South America

Rainforest scene

Brazil’s President Lula creates two new Indigenous territories, bringing total to 10

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The Cacique Fontoura reserve will be in Mato Grosso state and the Aldeia Velha territory will be in Bahia state. They will cover a combined total area of almost 132 square miles. Speaking at a ceremony in Brasilia, Lula said Indigenous peoples should be patient as he seeks to fulfill his pledge of creating 14 new territories. Last year, he demarcated six territories in April and two more in September.

Brazil’s President Lula creates two new Indigenous territories, bringing total to 10 Read more

Aerial view of river and mangroves

Brazil boosts protection of Amazon mangroves with new reserves in Pará state

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Brazil’s Pará state has now protected almost all of its Amazonian coastline after establishing two new conservation units that make up the world’s largest and most conserved belt of mangroves. The environmental victory came after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed the decree for the two reserves on March 21, placing an additional 184,600 acres of mangrove ecosystems under federal protection.

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Argentinian flag flying near a building

In first, an Argentine court convicts ex-officers of crimes against trans women during dictatorship

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Judges overseeing a high-profile human rights trial in Argentina have convicted 11 former officials of crimes against humanity, in the South American nation’s first case to focus on the former military dictatorship’s overlooked practice of committing sexual violence against transgender women.

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Bolivian rainforest

Bolivian town Sena protects 1 million acres of Amazon rainforest

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Called the Gran Manupare Integrated Management Natural Area, the law was overseen by, and passed for the benefit of, “peasants and indigenous communities,” per a statement from the mayor’s office. Located in the Pando Department in the far northern corner of Bolivia, the new protected area represents almost 8% of its forests and has significantly increased the region’s conservation coverage to 26%. In the past 25 years, Bolivian towns like Sena have protected 10 million contiguous 25 million acres of Bolivia’s Amazon—an area nearly the size of Iceland.

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Squirrel monkey

New fund supports Indigenous-led land management in biodiverse area of Bolivia

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The Wildlife Conservation Society launched the new funding mechanism, in collaboration with Bolivia’s Foundation for the Development of the National System of Protected Areas. The new mechanism will channel conservation funds to Indigenous organizations in the Madidi Landscape, one of the most biodiverse terrestrial protected areas in the world. The new fund has so far attracted $650,000 in initial support from the Bezos Earth Fund.

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River dolphin

11 countries sign global pact to protect endangered river dolphins

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Since the 1980s, the combined populations of river dolphin species have plummeted by 73%. With the Global Declaration for River Dolphins, 14 countries are expected to join forces to protect six surviving species. So far, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Peru, and Venezuela have signed the declaration.

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Amazon River Rainforest

Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon fell by nearly 50% in 2023 compared to 2022

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President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva pledged to end deforestation by 2030 when he took office a year ago.
Preliminary data from national space agency Inpe showed 5,153 sq km of the Amazon were cleared in 2023, down from 10,278 sq km in 2022. Rainforest destruction had surged to a 12-year high under his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.

Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon fell by nearly 50% in 2023 compared to 2022 Read more

Forest landscape

Forest restoration planned for Colombia’s Farallones de Cali National Park

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The $3.7-million project could take several decades because of the severity of the environmental damage done by illegal mining, which has deforested the park and polluted its rivers with mercury. The 485,226-acre national park is an important biological corridor along Colombia’s Pacific coast.

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Rainforest

Historic ruling in Ecuador returns ownership of ancestral land to the Siekopai people

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For the first time, Ecuador has recognized an Indigenous population’s right to “possess a territory that has been declared a protected area.” Indigenous advocates hope this ruling can serve as a precedent for other Indigenous communities that are trying to regain control of their land.

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