The Yanomami, an indigenous people in the northern Amazon rainforest, were attacked by illegal gold miners several times in recent weeks, leaving several people wounded and two young children dead. With tens of thousands of miners still illegally occupying their land, the threat of continued violence remains.
On the heels of a recent survey of indigenous communities in Peru revealing widespread unfamiliarity with COVID-19 and hesitancy about the vaccine, RFUS has teamed up with indigenous partner organizations on a multilingual COVID-19 awareness campaign.
An article in Forbes describes the work of Betty Rubio Padilla, president of the Federation of Communities of the Middle Napo and Curaray and Arabela River Basins, to stop deforestation in her territory. RFUS trained Betty’s community to use satellite technology and deforestation alerts in order to quickly detect and respond to illegal incursions.
Fortress conservation is a standard method of protection for old-growth forests. This practice forbids any and all human interference with the land. Read how this idea, while good on paper, has troubling implications for indigenous populations.
The government of Guyana has an international commitment to conserving an additional 2 million hectares of forest. Formally recognizing indigenous collective lands could be the solution.
Michael McGarrell, an indigenous youth and partner to Rainforest Foundation US, talks about his work as a territorial mapper and the importance of learning from your elders.
Far from Georgetown or other large settlements, the villages’ lands had been largely untouched by outside forces. Yet the geographical remoteness which had previously sheltered these communities is ending as new infrastructure makes it easier to access this region, putting its native populations in danger.
After hundreds of indigenous representatives and their allies blocked the entrances to Panama’s Ministry of the Environment, the director of MiAmbiente sat down to negotiate land rights petitions.
For the first time in the history of Peru, two indigenous communities have been officially accredited as Forest Monitors by the State.
RFUS’s partners, the Wapichan communities in Guyana, have joined together to create a website and mapping portal that shares their story, culture, and vision.
Analysis of satellite images reveals that indigenous communities with rights to their territories keep fires out, even as national parks and other surrounding areas are devastated by fire.
State sanctioned violence is on the rise against indigenous peoples in Brazil. In the midst of this tragedy, Rainforest Foundation figurehead Sting reaffirms his support for the rainforest’s native peoples.
After nine years of struggle, the native Shipibo-Conibo communities of Nueva Saposoa and Patria Nueva were granted land title expansions. But they still face opposition and violence from coca growers.
After a historic meeting of indigenous representatives from across Guyana’s Region 7, the council issues a formal statement about their land rights, addressed to national government.
Adam crafts original content and repurposes existing material and information in a way that communicates the organization’s engagement priorities to various audiences. Prior to working at RFUS, he wrote for several outlets, including: The Wall Street Journal, The Budapest Times, and A&E, amongst others. He’s also a published fiction writer and has written and staged several plays in New York City. Adam holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Rutgers University—Camden, and is a native English speaker who is bilingual in Hungarian and fluent in Spanish.
