Amazon Conservation Team
Encyclopedia
The Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) is a non-profit organization
that works in partnership with indigenous people of tropical America in conserving the biodiversity
of the Amazon Rainforest
as well as the culture and land of its indigenous people.
ACT was formed in 1996 by ethnobotanist Mark Plotkin
and Costa Rican conservationist Liliana Madrigal, and so far has mainly been active in the northwest, northeast, and southern regions of the Amazon.
In 2002, ACT received the United Nations Environment Programme
Global 500 Award in recognition of their conservation achievements. In 2008, the organization received the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship from the Skoll Foundation
. In November, ACT was recognized as a 2010 Tech Awards Laureate by the prestigious Tech Museum in San Jose, for their work with technology to help map the Amazon.
; and third, ACT provides conservation and land monitoring capacity building to the tribes/communities while bringing their representatives in communication with state environmental enforcement agencies. To this last end, ACT conducts an annual indigenous park ranger
training program certified by the International Ranger Federation
.
Areas ethnographically mapped by ACT in collaboration with local tribes include Brazil’s 4,000,000-hectare Tumucumaque Indigenous Park, 2,800,000-hectare Xingu Indigenous Reserve, and 248,000-hectare Suruí Indigenous Reserve. The Suruí
reserve mapping was facilitated by technical assistance from Google Earth Outreach
, which also trained the tribe in remote monitoring.
(Cofan
, Inga, Siona
, Kamsá, and Coreguaje) and the interior of Suriname (Trio
, Wayana
) in an attempt to preserve, strengthen and perpetuate their traditional healthcare systems, including their legacy ethnobotanical
knowledge. The effort emphasizes intergenerational transmission of knowledge from elders to youth. In Suriname, ACT has constructed four traditional medicine
clinics in interior communities (Kwamalasamutu
, Tepu
, Apetina
, and the Maroon
village of Gonini mofo) operated by local healers and their apprentices. In 2003, this effort was selected among a handful of global initiatives for the UNESCO
/Nuffic
publication “Best Practices Using Indigenous Knowledge”. In 2004, ACT's integrated medicine project received a World Bank Development Marketplace Award
, the first such award made for a Suriname-based initiative.
), the first reserve specifically created for the conservation of medicinal flora.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
that works in partnership with indigenous people of tropical America in conserving the biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
of the Amazon Rainforest
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
as well as the culture and land of its indigenous people.
ACT was formed in 1996 by ethnobotanist Mark Plotkin
Mark Plotkin
Mark J. Plotkin is an ethnobotanist and a plant explorer in the Neotropics, where he is an expert on rainforest ecosystems...
and Costa Rican conservationist Liliana Madrigal, and so far has mainly been active in the northwest, northeast, and southern regions of the Amazon.
In 2002, ACT received the United Nations Environment Programme
United Nations Environment Programme
The United Nations Environment Programme coordinates United Nations environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices. It was founded as a result of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in June 1972 and has its...
Global 500 Award in recognition of their conservation achievements. In 2008, the organization received the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship from the Skoll Foundation
Skoll Foundation
The Skoll Foundation is a social entrepreneurship foundation based in Silicon Valley, California, with a mission to drive large-scale change by investing in, connecting, and celebrating social entrepreneurs and other innovators dedicated to solving the world’s most pressing problems...
. In November, ACT was recognized as a 2010 Tech Awards Laureate by the prestigious Tech Museum in San Jose, for their work with technology to help map the Amazon.
Map, Manage, Protect
In its efforts to achieve the land protection objectives of its indigenous partners, ACT employs a stepped procedure: first, participatory ethnographic mapping and ethno-environmental diagnostics are conducted; second, ACT helps the tribes/communities develop management plans that embrace both land protection and sustainable developmentSustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
; and third, ACT provides conservation and land monitoring capacity building to the tribes/communities while bringing their representatives in communication with state environmental enforcement agencies. To this last end, ACT conducts an annual indigenous park ranger
Park ranger
A park ranger or forest ranger is a person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands – national, state, provincial, or local parks. Different countries use different names for the position. Ranger is the favored term in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Within the United...
training program certified by the International Ranger Federation
International Ranger Federation
The International Ranger Federation is an organisation which represents Park Rangers and Park Wardens across the world.Many countries have agencies that undertake the protection and management of natural areas. The rangers within these organisations are represented at the international level by the...
.
Areas ethnographically mapped by ACT in collaboration with local tribes include Brazil’s 4,000,000-hectare Tumucumaque Indigenous Park, 2,800,000-hectare Xingu Indigenous Reserve, and 248,000-hectare Suruí Indigenous Reserve. The Suruí
Suruí
The Suruí, also called the Suruí-Paíter, are an indigenous people who live in the Rondônia region of Brazil.First prolonged contact with the modern world came in the late 1960s, the Brazilian government laid the 2,000-mile Trans-Amazon Highway through Rondônia...
reserve mapping was facilitated by technical assistance from Google Earth Outreach
Google Earth Outreach
Google Earth Outreach is Google's program for donating and supporting non-profit organizations spreading the knowledge of global awareness. Google Earth Outreach offers online training on using Google Earth and Google Maps for public education on issues affecting local regions or the entire...
