Implementation highlights
The All Eyes on the Amazon program finished its implementation phase in 2022. Some of its implementation milestones are highlighted below. Click on the (+) symbol to discover more information on each topic.
6.97 million hectares of the Brazilian, Ecuadorian and Peruvian Amazon are regularly monitored through the Global Forest Watch platform (GFW)
We supported the implementation of the deforestation early warning system (GLAD S2), based on satellites Sentinel-2, through the World Resources Institute (WRI) and Global Forest Watch (GFW), partner organizations of the All Eyes on the Amazon (AEA) Program, which detects alterations in the Amazon forest and has a better resolution than previous systems, generating open data available to Indigenous peoples and local communities in the Amazon.
GFW worked on the capacity-building of AEA local partners to guarantee the good use of these data and technologies to identify eventualities in their territories, interpret the information and communicate it to others.
Discover the Global Forest Watch platform here.
Development, optimization, and cultural adaptation of technologies (apps, platforms, satellite) for mapping, monitoring, and evidence recollection in Amazonian territories
- Global Forest Watch (WRI/the University of Maryland): Platform for monitoring and alerting tree cover loss in real-time.
- SAT COICA: Monitoring, Early Warning, and Rapid Response System of the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin SAT/RR/COICA that operates in 6 countries of the Amazon Basin.
- GIS CONFENIAE: Strategic monitoring system for the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon (CONFENIAE) to support territorial management, governance, management of information, visualization, and spatial representation of data.
- Mapeo (Digital Democracy): A set of digital tools to document data, monitor territories, and create maps to support local decision-making processes and rights defense in an autonomous way.
- Survey 1,2,3 (USFQ): Tool integrated into GIS ArcMap to georeference points of contamination in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
Capacity-building for local partners in monitoring and responding to threats to their territorial and human rights
639 local monitors trained in mapping, use of technologies (GPS, SAT, GIS), and early warning systems to monitor the threats to their territories and human rights, through 649 field patrols in Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil.
44 indigenous young people from Ecuador and Peru were trained in sustainability and climate change, as part of the Leadership Program with a gender focus for Indigenous youth in partnership with the Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar (Ecuador).
15 communicators from base organizations of COICA were trained in the production of documentary podcasts for rights defense. The result of this process was the podcast “We are the voices of the forest”.
12 paralegals of Indigenous peoples and nationalities were trained in legal mechanisms through the Paralegals Program of the Environmental Law and Management Corporation (ECOLEX) with the support of the AEA program. The initiative strengthened community organizations, empowering leaders in the management of legal principles, legislation, and environmental socio-agrarian institutions, related to the community organization, from an approach of customary law, gender equity, and mediation.
The Executor of the Management Contract of the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve (ECA Amarakaeri) managed to maintain its status within the IUCN Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas, through its strategy of Surveillance and Control of Co-management of the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve and the support of 24 community guards recognized by the state, with 98.56% of the area of the reserve preserved.
Strategic litigation for the defense of the rights of the Indigenous peoples of the Amazon
- Historic victory of the Waorani people of Ecuador that stopped the bidding of an oil block in their territory, protecting more than 200,000 hectares of Amazon forest.
- Victory for the A’i Cofán of the Sinangoe Community, which suspended 52 mining concessions, protecting 79,000 hectares of virgin forest and setting a historical precedent for the defense of territories in Ecuador and the Amazon region.
- Demand by the Karipuna People in Brazil against deforestation in their territory through territorial surveillance and monitoring strategies, advocacy campaigns, and strategic litigation against the deforestation and invasions of their territory.
- The Court of Justice of Rondônia in Brazil declared the unconstitutionality of the complementary state law no. 1089, which modifies the limits of the Jaci-Paraná Extractive Reserve and the Guajará-Mirim State Park.
- The Inter-American Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA) developed a report on strategic litigation in the Amazon with the support to assess the capacities, needs, challenges, and opportunities to develop strategic litigation in the Amazon and thus identify the most strategic scenarios to expedite litigation and promote capacity building of AIDA partners in strategic litigation.
