch a Global Campaign to Expel Miners From Their Territory
Indigenous leaders demand the urgent removal of 20,000 illegal gold miners from their lands to prevent the spread of COVID-19
Press Release
SOS Rainforest Live: Major Artists Unite in Support of Indigenous Guardians of the Rainforests Threatened by the COVID-19 Pandemic
On June 21st, major international artists will join in solidarity with indigenous peoples for a livestream concert to raise awareness and support for indigenous forest guardians under extreme threat from the coronavirus.