, which also trained the tribe in remote monitoring.
Shamans and Apprentices
Since its inception, ACT has worked with tribal groups in the Colombian Eastern AndesAndes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
(Cofan
Cofán
The Cofán people are an indigenous people native to Napo Province northeast Ecuador and to southern Colombia, between the Guamués River and the Aguaricó River...
, Inga, Siona
Siona people
The Siona people are an indigenous ethnic group living in the Ecuadorian Amazon or Oriente , and in Colombia...
, Kamsá, and Coreguaje) and the interior of Suriname (Trio
Tiriyó
The Tiriyó usually call themselves tarëno, etymologically 'people from here, local people'. They are approximately 2,000 and live in several major villages and a number of minor villages in the border zone between Brazil and Suriname...
, Wayana
Wayana
The Wayana are a Carib-speaking people located in the south-eastern part of the Guiana highlands, a region divided between Brazil, Surinam, and French Guiana...
) in an attempt to preserve, strengthen and perpetuate their traditional healthcare systems, including their legacy ethnobotanical
Ethnobotany
Ethnobotany is the scientific study of the relationships that exist between people and plants....
knowledge. The effort emphasizes intergenerational transmission of knowledge from elders to youth. In Suriname, ACT has constructed four traditional medicine
Traditional medicine
Traditional medicine comprises unscientific knowledge systems that developed over generations within various societies before the era of modern medicine...
clinics in interior communities (Kwamalasamutu
Kwamalasamutu
Kwamalasamutu, also Kwamalasamoetoe, is a Tiriyó Indian village in southern Suriname , and home to the Paramount Chief of the northern Trios. It also serves as field Headquarters for the Amazon Conservation Team's northeast Amazon projects. Ethnobotanist Mark Plotkin has been working here since 1982....
, Tepu
Pelelu Tepu
Pelelu Tepu is a small Amerindian village in the interior of Suriname. Also known as "Pe'reru Tepu", the village is typically referred to simply as "Tepu," which mean "high" in the Indian Tiriyó language. The village is located on Tepu hill, on the Tapanahoni River...
, Apetina
Apetina
Apetina is a village in the South Eastern area of Suriname. It is located at . Apetina is located on the small hills along the river Tapanahoni. Just in the jungle. Remarkable points are the Tebu Mountain, about 347 m high, nearby the Tapanahoni River. And the Man Gandafutu waterfall. The...
, and the Maroon
Maroon (people)
Maroons were runaway slaves in the West Indies, Central America, South America, and North America, who formed independent settlements together...
village of Gonini mofo) operated by local healers and their apprentices. In 2003, this effort was selected among a handful of global initiatives for the UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
/Nuffic
Nuffic
Nuffic is the Netherlands Organisation for International Cooperation in Higher Education. It is a private, non-profit corporation and is based in The Hague, the Netherlands.-Overview:...
publication “Best Practices Using Indigenous Knowledge”. In 2004, ACT's integrated medicine project received a World Bank Development Marketplace Award
World Bank Development Marketplace Award
The Development Marketplace Award is a competitive grant programadministered by the World Bank. Since 1998, the DM has awarded morethan $46 million to some 1,000 early-stage, innovative projects worldwide.Projects are selected based on:* Innovation...
, the first such award made for a Suriname-based initiative.
Creation of Protected Areas
In Colombia, ACT partnered with the government and local tribes to establish two protected areas that both create new categories of reserve: The 77,000-hectare Alto Fragua Indi Wasi National Park (Caquetá Department), the first reserve to be co-managed by a resident tribe (the Inga) and the national park service; and the 10,000-hectare Orito-Ingi Ande Medicinal Plant Sanctuary (Putumayo DepartmentPutumayo Department
Putumayo is a department of Colombia. It is in the south-west of the country, bordering Ecuador and Peru. Its capital is Mocoa.The word putumayo comes from the Quechua language. The verb putuy means "to spring forth" or "to burst out", and mayo is a variant of mayu, meaning river...
), the first reserve specifically created for the conservation of medicinal flora.
See also
- Amazon WatchAmazon WatchFounded in 1996, Amazon Watch is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California. It works to protect the rainforest and advance the rights of indigenous peoples in the Amazon Basin...
- Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River BasinCoordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River BasinCoordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin was founded in 1984 in Lima, Peru. This organization coordinates the following nine national Amazonian indigenous organizations:...
(COICA)