A Call to Philanthropy From the People of the Amazon Rainforest: To Protect the Climate, Invest in Us

To the Editor:

December 12, 2020, marked the fifth anniversary of the historic Paris Agreement on climate change, yet here in the Amazon rainforest, the fires are still raging. Companies are spilling oil in our rivers. Miners are stealing gold and leaving behind open pits and toxins. Land grabbers are cutting down primary forest to make room for grazing cattle and new plantations. And while our elders are suffering from coronavirus, governments and industry are planning their next moves to cut up our lands and stimulate an economy that has never benefited us.

As we’ve watched global leaders delay climate action, Indigenous peoples and allies have been risking their lives to protect the forests our global climate depends on. Worldwide, Indigenous peoples protect 80 percent of Earth’s biodiversity, yet only 2 percent of global philanthropy goes to protecting our climate. Of that, only a tiny fraction makes it to the Indigenous communities of the Amazon.

That is why we are writing today. We are asking philanthropy to invest in Indigenous-led conservation and climate leadership.

The stakes are unfathomably high. If deforestation rates continue unchecked, the Amazon will turn into a savannah in our children’s lifetime. We are literally the last line of defense against an unimaginable crisis.

Over the past five years, our organizations — Amazon Frontlines and the Ceibo Alliance — have, together, forged a new model of conservation in the Amazon that empowers frontline Indigenous communities with the tools, resources, and networks we need to secure our rights, protect our forests and rivers, govern our territories, and create thriving, resilient communities.

Our strategies are working. We have won landmark legal victories against mining and oil interests to protect millions of acres of forests and rivers at the headwaters of the Amazon. We have created land patrols that use cutting-edge technologies such as drones, GPS systems, and high-frequency radios to prevent illegal loggers, poachers, and other intruders from cutting down or extracting resources from some of the most biodiverse forests on the planet. We are tackling our toughest challenges with practical solutions, such as clean water, solar energy, and food sovereignty. And we are building leadership in communities, with young people and women at the helm, to guide our people and the world.

Our leadership and groundbreaking alliances are receiving global attention. This fall, one of us, Nemonte Nenquimo, was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people and BBC’s 100 Women of 2020. She was also honored with the United Nations Champions of the Earth award and the Goldman Environmental Prize. The group she co-founded, Ceibo Alliance, received the United Nations Equator Prize for its integral strategies to protect Indigenous rights and the Amazon. These honors recognize the collective struggle of Indigenous peoples in the Amazon and beyond, as we fight to protect the forests and inspire global action.

Recognition is helpful, of course, but resources are critical. That’s why Nenquimo is giving away every penny of her Goldman Prize award money to kick-start an urgent fundraising campaign, the Frontlines Challenge, in partnership with Amazon Frontlines. Together, we are asking the philanthropic world to help us drive more resources to the front lines as we reach a critical tipping point for the Amazon rainforest. Governments and industry are looking to double down on resource extraction in 2021, and we need to rapidly deepen and expand our model to build power and confront this threat.

Across the globe, Indigenous peoples are fighting to protect what we love — our way of life, our rivers, the animals, our forests, our global climate — and we need your support.

Nemonte Nenquimo
Co-Founder
Ceibo Alliance and Amazon Frontlines

Alicia Salazar
Executive Director
Ceibo Alliance

Mitch Anderson
Founder and Executive Director

Amazon Frontlines