Defenders of the Environment
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     Many organizations have been formed to protect the environment in this region not only in Latin America and the United States, but across the globe.  One such organization is the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), which works to protect the Earth's rainforests and to support the human rights of the inhabitants living in these areas through education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct action.  RAN was founded in 1985 and has played a role in strengthening the rainforest conservation movement through supporting activists and organizing and mobilizing consumers and community action groups in the United States.

    The Amazon Coalition has initiated a partnership between the indigenous people and other groups who are concerned about the future of the Amazon's environment and people.  The Amazon Coalition is based in Washington D.C. and formed the Amazon Alliance for Indigenous and Traditional Peoples of the Amazon Basin.  This alliance brings together the people of the Amazon rainforest with eighty non-governmental organizations which believe that the future of the Amazon depends on its people and the condition of the environment.

    Amazon Watch is a group that works with indigenous and environmental organizations in the Amazon Basin to defend the environment and to advance the rights of indigenous groups who are fighting against forms of industrial development, like oil and gas pipelines, roads, and power lines.  This organization has several different programs, including the Amazon Communications Team.  This team teaches media skills to indigenous people and equips them with telecommunications tools so that they can defend themselves against outside companies.

    Project Underground carries out environmental, human, and indigenous rights campaigns that are designed to expose the abuses by corporations involved in mining and oiling that threatens communities not only in Latin America, but also around the world.  They provide informational, technical, legal, and scientific support to the communities that are at a risk of losing their land and rights.  Project Underground is currently involved in the struggle to defend the rights of the U'wa people of Colombia.

    The International Rivers Network works to halt destructive river development projects and to support local communities who are trying to protect their rivers and watersheds.  The group has also become involved in the plight of the Amazon Basin.  Damming in the Amazon region has led to unnatural flooding and drought; at least three hundred freshwater fish are documented endangered, and wildlife and local people are suffering.  The Itaparica Dam in Brazil, for example, has displaced approximately 40,000 people since its development over a decade ago.

    The Action for Community and Ecology in the Rainforests of Central America (ACERCA) believes that the forests of Central America should be known for its beauty, not its economic possibilities.  This group emerged out of the need for international protection of environmental and human right abuses that have been occurring in Central America.  ACERCA is made up of activists, organizers, researchers, volunteers, and many others who put their main focus on the southern part of Mexico and Nicaragua.  They work to expose the power imbalance that has allowed for the cultural and environmental destruction of Central America.

    The Audobon Society

    Greenpeace is a diversified environmental group that actively pursues change in places of environmental abuse.  Greenpeace is a name recognized around the world and their work covers issues of climate, toxic waste, oceans and forests, and dumping into the environment.  The even look to make the Olympics more environmentally friendly.  Their pursuit's in Latin America include combating the pollution that has become a problem.

    The World Wildlife Fund is an international conservation organization that works to protect and save endangered species while addressing global threats.  It is the largest privately supported international conservation organization in the world.  The World Wildlife Fund has more than 1 million members in the United States alone. Since its creation in 1961, The World Wildlife Fund has invested itself in over 13,000 projects in over 150 countries.

    The Rainforest Alliance is an international organization dedicated to the preservation of tropical rainforests.  With an annual budget of $4.5 million and 14,000 supporters, the Rainforest Alliance creates specialized programs in its drive to preserve rainforest lands.  The Rainforest Alliance publishes several electronic magazines that you can receive either by subscribing or clicking here and here.