Programme

The remote northeast Amazon region is known as the eastern Guiana Shield and covers the southern parts of Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana and crosses over into the northern part of Brazil. It encompasses one of the largest contiguous areas of relatively intact tropical forest on Earth. This area of about 34 million hectares is home to indigenous tribes (the project focuses primarily on Trios,  Wayanas,  Wai-wais and  Wayampis) and maroon communities. It is one of the few remaining unspoiled wild places on earth. With over 1,500 vertebrate species and 6,500 plant species its value for biodiversity is enormous.

However, these vast forested landscapes are threatened by accelerating extractive activities such as mining and logging, and initiatives to build roads, dams and other infrastructure. If allowed to scale, the impacts of these threats would extend throughout the region, with disastrous consequences for the well-being and integrity of forests and indigenous and tribal peoples.

Research has shown that areas in the Amazon controlled by indigenous people have some of the lowest deforestation rates. The Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) partners with indigenous and other local communities to preserve their culture, protect ancestral lands, and safeguard the rainforest.

The programme of ACT seeks to achieve this by:

• Ranger-Led Forest Management and Biodiversity Protection: To effectively respond to imminent threats on the ground, indigenous and tribal rangers must build a unified front with respect to detecting incursions and leading awareness on sustainably managing their forests.
• Life Plans and Community Leadership in Suriname: Support is being provided to develop and implement Life Plans with eight indigenous villages and one tribal village in Suriname, facilitated by an autonomous leadership training program.
• Regional cooperation: ACT works at governmental level to influence policy, strengthen land rights, monitor development, and strengthen community leadership, including by linking communities across national borders.

The programme also supports the further development of ACT’s organizational capacities, through support on Planning Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (PMEL), staff skill development and on fundraising.

These initiatives aim to contribute to a future in the eastern Guiana Shield where healthy tropical forests and thriving local communities exist in a harmonious relationship with each other.