Land Rights and Monitoring Revitalize Indigenous Peoples’ Connections to Ancestral Lands

While securing land tenure and rainforest monitoring is pivotal to reducing deforestation and protecting biodiversity—it can also enable Indigenous peoples to deepen their cultural connections to and understanding of their ancestral lands.
2024 A Year In Review

A Message From Our Executive Director Dear Friends and Supporters, As we look back on this year, we are both humbled and inspired by the progress made alongside Indigenous communities across the Amazon and Central America. Together, we have witnessed historic wins: from securing legal titles for 20 Indigenous communities in Peru’s Amazon to training […]
Voices of Global Forest Watch: Wendy Pineda, RFUS Peru’s General Program Manager

Indigenous peoples are, without question, the most effective stewards of our forests. Now, imagine the transformative power when they have access to advanced tools that amplify their efforts to safeguard their lands.
Check out this interview with Wendy Pineda Ortiz, General Project Manager of our Peru program, to learn how Indigenous peoples in the Peruvian Amazon are leveraging cutting-edge monitoring technology to fight deforestation.
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.
Indigenous Tech Camps: An Incubator for Indigenous-Led Solutions in the Peruvian Amazon

Rainforest Foundation US hosted events in the Peruvian Amazon to develop four pilot programs led by Indigenous communities to scale up effective conservation strategies. The Indigenous Tech Camps served as a collaborative platform, uniting various Indigenous organizations with academics, government officials, and international allies. These initiatives underscore our commitment to advancing Indigenous-led solutions in the Amazon.
Women for the Amazon: Protagonists of Community Forest Monitoring (Article in Spanish)

For the United Nations, the 2023 theme for International Women’s Day is “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality.” Discover how indigenous woman leaders in Loreto, Ucayali, and Madre de Dios in Peru are protecting the Amazon rainforest using monitoring technologies.
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.
Keeping Forests Standing and Bettering Lives

Rainforest Foundation US has begun an unprecedented program of direct finance forest defense, wherein indigenous communities are financially rewarded for successfully protecting their territories against deforestation. In Puerto Alegre, on the Amazon River in Northern Peru, community members speak about the tremendous vulnerabilities confronting them.
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.