In July, we launched our 2023 Progress Report, which highlights significant achievements in promoting conservation and sustainable practices in the Amazon—thanks to strong collaboration between governments, agencies, and ASL teams.

The report emphasizes the importance of partnerships in addressing ongoing environmental challenges and moving toward integrated conservation and sustainable development. Continued cooperation with global and regional partners demonstrates a commitment to enhancing the Amazon's resilience.

Rangers are at the forefront of conserving and protecting the immense biodiversity in the Amazon. They protect vast and isolated regions, monitor wildlife, and engage with local communities to promote conservation awareness and sustainable practices. Their deep passion for nature and unwavering commitment to conservation drives their efforts to preserve the Amazon for future generations. Join us as we spotlight extraordinary rangers from the region working with ASL projects. 

At the upcoming Biodiversity COP in Cali, Colombia, the ASL program will host an official side event in collaboration with the GEF. This event, taking place October 31 at 1:20 pm local time, will highlight results and lessons 10 years after the program was approved.  

Government representatives will share their experiences, challenges, successes, and lessons learned within the different program pillars (conservation, sustainable production, governance and knowledge sharing/collaboration). The dialogue will also reflect on the program’s future. 

In celebration of Indigenous Women's Day on September 5, Asociación Interétnica de Desarrollo de la Selva Peruana (AIDESEP) and Organización Regional AIDESEP Ucayali (ORAU) hosted the Indigenous Women's TechCamp in Pucallpa, Peru. The event, centered on collective care and resistance, brought together over 50 Indigenous women leaders from Peru and Ecuador to address territorial defense and the protection of life. More than 70 participants, including representatives from civil society, academia, media, and international organizations, helped establish nearly 30 strategic alliances to address threats to territories and rights while fostering territorial defense and care strategies through Amazonian women's networks. Women from nine Amazon regions exchanged strategies to safeguard their lands and communities, forming a network to defend rivers, promote sustainable farming, and foster alternative economies. Photo credit: (1) AIDESEP, (2) Kory Barras

Four national project representatives from the ASL in Brazil, Guyana, Peru, and Suriname joined Colombia and Ecuador and other countries from the Global Wildlife Program at a regional technical workshop on “Media Engagement for Human-Wildlife Conflict and Coexistence.” The workshop, held in Panama City, brought together 40 participants and helped facilitate a discussion around the challenges and opportunities in engaging the media sector for balanced reporting on human-wildlife conflict incidences. Representatives from Guyana and Peru presented the media landscape in their country and ASL participants joined the discussion.

You can find more details here. 

The accreditation of Voluntary Environmental Agents (AAVs) continued, with 104 new agents accredited in the Rio Negro region as part of the "Floresta Faz a Diferença" (Forest Makes a Difference) campaign, from the Brazilian government of Amazonas, themed "One for all, all against wildfires." This action is aligned with the 4th Phase of the Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon from the Brazilian Government. These agents will work to strengthen efforts in protecting biodiversity and combating deforestation and wildfires in the Amazon. Photo: Divulgação/Sema

In Guatemala, over 30 farmer and Indigenous leaders from the Colombian Amazon reaffirmed their commitment to halting deforestation and restoring forests. During a week-long exchange, they joined with local communities to learn about forest concessions and sustainable forest management. Supported by the ASL project and with participation from Colombia's Ministry of Environment and Guatemala's National Council of Protected Areas – CONAP, participants explored successful conservation models in protected areas like Tikal and Yaxha. The leaders emphasized the importance of these experiences in strengthening their forest protection efforts in the Amazon while also enhancing environmental governance and promoting sustainable development in their territories. This initiative builds on an initial visit in 2019 where Brazilians, Peruvians, and Colombians participated, supported by the regional ASL project.

The Connectivity Corridors Ecuadorian project is making progress in establishing two vital corridors: Cuyabeno-Yasuní-Limonocha in the north and Palora-Pastaza in the central Amazon. These corridors play a crucial role in ensuring long-term biodiversity conservation by facilitating animal movement between habitats. The project has identified 27 priority routes based on key ecological factors such as forest cover and infrastructure. Additionally, it's promoting sustainable practices in surrounding areas. Local governments, indigenous groups, and other stakeholders have validated these corridors and formal recognition is being prepared for submission to Ecuador's Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition.

Recent assessments using the Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool (METT) for Suriname’s Brownsberg Nature Park (BNP) and Brinckheuvel Nature Reserve (BNR) have exposed critical threats to these protected areas. BNP, spanning 12,200 hectares, scored just 32.52, with illegal gold mining severely disrupting wildlife corridors. Local leaders are being called for urgent action to protect biodiversity and promote sustainable tourism. Meanwhile, BNR, covering 6,050 hectares, showed a 44 effectiveness rating, reflecting an 11% improvement since 2016–17. Under the Strengthening Management of Protected and Productive Landscapes in Surinamese Amazon project, Suriname aims to boost management effectiveness by 10–20% and enhance community involvement in conservation efforts. 

The GEF-Integrated Management Project for the Putumayo-Içá Basin has released its latest newsletter highlighting significant progress from the past quarter. The project has held progress meetings with local communities, Indigenous groups, and organizations to strengthen partnerships for successful implementation. Many of the institutions and partners involved with the ASL in Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru, participate in this project.  

Read the latest edition of the newsletter here, and subscribe to receive it here.

Amazon Conservation – ACCA and Re:Wild have published the report "Integrated Model for the Protection of the Territories of Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact – PIACI: Lessons Learned from the Southern Amazon of Peru."

Focused on the Madre de Dios Territorial Reserve, home to the Mashco Piro people and other uncontacted peoples, the report systematizes lessons learned from the experiences to defend their territories against threats such as deforestation.

Colombian media outlet "La Silla Vacía" has launched "Silla Amazonía," a section dedicated to covering the challenges and progress in conserving the Amazon region. The initiative is carried out in partnership with the World Bank, through the ASL, as well as with other partners like the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, CAF, and USAID. 

The Amazon Sustainable Landscapes Program (ASL), funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and led by the World Bank, adopts an integrated regional approach across Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its primary objective is to enhance integrated landscape management and ecosystem conservation in priority areas of the Amazon.