Article
Mining on Sacred Land in Raposa Serra do Sol
Gold mining brings prospectors, disease, and destruction to indigenous lands in Brazil. But indigenous communities are fighting back.
Approach
Rainforest Foundation US (RFUS) partners with indigenous peoples to protect vital rainforest ecosystems and address the climate crisis. We provide support to indigenous communities and organizations to secure their rights to their traditional lands and livelihoods. As an organization, RFUS prides itself on being nimble and flexible, engaging with our partners over the long term on initiatives based on their priorities and aspirations.
The following are among the key ways RFUS supports its partners:
Territorial Monitoring
RFUS provides training, tools and financial support to indigenous organizations to map, monitor, and secure their territories using cost effective technology like smartphones and drones.
Land Management
RFUS advises communities to build participatory, bottom-up land management plans to protect their forests and to set the stage for sustainable livelihoods that respect their values, beliefs, and ways of life.
Policy & Advocacy
RFUS supports partners to advocate for national and international policy change as it relates to indigenous peoples’ rights, forest protection and restoration, natural resource management, climate action, and biodiversity preservation.
Institutional Strengthening
RFUS invests directly in indigenous peoples’ organizations and partners with them to strengthen integral governance, communications, administrative, management and financial capacities.
Land Titling & Legal Intervention
RFUS works with indigenous peoples to obtain legal representation to secure land rights, settle disputes, and seek justice for human rights violations perpetrated against environmental defenders.
In The News
How One Man – And A Creative Map – Made A Difference In Panama’s COVID-19 Crisis
RFUS’s Mapping Coordinator, Carlos Doviaza, was featured in an NPR article that describes how his maps are helping indigenous communities in Panama assert their land rights and track COVID-19.
Article
In Guyana, New Documentation of the Land Indigenous People Hold (and the Land They’re Unjustly Denied)
RFUS supported the Amerindian Peoples Association to conduct a nation-wide assessment of indigenous lands in Guyana. The report exposes inconsistencies and injustices in the land recognition process.
Support Our Work
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.