The Amazon

Covering an area larger than the entire continental United States and containing the largest tropical forest in the world, the Amazon River Basin harbors nearly one-third of the world’s species and contains nearly one-quarter of the earth’s fresh water. In addition to its wealth of discovered and undiscovered flora and fauna, the Amazon is home to many diverse traditional and indigenous human populations.

Location
The Conservancy’s Amazon Conservation Program spans six countries (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela). Most of the Amazon Basin lies in Brazil where it comprises nearly 1.9 million square miles (5 million square kilometers).

Animals
In Serra do Divisor, just one of the Conservancy’s Amazon conservation action sites, more than one-half of all the animals considered threatened in the Brazilian Amazon live in the park. A Conservancy ecological assessment found 14 primate species, including 5 on the country’s endangered-species list. In addition, more than 450 bird species inhabit Serra do Divisor. The rain forest’s denizens include:

     • Black-girdled barbet
     • Hardy’s pygmy-owl
     • Rufous-necked puffbirds
     • Short-billed leaftossers
     • Pavonine quetzals

Why the Conservancy Works Here
The Amazon is the most biodiverse place on Earth.  It harbors incredible wildlife and numerous indigenous cultures that maintain little or no contact with the outside world.  The Amazon also plays a key role in regional and global carbon cycles and climate.

What the Conservancy Is Doing

Indigenous Areas
Indigenous lands comprise more than 20% of the entire Amazon Basin, and area four times larger than Germany. There are more than 300 different indigenous groups in the Amazon Basin. After decades of struggle, indigenous peoples have recently gained legal title to their ancestral lands. The Conservancy is helping them responsibly manage and protect these new areas in their charge. This includes providing institutional support in training and public policy outreach to COIAB (Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon), the largest representative indigenous organization in the Brazilian Amazon. A key activity being carried out in all indigenous areas where the Conservancy works is ethnomapping, an innovative tool that is the first step towards conservation planning and natural resource management in indigenous reserves. Conservation action sites include:

· Oiapoque
Since 2001, the Nature Conservancy has been working in community-based natural resource management and planning in the Oiapoque region, located in the far northeastern corner of the Amazon in Amapá state. This region is comprised of three contiguous indigenous areas of high conservation value, boasting diverse ecosystems like upland tropical rain forests, flooded forests, savannas and mangroves. Managing these lands is a challenge as the region faces threats like infrastructure development, unsustainable use of animals and plants, and invasions from predatory loggers and poachers. Conservation activities include training indigenous environmental agents; community forest management for andiroba oil; bee, turtle and cayman management; and institutional strengthening to the local indigenous association.
 

· Roraima
Target conservation areas in the indigenous lands of Roraima state along the Venezuelan border contain ecosystems like rain forests, savannas, and high-altitude forests where one of Brazil’s highest mountain chains is located. In the savannas, aside from many archaeological sights, it is possible to also find rare wild horse populations. The Conservancy is supporting institutional development of local indigenous associations and aiding them with technical assistance in sustainable land-use planning.
 

· Serra do Divisor
Serra do Divisor National Park envelops a swath of Amazon rainforest that rises to the ridge of the Serra do Divisor mountain range along the Brazilian-Peruvian border. The two million acre (809,000 hectare) park contains ten unique forest types. The Conservancy and local partners work with local communities in the park and surrounding mosaic of extractive and indigenous reserves in natural resource monitoring and management. In the indigenous areas, the Conservancy collaborates with indigenous groups to abate threats on their lands, particularly illegal logging.  Similar work is being done with Peruvian partners to mobilize conservation on the Peruvian side of the range..

Responsible Agriculture and Threat Abatement

·     Green Highways
The ecological damage and unsustainable development associated with roads in the Amazon is high. As part of the Green Highways Consortium, the Conservancy is helping address environmental threats posed by roads and promote sustainable growth along three of the Brazilian Amazon’s principal highway corridors. In the Trans-Amazon Highway and Upper Xingu regions, the Conservancy is conducting pilot studies of how small farmers and ranchers can enter into local and international carbon compensation mechanisms by reforesting parts of their land..
 

Responsible Soy
In a region of the Brazilian Amazon known for its lush rain forest, white-sand river beaches, and pink dolphins, large-scale farming threatens the rainforest. In response to this threat, the Conservancy is working with soy farmers on a pilot project for environmental compliance with the goal of slowing rainforest conversion caused by large-scale farming.  Learn more about Responsible Soy