Cerrado Archives - Treesistance

New Partnership with Jacobs Futura

Posted on september 10, 2025oktober 31, 2025 by Elli

Treesistance is proud to announce a new partnership with the Jacobs Foundation’s Futura Program, through their Rainforest Grants initiative. Together, we are working on An Indigenous Roadmap For Effective Forest Conservation in Brazil.

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is not only one of the biggest environmental challenges of our time — it is also overwhelmingly illegal. Around 90% of forest loss happens outside the law, often in Indigenous territories that remain vast but under-protected. Yet most conservation efforts continue to treat it as a biological or social issue, overlooking a crucial truth: this is also a crime problem.

Treesistance is different. By applying crime science and situational crime prevention techniques, we work hand in hand with Indigenous communities to strengthen their ability to protect their territories. This approach doesn’t replace Indigenous knowledge — it complements and amplifies it, providing tools that guardians can use alongside generations of lived expertise.

Through this new partnership, Treesistance will collaborate with Indigenous territories across the Brazilian states of Pará, Amazonas, and Mato Grosso to protect more than one million hectares of primary rainforest and Cerrado. This includes the self-demarcation of five territories in the Lower Tapajós region of Pará, the development of access-to-justice strategies in TI Andirá-Marau (789,000 hectares) and TI Pimentel Barbosa (329,000 hectares), and the organisational strengthening of Indigenous leadership and coordination — foundations that are vital for the long-term success of each territory.

The Jacobs Foundation’s Futura Program contributes not only financial support, but also visibility and long-term partnership — helping to amplify Indigenous leadership and connect local guardians with international networks.

At its heart, this project is about amplifying Indigenous leadership. By ensuring that conservation strategies are guided by those who live in and depend on the forest, we not only protect territory — we build resilience, self-determination, and justice.

For Treesistance, this collaboration marks another step in scaling our model — linking grassroots defenders of the Amazon with global partners who share the vision of protecting forests not as commodities, but as living, breathing sources of life.

2 Years of Treesistance

Posted on augustus 14, 2025oktober 31, 2025 by Elli

2 Years of Treesistance

Two years ago, Treesistance was created out of an urgent need: to stand beside Indigenous communities who face violence and threats every day for defending the Amazon. What began in 2023 as a small initiative has grown into a global movement rooted in solidarity, courage, and Indigenous leadership.

What makes Treesistance different is simple

It is Indigenous-led at its core. Forest guardians are not an “add-on” to conservation — they are the strategy. By putting their knowledge, their leadership, and their daily realities at the center, we ensure that protection of the Amazon is effective, just, and sustainable.

This approach is built on four strategic pillars:

Territorial defence — equipping forest guardians with the tools and training they need to patrol and protect their lands.

Monitoring and research — gathering data and evidence to confront environmental crime and support legal action.

Community empowerment — strengthening education, health, and local economies to build long-term resilience.

International solidarity — connecting Indigenous struggles in the Amazon with allies, funders, and movements around the world.

Two years in, this model is already proving its impact. Forest guardians in Maró are carrying out daily patrols, monitoring illegal logging with GPS cameras, and keeping their territory safe. Our track record includes training dozens of new guardians, building partnerships with universities and NGOs, and raising funds that directly support equipment, transport, and security for the defenders on the ground.

This work is resonating far beyond the Amazon. In June 2025, Chief Dadá Borarí became the first Indigenous laureate of the Prix Voltaire sustainability award, a moment of recognition that symbolised the courage of all those who continue to resist. At the same time, Treesistance has seen new founders, funders, and partners join us. They are inspired by the clarity of our mission: that forest protection must be Indigenous-led, and that solidarity is not a slogan but a practice.

Looking ahead, our focus is on scaling this model to new territories, building deeper alliances, and growing a support base that ensures guardians can continue their work with safety and dignity.

Two years of Treesistance have shown what is possible when Indigenous leadership is placed at the center. We are humbled by the resilience of the guardians and grateful for everyone who has walked with us on this path. This is only the beginning — and together, we will continue to resist.

2024: een jaar van impact en groei

Posted on december 19, 2024oktober 31, 2025 by Elli

As the year draws to a close, we are proud to share the progress and impact of Treesistance’s efforts in 2024. From expanding Forest Guardian programs to launching new initiatives, our work has furthered the protection of Indigenous territories and vital ecosystems across the Amazon and Cerrado.

_{Maró Guardians on patrol blocking the road to illegal loggers}

Key Highlights from 2024

Forest Guardianship: Our Forest Guardian program now operates in 11 Indigenous territories across three Brazilian states, protecting 500,000 hectares of rainforest and cerrado.
Water Guardians: In partnership with Indigenous leaders, we co-created and secured funding for the Water Guardians Program, launching January 2025. This initiative will protect the 160km coastline of the Tapajós National Forest.
Renewable Energy: In collaboration with Greenchoice, we launched a €500,000 Green Energy Fund to address Indigenous communities’ energy needs, including powering monitoring equipment, water systems, and community spaces.
Technological Advancements: Partnerships introduced satellite monitoring systems and low-tech tools, enabling real-time detection and response to illegal activities in Indigenous territories.

Standing Up for Justice and Sustainability

Our commitment to justice saw success this year, with legal action against soy farmers in the Lower Tapajós holding them accountable for encroachment. Meanwhile, the Indigenous Communications Network we developed will connect nine territories in 2025, streamlining communication and collaboration among Forest Guardians.

Building New Guardianship Programs

In 2024, we proudly launched five new Forest Guardian groups in the Lower Tapajós, with support from sponsors including Koffels Solicitors & Barristers and other international partners. This expansion brought new training, resources, and empowerment to communities defending their lands from illegal activities.

The Treesistance team meeting with the Arapyun community. The location chosen for the on-site training and first installations.

Looking Forward to 2025

As we head into the new year, we are optimistic about the launch of the Water Guardians Program, further expansion of the Forest Guardianship, and deeper collaboration with Indigenous communities. Together, we can continue to protect the biodiversity of the Amazon and support the resilience of its people.

Our deepest gratitude goes to the communities, partners, and sponsors who make this work possible. To read the full 2024 Impact Report, click here.

Leadership Exchange with the Xavante

Posted on juni 13, 2024oktober 31, 2025 by admin

At the end of May, 2024, the head of the Treesistance forest guardian program Chief Dadá of TI Maró was invited by the Xavante leadership to discuss the forest protection and have an exchange about leadership, guardianship and education.

Dadá was invited by the Xavante leadership to discuss the forest protection and have an exchange about leadership, guardianship and education. The visit was facilitated by Marco van der Ree, Treesistence Strategic Advisor, and Frans Leeuwenberg who is a trusted partner of the Xavante and has been working with them for 35 years on sustainable wildlife management, food security, education and culture.

The trio was joined by 20 Xavante leaders from 14 different villages. They participated in two long days under the mango trees in fruitful and deep conversations, the importance of integrating culture in the formal and traditional education system and how the culture relates to the territory, the land, the animals, and nature as a whole. The third day was spend travelling around the TI to get to know the terrain and the Eastern border.

The Xavante expressed how inspired they were from Dadás visit, as they have never received a leader from another Indigenous territory to share experiences in dealing with these most important issues of cultural and territorial preservation. It was a profoundly valuable exchange.

It was obvious that the friendship built in this visit, is the beginning of a much longer journey where these two groups of Indigenous peoples will continue their exchange and mutual learning. We look forward to supporting the Xavante in forming their own groups of forest guardians to protect this incredibly important and strategically positioned territory from extractive industries. Watch this space…