Gold Mining is one of the major deforestation drivers across the Amazon, often targeting remote areas such as protected areas and indigenous territories. Given the vastness of the Amazon, accurately monitoring mining deforestation in the most real-time, up-to-date format has been a challenge. To help better analyze deforestation patterns, our latest MAAP report, MAAP #212, gathers results from a new machine learning-based tool known as Amazon Mining Watch, which analyzes satellite imagery archives to detect mining deforestation across the entire Amazon. Machine learning, a subset of artificial ..read more

In addition to our incredibly dedicated staff members, our Board of Directors is made up of passionate science, business, and civic leaders who provide their expertise and financial support to help guide our mission in the most strategic direction. With their commitment to protecting the Amazon Rainforest, we can help take action on the ground for both people and wildlife. For Board Chair Jim Brumm, who joined Amazon Conservation’s Board of Directors in 2016, the great outdoors has always been a place of solace, especially for bird watching. He has traveled near and far to marvel at the vast a ..read more

Our newest MAAP report, MAAP #196, shows the results of the socio-environmental impacts caused by illegal mining using a unique tool, the “Illegal Gold Mining Impact Calculator” developed by Conservation Strategy Fund – CSF. Illegal gold mining has generated massive deforestation in the southern Peruvian Amazon (MAAP #208), and has contaminated the area’s major rivers, tributaries, and secondary water bodies with toxic substances such as mercury and arsenic. Thus, illegal mining generates large economic losses due to the direct impact on biodiversity, ecosystem services, an ..read more

Today, we’re celebrating the incredible diversity of life on our planet by shining a spotlight on the Amazon – the world’s most biodiverse region! Short for “biological diversity,” biodiversity is a term that refers to the diverse array of life forms within an ecosystem. The Amazon is home to a wide variety of species (for example, it’s home to 7,500 species of butterflies!), each playing an important and unique role for the ecosystem to thrive. Biodiversity and the Amazon are strongly linked, because it’s considered by many scientists to be the most biodiverse place on the planet, meaning th ..read more

As of late April, Amazon Conservation has officially become a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), an institution that unites governments and civil society to advance sustainable development for a world that deeply values nature.  With over 1,400 member organizations and and a network of over 16,000 scientists, the IUCN drives conservation among organizations across multi-national levels to bring the necessary, knowledge, tools, and resources to progress toward safeguarding the natural world. Since its creation in 1948, it has become the world’s most preval ..read more

Thanks to support from USAID (United States Agency for International Development) and NORAD (Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation), we’ve been able to publish a series of reports on the dynamic situation of gold mining in the southern Peruvian Amazon over the past several years. Illegal gold mining continues to raise concern in this area, eliminating thousands of hectares of primary forest in the Madre de Dios region. The Peruvian government responded to this crisis with Operation Mercury at the beginning of 2019, followed by the Restoration Plan in 2021. MAAP #208 summarizes the compl ..read more

Chivi Vireo  (Vireo chivi) It’s a great day to be a birder! Each year on the second Saturday of May in North America, bird enthusiasts near and far come together to celebrate and raise awareness for the importance of migratory bird conservation. While migration for some birds is an important element of their life cycle to ensure the longevity and reproduction of their species, it also acts as a vital contributor to the ecological balance in the Amazon and other various ecosystems.  This year, World Migratory Bird Day focuses on the importance of insects, which are a key element in th ..read more

As Earth Month draws to a close, we want to share the impact of your contribution this month to honor nature and protect biodiversity conservation in the Amazon. All ecosystems, near and far, are interconnected and depend on the health of the planet. Protecting the rainforest’s diverse ecosystems and biodiversity is crucial to protecting wildlife, people, and ways of life across the globe.  By becoming a champion for nature and biodiversity today, you are joining a movement with long-term global impacts. Here’s what taking action can look like:  Your contribution of $25 can plant 20 ..read more

Happy Earth Day from all of us at Amazon Conservation! We appreciate all you have done over the past weeks to honor nature and support biodiversity protection this Earth Month. In honor of Earth Day, join us in celebrating the one-of-a-kind biodiversity of the rainforest. We invite you to take a moment to reflect on the global and local importance of this region and how you can take action to help protect this unique biodiversity.  The Amazon gives us up to 20% of the air we breathe, stores 25% of the world’s water, and stabilizes the Earth’s climate. A thriving Amazon matters to the peop ..read more

Primary forests in the Colombian Amazon are at risk from a variety of drivers such as illegal roads, which expose them to further threats of deforestation due to cattle pastures, land grabbing, and coca production. These illegal roads threaten protected areas, national parks, and Indigenous territories (referred to as  Resguardos in Colombia). Our newest report, MAAP #211, documents these impacts in two important areas in the heart of the Colombian Amazon: the Llanos del Yari-Yaguara II Indigenous Reserve and the adjacent Chiribiquete National Park. In the Llanos del Yari-Yaguara II ..read more