Stories in Latin America

Manacacías, a Biodiversity Corridor Essential to Life

Despite being one of the most biodiverse regions in the world, Orinoquia is also one of the least protected, at a high risk of conversion and suffering the effects of climate change.

A New National Park is Born in Colombia

The newly created National Natural Park Serranía de Manacacías, safeguards a vital wildlife corridor and a globally important ecosystem that was not represented in the protected area system.

Edgar González: New Appointed Executive Director, TNC Mexico

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Mexico, a leading organization promoting environmental conservation and development, announces Edgar González as the new Executive Director for Mexico.

Protecting the Amazon Rainforest and Basin

The Amazon Rainforest is Earth's greatest reserve of life. Explore how our lives are tied to this unique place and how we can protect it.

Growth Potential

The National Geographic Society and TNC are remaking the internship experience to better equip young adults from underrepresented communities with the tools they need to become conservation leaders.

A Festival for the Future

In one of the world’s most biodiverse places, a young leader is using education as a tool for change.

Fortin Chacabuco: How sustainable grazing can save Patagonia's natural landscapes

Fortin Chacabuco is Argentina's first sustainable grasslands demonstration ranch. The working ranch protects Patagonian landscapes and spreads conservation to all of Argentina.

From Record-Breaking Temperatures to Tipping Points: An Ever-Decreasing Gap

Increasingly high temperatures already affect millions of people around the world, and their consequences are also serious for nature.

6-minute read time

Reforestation and regenerative agriculture in action in the Gran Chaco

In this forest, the second largest in South America after the Amazon, corn and soy growers and livestock farmers learned to improve their production without deforesting.

Ecuador Shows What Freshwater Ecosystem Protection Can Look Like

Ecuador’s approach to large-scale, effective and inclusive freshwater conservation provides an example for other countries as they shift to implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework.

Indigenous Lands Conversion Risk and Solutions

A new global study maps out conversion risks to Indigenous Peoples' lands and explores the factors that increase land conversion risk. But, as the co-authors suggest, there are solutions.

Better Shrimp Farming Could Take a Bite Out of Carbon Emissions

As America’s most popular seafood, shrimp is a key target for carbon reductions.

4-minute read time

Belize Blue Bonds for Ocean Conservation Impact Report

Learn more about The Nature Conservancy's Belize sovereign debt conversion in the latest annual Impact Report.

Brazil's Annual Report 2022

We achieved some expressive results in 2022 to meet our ambitious 2030 goals to help people and nature thrive together.

New study about the importance of spring restoration to water security.

"Invisible Reservoir" shows restoration’s economic and biological impact on water in São Paulo, Brazil.

The Nature Conservancy and Explora Team Up for Conservation in Patagonia

A new conservation collaboration between sustainable tourism company Explora and The Nature Conservancy will protect 6,000 hectares of unique landscape and biodiversity in Chile’s Patagonia.

Gran Chaco

Halting deforestation through sustainable production and sourcing in South America’s second-largest forest.

Natural Solutions to the Climate Crisis

Protecting key lands and waters, restoring important systems and implementing climate-smart practices are critical strategies for slowing climate change.

TNC launches study on carbon potential in the Amazon and Cerrado and its role in soy and cattle ranching financing

New study shows that strategies that generate emissions reduction and carbon sequestration can be monetized for the rural producer and accelerate implementation.

TNC Brazil at COP 15

Your Guide to the 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference

The Role of Socio-bioeconomy in the Climate Agenda

Following a study of the economic potential of the socio-biodiversity chains in Pará, Brazil, a socio-bioeconomic strategy for the Amazon focusing on biodiversity and forests was launched at COP27.

Funding Indigenous Peoples’ Climate Efforts through Jurisdictional REDD+

The pioneering REDD Early Movers Program in Mato Grosso, Brazil, offers lessons for the world

Blue Streak

A trailblazing approach to marine conservation piloted in Seychelles finds new success in Belize.

Why we need to talk about 2025

What does 2025 have to do with deforestation in the Cerrado, the tragic flooding in Pakistan in 2022, and the more than US $1.042 billion in rural insurance compensation in Brazil in 2021?

COP27: The Challenge of Achieving Goals and Commitments

Countries meet at the Climate Conference on the African continent, with the challenge of following up on last year's announcements.

