environment
abril 13, 2026
KEYS
More than half a millennium after the arrival of the Spanish and Portuguese in Latin America, the Amazon is viewed from the colonist's perspective. This is according to Fany Kuiru Castro, who leads the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA), which has just released its 2025 report "Amazon in Danger of Extinction," to be presented on April 14.
TL;DR
- The Amazon is viewed through a colonial lens, seeing it as empty and awaiting exploitation, rather than an integral part of indigenous identity and territory.
- The 2025 "Amazon in Danger of Extinction" report indicates the Amazon has surpassed critical deforestation tipping points, with 30% now deforested or degraded.
- Degradation, through fires and logging, is a major driver of collapse, with emissions nearly equal to deforestation.
- Indigenous territories and protected areas show significantly lower transformation and degradation rates compared to unprotected areas.
- Indigenous peoples, managing a third of the Amazon efficiently, receive less than 1% of international climate funding.
- The report calls for the Global North to be held accountable for financing destruction through international banks and extractive companies.
- A shift from state-driven observation to active co-creation between states, indigenous peoples, civil society, and scientists is proposed for the Amazon's salvation.