Amazon Watch
    Amazon Watch

    THE AMAZON IS ON FIRE! Act now to respond to the crisis

    Fires raging across the Amazon rainforest are devastating one of the world’s most biodiverse regions and Indigenous territories, intensifying threats to global climate stability. In Brazil, fires have doubled since last year, scorching a region the size of Costa Rica in August alone, making this the worst Amazon fire crisis in two decades.

    These man-made infernos, fueled by deforestation and criminal operations clearing land for extractive industries and industrial agriculture, are exacerbated by the climate crisis. The region’s worst drought in 45 years and historically low river levels have made the forest more flammable. 

    This escalating environmental, humanitarian, and climatic emergency demands urgent action and Indigenous-led solutions, like land titling and territorial governance. 

    As in 2019, Amazon Watch is supporting Indigenous communities’ immediate needs and investing in long-term solutions. Our Amazon Fire Response Fund provides essential relief, such as protective equipment, support for Indigenous firefighting teams, and emergency food supplies. 

    Your solidarity is critical to protect this vital biome and its greatest guardians.

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    The fires are the worst catastrophe in the Amazon Rainforest in two decades  

    Fires raging across the Amazon rainforest are devastating one of the most biodiverse regions of the world and the territories of Indigenous Amazonian peoples, deepening threats to global climate stability. This escalating environmental, humanitarian, and climatic emergency demands urgent intervention and coordinated, international solidarity and action. 

    In Brazil, the number of fires has doubled since last year, scorching a region the size of Costa Rica in August alone, making this the worst fire crisis in the Amazon in the last two decades. In Peru, 16 of the country’s 25 regions have been affected by fires, with 70% of the blazes occurring in the Peruvian Amazon, affecting more than 87 Indigenous territories. In Bolivia, the government reports that 4 million hectares (40,000 sq. km.) have been impacted by the flames, which have reached 45 of the 58 Indigenous territories spanning the Amazon, Chiquitanía, and Chaco biomes. As a result, the critical biome that serves as a major carbon sink and holds 20% of the world’s fresh water supply has now become the world’s largest emitter of C02. 

    Man-made inferno: Key drivers behind the historic fires 

    Traditionally, tropical rainforests like the Amazon rainforest rarely burn. These record-breaking fires engulfing several Amazonian countries are man-made infernos driven by the expansion of the deforestation frontier and criminal operations that intentionally burn forest land to clear it for extractive industries. This catastrophic uptick in fires across the Amazonian region is also driven by climate phenomena linked to the anthropogenic climate crisis, such as the region’s worst drought in 45 years and historically low river levels, which make the forest more flammable and less resilient. As animal agriculture, land grabs, fossil fuel extraction, and mining continue to drive deforestation and degradation of the rainforest, drought will continue to intensify in the region and more areas will become vulnerable to fire threats. This dangerous feedback loop is pushing the vital biome to its brink, with scientists warning the rainforest could soon reach its catastrophic tipping point. 

    The manifold impacts of the drought and fires are experienced most acutely by Indigenous and local communities, who rely on the rainforest and its waterways for their wellbeing, underscoring the critical importance of protecting Indigenous sovereignty to protect this critical biome and its greatest guardians. 

    How Amazon Watch is responding to this crisis 

    Amazon Watch launched the Amazon Fire Response Fund to directly address the ongoing crisis in the Amazon by supporting immediate needs while investing in long-term solutions. Funds raised will go to directly to the priorities of Amazonian Indigenous communities on the front lines of the fires:

    • Fire and safety equipment
    • Food and water for brigades and affected communities
    • Financial support for Indigenous firefighting teams and forest guardians
    • Delivering emergency food supplies. 

    As the climate crisis continues to exacerbate future fire seasons in the Amazon, it is critical to invest in long-term strategies to protect this vital ecosystem. Building off of more than 28 years of direct partnership with Indigenous communities across the Amazon, a portion of the funds will be directed towards our work to promote Indigenous land rights and shut down destructive development projects in key regions. We know that advancing Indigenous-led solutions, such as land titling and territorial governance, are the most effective strategies to protect the Amazon rainforest and the communities that have been effectively stewarding the forest for thousands of years. 

    Funds will be deployed through the Amazon Defenders Fund, a solidarity grant-making mechanism specialized in flexible, rapid response funding with a track record of disbursing $6.5 million from 2020-2024.

    “Indigenous peoples are demanding the right to have their lands demarcated and if they do not succeed, the planet will not endure. The Amazon’s rivers are drying out at levels we’ve never seen, leaving villages without water, and this is all due to climate change. Why climate change? Because agribusiness wants more land for soy and cattle, and miners want to take our land as well for gold and other minerals.”

    Alessandra Korap Munduruku, Goldman Environmental Prize Winner and Coordinator of the Munduruku Pariri Association