Results of a new scientific study show that indigenous peoples using remote sensing technology can better survey their lands and reduce deforestation by half. Under Rainforest Foundation US’s community-based forest monitoring program, called Rainforest Alert, indigenous forest patrollers combine satellite imagery with foot patrols to verify evidence and equip community leaders with the information they need to take action. This cost-effective model could be scaled across the Amazon basin to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by the equivalent of 21 million cars per year, at only $6/hectare.
This film explains the results of the study, the Rainforest Alert methodology, and how it could be scaled across the Amazon basin to reduce emissions from deforestation. The film was produced by Rainforest Foundation US and If Not Us, Then Who.
We have expanded our programming in Brazil to focus on territorial defense, Indigenous governance, and territorial control through community-led forest patrolling. Learn more about our recent visit to Brazil, where we strengthened ties with partners in Roraima, including the Indigenous Council of Roraima’s (CIR), Hutukara – Yanomami Association, Seduume, and Wai-Wai organizations.
After ten long years, justice was served on Thursday, April 11, for the victims of the emblematic Saweto case in the Ucayali region of Peru. The Court sentenced the five accused to 28 years and three months of imprisonment for the crimes against Ashéninka community leaders from Alto Tamaya – Saweto: Edwin Chota Valera, Jorge Ríos Pérez, Francisco Pinedo Ramírez, and Leoncio Quintisima Meléndez, who were brutally murdered on September 1, 2014.
The voluntary carbon market is quickly evolving and being introduced in new territories, making it challenging to sort out who’s who and what the implications are for impacted communities. To support Indigenous communities and local communities to better understand carbon markets, Rainforest Foundation US has launched the first three videos of a six-part animated series to demystify the market and provide communities with the essential information to protect their rights.
Rainforest Foundation US believes that our Rainforest Alert program can avoid nearly 4,000 square miles (1 million hectares) of deforestation over the coming decade – that’s twice the size of Delaware.
Hover over the amounts below to see how much rainforest you can help protect by donating to Rainforest Alert.
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Didier Devers
Chief of Party – USAID Guatemala
gro.y1713997241nffr@1713997241sreve1713997241dd1713997241
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.