Rainforest Concern

Brazil

XIXUAU-XIPARINA RESERVE, BRAZILIAN AMAZON

The Xixuau-Xiparina Reserve is an area of 450,000 acres (178,000 hectares) of pristine rainforest in the Roraima State of Brazil, under the management of a Brazilian NGO, the Amazon Association (AA). In 1996, the AA made a formal application to declare the area an official conservation unit, but this was turned down due to uncertainties about land ownership. Once it was established in 2001 that the land belonged to the Federal government, the process was started to create an Extractive Reserve based on the model created by the murdered rubber tapper and Nobel Prize winner, Chico Mendes. This would create economic opportunities for the local inhabitants whilst conserving the forest and biodiversity of the reserve.

Together with the Amazon Charitable Trust, formed in 2009, Rainforest Concern is actively supporting the work of the AA and the creation of the Extractive Reserve, which will enlarge the protected area from 178,000 to 630,000 hectares.

Please click here for the full story in our 2010 newsletter update

Education project with the cristalino Ecological foundation

In 2008 Rainforest Concern formed a partnership with the Cristalino Ecological Foundation, supporting the many initiatives carried out by the Cristalino Ecological Foundation and Escola da Amazônia. 2009 saw the launch of a series of four books called Coleção Guias de Convivência (Guide for Coexistence) addressing the issue of conflict versus coexistence between people and jaguars (as well as pumas). These books can be downloaded from Escola da Amazônia's website (Spanish versions only so far).

Please click here for the latest available (2009) newsletter update (pdf format).

the yawanawa project

In 2005, Brazil lost 18,000 sq km of forest, equivalent to 50 sq km per day. In this context, strengthening indigenous communities is one of the best hopes of preserving extensive tracts of forest for generations to come. At the Yawanawa's request, Rainforest Concern have been working with the Comissão Pró-Indio (CPI) on a series of initiatives to preserve the Yawanawa language and culture, to improve their water supply and protect their land. With 2 major road developments taking place in the state of Acre, it is about to lose its physical isolation, which has hitherto been the greatest force for conservation. As external pressures mount, the renaissance of the Yawanawa culture and the increase in population arising from improved diet and better medical facilities make the expansion of their defined territory ever more important.