The Earth's ‘green lung’ is in danger

Protect the rainforest today, secure a living world tomorrow

The Huni Kuin, like many other indigenous people, are custodians of the rainforest. This quote describes what the forest means to them. "We are the Huni Kuin, an indigenous people from the Acre region of Brazil. The rainforest is our home. Our whole being, our traditions and our culture are rooted in it. We protect and preserve it because it is the source of our life. Some of us live there in complete isolation. Others have contact with civilisation. What is happening here in Brazil right now is not only changing our homeland. It is also changing the earth, the planet we live on. We are the first to experience this here, and we are experiencing it first hand. This is a catastrophe. For us, for the natural world, and ultimately also for you, at the other end of the world. It is not too late. The only way to protect our people and the forest is to buy our own land. We have already started doing that and that is what we want to continue doing." - Txana Bane, elder of the Huni Kuin (2021).

Background

The Amazon is the largest expanse of tropical rainforest on earth. It is home to about 30% of the world’s animals and plants (Butler, 2019). Jaguars, macaws, river dolphins and giant otters are just some of the species that live here. The Amazon also provides rain for large parts of South America and is one of the largest carbon sinks in the world (Nobre & Fabrício Neto, 2021). But the “green lung” of our planet is under threat. Most of the Amazon is in Brazil. The government tolerates the exploitation of the rainforest by the mining, timber and agricultural industries (SZ, 2022). Indigenous societies have been defending this habitat for centuries. One of the peoples that has particularly protected its culture and the forest is that of the Huni Kuin. In international arenas such as the climate summit, indigenous peoples are resisting this destruction. Nevertheless, their homeland, the Amazon rainforest, continues to be destroyed. Many products for which the rainforest was cleared are also exported to the EU. Especially soya, which is used here as cattle feed, but also illegally logged timber and gold from illegal mines (Fatheuer, 2020). The consequences: Forest fires are increasing, animal species are dying out, extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and the global climate is warming. (Greenpeace, 2022). Supporting indigenous peoples in the Amazon is therefore also important for Europe. Studies show that the Amazon rainforest is significantly better protected in indigenous areas than outside these territories (FILAC, 2021). Indigenous land is therefore particularly important for the protection of this unique ecosystem and the people, animals and plants that live there.

The good deed

The most effective and safest way to protect the Huni Kuin and the rainforest is to buy the land. With your good deed, you are permanently protecting 150 square metres of untouched Amazon rainforest from deforestation. The total area of the reserve is 168 square kilometres - about a fifth of the size of Berlin. The land is located in the Brazilian state of Acre, on the border with Peru. It directly adjoins the official territory of the Huni Kuin, thus enlarging it. The reserve will also offer protection to Huni Kuin groups in the region that have not yet been contacted. The purchased land will be used to create a reserve for the Huni Kuin, where the forest and wildlife populations will be protected in perpetuity. The land will be managed by the Huni Kuin themselves so that they can maintain their culture and way of life in dignity.