Rainforest Lifeways

Defending the Western Amazon From the Ground Up

Brazil’s remote Western Amazon faces a multitude of threats including activities such as illegal logging, climate change, land use change, all of which puts strain on biodiversity as well as communities in the area. Delivering reliable conservation results in this region can be challenging due to the presence of weak formal government institutions. WILD works at the discretion of the Yawanawá Leadership Council, led by Chief Tashka, to help them implement their Life Plan, which includes numerous provisions for the forest upon which they depend for their survival. This work includes the following activities designed to maximize Yawanawa potential as forest stewards while simultaneously providing for their community with minimal impact on biodiversity:

• Leveraging traditional Indigenous ecological knowledge of life within the forest for the benefit of people and the biosphere.
• Training 18 Yawanawa rangers to patrol, strengthen, and defend their biodiversity and territory.
• Building permaculture solutions to help the Yawanawa adapt to changing climate and provide for their nutrition while reducing impact on forest and riparian biodiversity.

Due to the long-standing alliances the Yawanawa hold with other indigenous groups in the region, WILD’s work in this region can become a regional model to create conservation results with significant benefits for a wide-swath of the Western Amazon.