- Declaration of unconstitutionality of law 089/2000, which regulates the reduction of protected areas of more than 200,000 hectares in the state of Rondônia.
Research, advocacy, and law enforcement of collective and environmental rights in the region
- Ratification of the Escazú Agreement in Ecuador, the first regional treaty that contains norms for the promotion and protection of environmental defenders in Latin America.
- The platform of the Amazonian Indigenous Peoples United in Defense of their Territories (PUINAMUDT) in Peru filed a complaint with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for the case against the oil company Pluspetrol for environmental damage to their territories, achieving a pronouncement that recognizes the damages and the need for amendments. The emblematic case of San Pedro affected by a major oil pipeline spill has been brought to the Inter-American Commission for discussion at a hearing
- The Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB) produced a report on “Access to justice for Indigenous peoples in Maranhao, Brazil” in partnership with Hivos, highlighting the vulnerable situation of Indigenous peoples in the state of Maranhao.
Promoting and strengthening articulations and alliances for the defense of the Amazon
- Virtual Meeting of the Youth of COICA that collected the problems, realities, proposals, and demands expressed by the Amazonian Indigenous youth.
- Regional Encounter of Environmental and Territorial Monitoring held in Puyo, Ecuador with the objective of strengthening collective learning and the leading role of the Indigenous monitors of AEA local partners and allies from Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru.
- Learning Community of partners and allies of the AEA program
- Indigenous Women’s March (2019 – 2022)
- Hivos organized the closing event of the AEA program from September 14 to 16, 2022, in Quito, Ecuador. “Experiences, achievements, and learnings for the defense of the Amazon” was an encounter focused on the program’s achievements, legacy, and recommendations for the future after 5 years of implementation. The event had the participation of 56 representatives from 25 local partners of the program in Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru, as well as other international partners and key allies, from the national, regional, and international levels.
- Strengthening of the Escazú Ahora Ecuador and Escazú Ahora Peru platforms to amplify the progress on the implementation of the first environmental and human rights treaty in Latin America and the Caribbean, that recognizes the protection of environmental defenders.
Awareness and mobilization for the Amazon cause
- 8 million people reached globally through communication and advocacy campaigns.
- Mobilization at international moments such as the Amazon Day (September 5) and strengthening the resistance movement in Brazil ( through public events such as ATL) and internationally (through moments such as the COP26) to exercise pressure on the federal government in Brazil and the Amazon region.
- The “Don’t give up your land” campaign was an initiative of the Santarém Rural Workers Union (STTR), together with the Federation of Neighboring Associations and the communities of the Lago Grande Agro-extractive Settlement aimed to raise awareness and establish an association with all farmers so they do not give up their land. It had the support of 297 communities in the region.
- Defense strategy campaign in Europe to protect the Amazon region from a possible EU-Mercosur agreement. So far, 2.2 million people have joined the campaign.
- AEA supported the campaign “PSHA has decided: NO to mining” that demands the halt of activities of mining companies in the Cordillera del Cóndor.
- Creation of the radio station “La Voz de la CONFENIAE”, a radio frequency that benefits the 11 Amazonian nationalities, 23 affiliated organizations, and more than 1,500 communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
AEA Learning Platform + Academy
- Virtual space built collaboratively among partners and allies of the All Eyes on the Amazon program.
- More than 600 content, tools, and learning resources avaailable for the defense of the Amazon and the rights of its inhabitants.
- AEA Academy: 6 free, interactive, and culturally adapted virtual courses on topics such as in-depth journalism, digital literacy, documentary podcasts, and more.
The Amazon Indigenous Health Route
The Amazon Indigenous Health Route (AIR) was born in mid-2020 as part of the All Eyes on the Amazon program, as a respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Amazon to improve access to health for Indigenous peoples in Ecuador.
Thanks to the financial support of the Rockefeller Foundation, AIR obtained the funds to consolidate as a project in the Ecuadorian Amazon and expand to Peru (Madre de Dios) and Brazil (Maranhao).