Breathing New Life into Chile's Valdivian Forest

The Valdivian Coastal Reserve is a pioneering living forest carbon project, delivering benefits to local communities and biodiversity, and trialing methodologies that can help other regions.

“Flora and Fauna of the Valdivian Coastal Reserve” guide

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Chile and local marine conservation NGO Fundación Oceanósfera, launched an illustrated, bilingual guide (Spanish-English) to the flora and fauna of the VCR.

Trusting Knowledge to Save Rivers

Indigenous leadership and ancestral knowledge are helping to protect rivers in the Amazon region in Ecuador.

Meet Felipe Edwards

Meet journalist, TNC trustee and Legacy Club member Felipe Edwards and learn why he was inspired to join TNC.

Innovative Finance for the Amazon, Cerrado and Chaco (IFACC)

An initiative to create innovative finance mechanisms to implement sustainable production.

Brazil Annual Report 2021

In 2021, we lived through another challenging time in Brazil, facing drought, fire and deforestation. However, we achieved some importants outcomes in TNC's work in Brazil.

Belize Debt Conversion Case Study

Learn about NatureVest and The Nature Conservancy's Belize sovereign debt conversion.

Restoring Degraded Landscapes in the Cerrado

The first phase of the Reverte Program has been completed.

TNC Board of Trustees

TNC Board of Trustees

Three Things to Know About Artificial Intelligence and Green Energy Planning

The world needs more renewable energy, but we also need to protect wild habitats, especially free-flowing rivers. So how do we balance these goals? A.I. can help.

Saving the Gran Chaco

As the window of opportunity to tackle climate change narrows, new approaches are emerging for food production in Argentina's Gran Chaco region.

Saving the Maya Rainforest

An innovative deal helps Belize bring its total protected lands to nearly 40%.

CI, TNC, WRI Brazil, and WWF-Brazil unite to promote the forest restoration of 4 million hectares

Conservation International, TNC, WRI Brasil, and WWF-Brasil point to six essential pillars to unlock investment in restoration in the Amazon, Cerrado, and Atlantic Forest.

How Belize is Transforming the Caribbean

Belize just committed to protecting 30 percent of its ocean territory, with the support of the world’s largest debt conversion for marine conservation to date.

Sustainable Financing in Amazon, Cerrado and Chaco

Financial institutions and agribusiness commit $3 billion to accelerate conversion-free cattle and soy production in South America.

TNC Statement on Belize Conservation Commitments

TNC issues statement regarding proposed Blue Bonds Conservation Commitments in Belize.

The socio-bioeconomy in Pará state, Brazil, has the potential to generate an income of more than US $30 billion in 2040

The estimate is in an unpublished study on the GDP of the socio-bioeconomy production chain in Pará state

Working with Local Indigenous Communities to Achieve Sustainable Landscapes

We work on building capacities that link ancient knowledge with government policy to preserve the Amazon in Ecuador

Regenerating the Gran Chaco

A regenerative food system can help restore depleted soils in South America’s second-largest forest, creating positive change for communities, economies and wildlife.

Zero Conversion and Commodities Strategy launches video celebrating 5 years of work

The project's priority is to eliminate deforestation of the soy and beef commodities in the Amazon, Cerrado and Gran Chaco.

Sustainable Community Development to Help Mangrove Forest Protect the Coasts of Ecuador

Protecting ecosystem services and mangroves' benefits in Ecuador's coastal biodiversity and water security hotspots.

Monarch Butterflies Bring Together Conservation and Culture Between U.S. and Mexico

Preserving the monarch butterfly and its unique migration across North America protects a cultural icon.

Extreme E and TNC Partner to Help Restore Brazilian Amazon

Extreme E, the innovative electric racing series created to highlight climate change issues, is supporting TNC's Forest Cocoa initiative to protect and restore the Amazon rainforest.

Restore the Amazon? Small Farmers Are Key

Changes in small farming practices could reverse deforestation and raise incomes in the region—here’s how we can make that happen.

A More Open Outdoors: An Interview with Marcela Maldonado

Marcela Maldonado Medina, preserve stewardship coordinator for The Nature Conservancy in New York, talks about who parks were made to serve and how they are more important in the pandemic.

A Search for Silence

In a new book, photographer Pete McBride, reflects on the sounds behind his images.

Partnerships to Strengthen Science in the Amazon

TNC and UFOPA work with traditional communities to conserve the Tapajós Basin.

