The Kayapo Project
The Kayapo Project started in the early 1990s at Conservation International. After 2008 the International Conservation Fund of Canada (ICFC) took over the main partner role.
The International Conservation Fund of Canada (ICFC) is a non-profit organization that works to conserve natural ecosystems and biodiversity in Canada and around the world. The ICFC works in partnership with local organizations and communities to protect wildlife habitats, promote sustainable livelihoods, and support conservation initiatives in areas such as tropical forests, wetlands, and grasslands. They prioritize projects that have a positive impact on both the environment and the local people, and aim to create long-term solutions that benefit both.
Protecting the future of the Amazon
The Kayapo Project is a conservation initiative focused on protecting over 9 million hectares of Amazon rainforest and the Kayapo people which it belongs to. The Kayapo are one of the largest indigenous groups in Brazil and have lived in the Amazon for thousands of years. The project has several key objectives:
01
Land Protection
Protecting Kayapo lands and resources from logging, mining, and other destructive activities that threaten the rainforest ecosystem and the Kayapo way of life.
Kayapo Guard Posts enable the protection of much of their 2,200 km (1,375 miles) of border demarcating Kayapo protected forested territory from frontier society.
Expeditions by foot and river complement the role of guard posts for occupying and defending sections of border not yet monitored by a guard post.
02
Sustainable Development
Supporting sustainable development projects that provide economic opportunities for the Kayapo people while also protecting the environment.
For instance, the Brazil nut is a cornerstone sustainable enterprise of the Kayapo, because of its abundance and forest ecology combined with reliable domestic markets for Brazil nuts in the food industry
03
Knowledge Exchange
Facilitating the exchange of knowledge and skills between the Kayapo, conservationists and researchers.
The Kayapo Field Course Internship is a program offered by the ICFC that provides students and researchers with the opportunity to work with and learn from the Kayapo.
A partnership between Associacao Floresta Protegida, Untamed Angling and several Kayapo communities, gives outsiders the chance to visit the rainforest in a way which is respectful to the environment and equitable towards the indigenous hosts.
Kayapo Project NGOs
Three Kayapo NGOs and their partners have worked over almost two decades to grow and diversify a portfolio of sustainable conservation-based enterprise, generate equitably distributed benefits, and strengthen territorial monitoring and surveillance.
Associação Floresta Protegida
Associação Floresta Protegida (AFP) represents approximately 3,000 indigenous people from 31 villages located in the Kayapó, Mekragnoti and Las Casas Indigenous Lands in the southern state of Pará. AFP emerged in 1998 and operates through the development and execution of strategic projects, in four lines of action: Culture and Knowledge, Productive Activities and Income Generation, Environmental and Territorial Monitoring, and Institutional and Political Strengthening.
Oro Muturua Kayapo, President of AFP
Instituto Kabu
Instituto Kabu brings together 12 affiliated villages in the Baú and Menkragnoti Indigenous Lands, where 193 families and nearly 1.5 thousand men, women, and children live. Instituto Kabu is directed by indigenous people, who have a small team of professionals committed to using their knowledge of both cultures to advise the associated leaders and assist in the dialogue with the surrounding culture.
Instituto Kabu new leadership
Instituto Raoni
Instituto Raoni was founded in 1991 by indigenous leaders and supporters, including Kayapó leader Raoni Metuktire. The NGO represents approximately 1,700 Kayapo living in 12 communities in the southwest sector of Kayapo territory. The IR Kayapo protect approximately 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) of their territory in the southwest.
Chief Raoni Metuktire
The ICFC team stands out in their ability to problem solve to overcome obstacles so that they can act swiftly on conservation emergencies, whilst simultaneously and efficiently conducting the due diligence necessary to manage risks.
Don Church – PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF WILDLANDS CONSERVATION, GLOBAL WILDLIFE CONSERVATION
The International Conservation Fund of Canada is the most innovative and effective conservation organization at work in the Amazon Basin.
Bruce Babbitt – FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR, FORMER GOVERNOR OF ARIZONA, AND CONSERVATIONIST
ICFC are an enlightened, results-orientated organisation, 100% committed to making a difference in the most efficient way possible. Their flexible-yet-disciplined, engaged approach has meant we have been able to achieve so much more. One example has been an ability to continue working throughout the Malian conflict and protect the elephant population despite lawlessness and an abundance of firearms.
Dr. Susan Canney – LEADER OF MALI ELEPHANT PROJECT, A JOINT PROJECT OF ICFC AND WILD FOUNDATION