The Ancestral Forest: How Indigenous Peoples Transformed the Amazon into a Vast Garden

For centuries, many people in the Western world believed the Amazon to be an unpopulated and untouched forest. This has never been entirely true. The Amazon has been managed by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years. On this International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, explore how—through the creation of fertile soils and selecting and cultivating various plant and tree species over millennia—Indigenous peoples have transformed the Amazon rainforest into the most biodiverse ecosystem on Earth.

Breaking Barriers, Building Futures: Indigenous Women Take the Lead in the Peruvian Amazon

Indigenous women in Ucayali and Loreto province, Peru, are shattering gender barriers and reshaping traditions. Despite enduring historical exclusion from leadership roles, they are now rewriting this narrative.

Discover how the Affirmative Measures Project, led by the Rainforest Foundation US team in Peru, is bridging the gap for women to actively participate and lead.

COP28: Indigenous peoples should take center stage, and supporting their communities is key to effectively mitigating climate change

Indigenous representatives speaking at COP28 podium

Rainforest Foundation US (RFUS) will participate in COP28, supporting Indigenous leaders from the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities (GATC), an organization that unites Indigenous peoples and local community (IP and LC) organizations from 24 countries in the Amazon Basin, Mesoamérica, the Congo Basin, and Indonesia, among other national and regional partners.

The Guardians of the Future

The New York Times features our indigenous partners at the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities (GATC). Never before have we seen Indigenous peoples’ voices so prominently placed in major media like this. “It’s time for Indigenous voices to lead the climate fight,” trumpets the subheadline.

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Our planet is our home. It's our collective responsibility to protect it.

While climate policies may stall, our work will not. With your help, we will continue supporting Indigenous-led rainforest protection—critical for slowing climate change.

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