Right to the Land: Indigenous Land Titles as a Climate Strategy
Here’s an insight at the heart of RFUS’s work: Lands legally controlled by Indigenous peoples and local communities show lower rates of deforestation—up to a 66% reduction in forest cover loss. Listen to Cameron Ellis and Kim Chaix of Rainforest Foundation US speak about the power of land titling.
A Landmark Victory: 20 Indigenous Communities in Peruvian Amazon Secure Land Titles
RFUS celebrates a major victory as 20 Indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon received land titles. Land titles are the most effective way to reduce deforestation in Indigenous peoples’ territory, resulting in a 66% reduction in forest cover loss.
Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazonian Indigenous lands decreased by 42%, reaching a six-year low
Indigenous peoples’ lands in the Amazon experienced a 42% decrease in deforestation between August 2023 and March 2024, according to a report by the Brazilian organization Amazon Institute of People and the Environment (Imazon). This is the lowest amount of destruction recorded within these territories since 2018.
RFUS Joins Indigenous Leaders to Address Climate Challenges and Community Rights in Roraima, Brazil
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.
RFUS and the Indigenous Council of Roraima Unite to Strengthen Community Governance in Brazil’s Northern Amazon
Rainforest Foundation US held a joint workshop in partnership with the Roraima Indigenous Council (CIR) focused on integrating CIR’s diverse departments, and promoting strengthened governance and collaboration. RFUS and CIR’s partnership spans 20 years, demonstrating a deep commitment to Indigenous sovereignty and forest protection.
COP28: Indigenous peoples should take center stage, and supporting their communities is key to effectively mitigating climate change
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.
Brazil’s Supreme Court Votes in Favor of Indigenous Rights in Landmark Trial
Brazil’s Supreme Court reached a majority decision to reject Marco Temporal, a pernicious legal argument that translates as a “Time Limit” on Indigenous peoples’ land rights. As the results were announced, Indigenous communities around Brazil erupted into celebration, filling the central plazas of state capitals with music and dancing.
Indigenous Leader joins RFUS’s Executive Director to condemn time limit on land rights in Brazil
Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court is poised to make a critical decision on the Marco Temporal, a legal argument with profound implications for the land rights of Indigenous peoples. Dinamam Tuxá, the Executive Coordinator of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), and Suzanne Pelletier, the Executive Director of Rainforest Foundation US, condemn this “time limit” on land rights in an op-ed featured on Mongabay.
Peru: In just ten months, twelve Ticuna Indigenous communities obtain definitive titles to their territories (Article in Spanish)
In Peru, land titling processes typically take years, even decades. However, this time, a collaborative effort involving Indigenous communities, Indigenous people’s organizations like AIDESEP and FECOTYBA, along with Rainforest Foundation US and the Regional Government of Loreto, achieved a remarkable resolution in just ten months.
Innovative Strategy Yields 17 Land Titles for Indigenous Communities in PeruÂ
Land titles are the most effective way to reduce deforestation rates in Indigenous peoples’ territory, resulting in a 66% reduction in forest cover loss. 17 land titles were secured for Indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon in record time—more titles were established in ten months than were possible in the previous three years.
