Justice Eludes the Saweto Case: A Call for Global Solidarity

The longstanding struggle for justice for the widows and families of the murdered Saweto activists remains unfulfilled. In February, the culprits behind the murder of four Indigenous leaders from the Alto Tamaya-Saweto community had been sentenced to 28 years in prison. Then last month, in an unexpected twist, the Peruvian court reversed this decision and threw out the charges to order a reassessment of the legal process.
Yes to Yasuní: Democracy Survives Latest Threat in Ecuador

On August 20, the people of Ecuador made history by voting to protect Yasuní National Park from oil drilling.
When ordinary people have the strength and the courage to make their voices heard, they can enact real change on seemingly intractable issues. Through direct democracy, the people of Ecuador have been able to take on the power of big oil, and secure an astonishing victory for the future of the Amazon.
Constitutional Trial Threatens Indigenous Peoples’ Land Rights in Brazil

The Marco Temporal thesis is the greatest threat to the rights and lives of Indigenous peoples in Brazil today. But the potential impacts are not limited to these communities—they are universal. Our shared future depends on the health of the Amazon, the world’s largest tropical forest and one of the major contributors to the climate’s maintenance. As the primary and best guardians of the Amazon rainforest, Indigenous peoples and their lands play a crucial role in mitigating climate change.
Indigenous Women Uniting to Fight for Their Rights and the Earth

Indigenous women from rainforests around the world are uniting to fight for the health of the planet in their unique and powerful ways. Whether as activists, politicians, or mothers, they are bringing back ancestral knowledge and are determined to fight for their communities and the Earth.
In Mesoamerica, a School Plants the Seeds for a Greener Future

Rainforest Foundation US has partnered with the Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests (AMPB) to support the expansion of the Mesoamerican Leadership School, a youth leadership development program in Mexico and Central America.
2022 A Year In Review

As the year comes to a close we’re looking back at all of the amazing things we’ve accomplished in 2022, together! Check out our Year in Review.
In the Upper Napo of Peru, Kichwa Communities Wall Off the Forest

As our rainforest protection program scales up throughout the region, a chance for exponential gains.
Daughter of Slain Indigenous Activist Speaks Out in The Miami Herald

Read the story of Diana Ríos, daughter of indigenous environmental activist Jorge Ríos Pérez, who has followed in her father’s footsteps.
Rainforest Foundation US 2021 Year in Review

As the year comes to a close, RFUS takes stock of the progress, victories, and lessons we learned in 2021.
Significance of Community-Held Territories in 24 Countries to Global Climate

New research shows indigenous peoples and local communities live on at least 3.75 million square miles of land spanning most of the world’s endangered tropical forests—yet have legal rights to less than half of these lands.