Safeguarding Indigenous Land and Culture: Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation Announces Partners with the Associação Floresta Protegida and the Kayapo People in the Brazilian Amazon
The Mebêngôkre-Kayapó-led Associação Floresta Protegida (AFP – Protected Forest Association) and the Kayapo Project are pleased to announce a new partnership with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation’s Forest and Communities Initiative (FCI). This collaboration will help strengthen the Kayapó people’s long-standing efforts to safeguard approximately 9.4 million hectares of tropical forest across six federally demarcated Indigenous Territories in south-central Pará and northern Mato Grosso.
Home to nearly 12,000 people, these lands form a vital ecological barrier against deforestation in one of the most threatened regions of the Amazon Basin. Together, The Prince Albert of Monaco Foundation and the AFP will fortify the protection of Kayapo culture and lands through community-led education and territorial monitoring and surveillance programs.
From 2026-2028, the FCI will work with the AFP and the Kayapo Project to support and implement the Kayapo Forest School to prepare the next generation of Kayapo leaders. Each year, the Kayapo Forest School will provide hundreds of Kayapo youth a five-day field program that integrates traditional Indigenous knowledge with conservation technologies such as drones and camera traps. Each year of the partnership, the Kayapo Forest school will expand to other regions of the Kayapo managed Indigenous lands.
At the same time, the FCI will support the Kayapo territorial monitoring and surveillance guard post program. The guard post program trains and employs more than 1,500 Kayapo guardians to protect more than 2200km of Kayapo border from invasion. The guard posts are a clear signal that the Kayapo are organized and prepared to protect their territory from land invasions.
Together, these initiatives will ensure that Kayapo lands and culture are safeguarded for future generations.
Patkore Kayapo, President of AFP said: “The Forests and Communities Initiative provides important resources directly to Indigenous associations and communities. The partnership with the Prince Albert of Monaco Foundation will provide essential support for the protection of Kayapo culture, rivers, lands, and biodiversity. The partnership reinforces durable Indigenous governance and autonomy.”
Romain Ciarlet, Vice-Chairman and CEO, Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, added: “Protecting the world’s forests requires strong partnerships with those who have safeguarded them for generations. Indigenous peoples are not only guardians of biodiversity; they are key actors in the global response to climate and environmental challenges. Through the Forests and Communities Initiative, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation is committed to strengthening Indigenous-led conservation by supporting local governance, education and territorial protection.”
About the Forests and Communities Initiative
The mission of the Forests and Communities Initiative is to support conservation of forest ecosystems through the action of indigenous peoples and local communities (IP and LCs) and through the development of a supporting network of actors providing a multidisciplinary set of expertise. To learn more about the Forests and Communities Initiative, visit www.forestsandcommunitiesinitiative.org.
About the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation
Founded by HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco in 2006, the Foundation is a global non-profit organisation dedicated to advancing planetary health for current and future generations. It co-creates initiatives and supports hundreds of projects in three priority areas: the Mediterranean Basin, the Polar Regions, and the Least Developed Countries (as classified by the United Nations). Its key missions include preserving endangered species, protecting freshwater ecosystems, developing a sustainable blue economy, and supporting the younger generations.
About the Kayapo Project
The Kayapo Project, a flagship program of Biome Conservation, is an Indigenous-led NGO alliance ensuring Mebêngôkre-Kayapo (Kayapo) cultural, economic, political, and territorial autonomy over more than nine million hectares of federally demarcated Indigenous lands located in the highly threatened southeastern Amazon. For more on the Kayapo Project, visit kayapo.org.
About Associação Floresta Protegida
The Associacao Floresta Protegida is an Indigenous-led nonprofit organization based in Tucumã, in the Brazilian State of Pará. The AFP works with 43 communities in the Kayapo, Menkragnoti, and Las Casas Indigenous Territories. Visit florestaprotegida.org.br to learn more.