Sustainable Food and Agriculture

A sustainable food system is potentially the most significant way to ensure a future where both nature and people thrive.

Nature-Based Solutions

What’s good for nature can also be good for business. Smart business decisions should and must consider responsible ecological management.

BHP

Conserving Critical Lands and Waters Around the World

Jp Morgan Chase Co

Transforming the Way We Protect Natural Capital

Sustainable Cocoa

The Nature Conservancy is working with farmers to restore deforested land in the Amazon rainforest by planting cocoa trees. This is good for the forest and good for the farmer, who can still make a living.

Achieving Water Security in Ecuador through Watershed Management

TNC works with different stakeholders in Ecuador on managing correctly one of its most important natural resources: freshwater

Plant a Billion Trees | Guatemala

In 2021, Plant a Billion Trees has expanded to include reforestation in Guatemala.

Nature Needs Latin America’s Leadership This Decade

Our region will play a key role in tackling the climate and biodiversity crises—and regenerative agriculture can help.

Indigenous Peoples are essential to forest conservation and the bioeconomy

TNC Brazil specialists explain the importance Indigenous Lands have in protecting the environment and strengthening the tendencies of a greener economy.

Members

The Latin America Conservation Council (LACC) wants to ensure that Latin America’s natural systems remain intact and can meet the needs of both nature and people. The time to set a path for sustainable growth is now, and Council members apply the same investment savvy and political acumen that made them successful leaders to advance the dual cause of conservation and sustainability.

Science in the service of freshwater conservation

Ensuring long-term water security in Argentina is essential to adapting to climate change and promoting inclusive growth and sustainable development.

The Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company and Foundation are supporting TNC's work to protect, restore, and steward freshwater resources around the world.

Protecting the “Jewel” of Central America

Belize’s Maya Forest harbors natural treasures key to biodiversity and climate action—a multisector coalition just helped secure its future.

Amplifying Indigenous Voices

Indigenous communication support and training strengthens communities and local organizations’ management of their territories and the fight for their rights.

Galapagos Islands Flagship Species Conservation

Pájaro Brujo Preserve represents 15 years of TNC’s work protecting Galápagos’ wildlife

The role of Finance in sustainable development of the Cerrado

Cerrado has over 18.5 million more than double the amount needed to accommodate the 7.3 million hectares of soy expansion by 2030, so it's essential to stregthen finance on sustainable development.

Bank of America

With support from Bank of America, TNC and its partners developed a first-of-its kind reef insurance policy which covers a 160 kilometer stretch of the Mesoamerican reef in Quintana Roo, Mexico.

Getting Food Right for a Sustainable Amazon

Sustainable agriculture and other food production methods aim to strike a balance between environmental conservation and economic development in the Amazon.

The Public Policy Challenge for Preserving the Amazon

Striking a balance between economic output and environmental stewardship represents one of the greatest challenges for preserving the Amazon.

Brazil's path to sustainable cattle farming

Read the new study by TNC and Bain & Company that analyzes how Brazil's beef and leather industry can work to tackle deforestation.

Solving with Nature

Faced with an uncertain future and limited resources, where should governments invest to ensure the wellbeing of their citizens?

Working Together for Water Protection

Latin America holds a third of the world’s fresh water, but most of these resources are concentrated in areas like the Amazon and the Andes where few people live—80% of Latin Americans live in cities.

FishPath to Sustainable Oceans

When fish populations start crashing in areas with few restrictions it’s up to fishers to decide if they want to race to take what’s left or change their practices.

Keepers of the Amazon

Nearly the size of the continental United States, the Amazon is the world’s largest tropical forest, home to 10% of all species, the source of one quarter of the world’s fresh water .

Lessons from the Maya Forest Garden

Addressing one of humanity’s greatest challenges— finding sustainable ways to feed a rapidly increasing global population—is Latin America’s great opportunity.

Protect Biodiversity

Protecting our Heritage, Safeguarding our Future

Tackle Climate Change

Nature’s Path to a Stable Climate.

Provide Food and Water Sustainably

Latin America is rich in water, but climate change is increasing risks of scarcity and flooding.

Ancestral Memory: Key to Saving the Amazon

From Colombia, Brazil and Ecuador, different voices stress the importance of protecting Indigenous traditions and the Amazon ecosystem they depend on in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

R2A in Colombia

Regenerative Ranching and Agriculture

R2A in the Mesoamerican Corridor-Chiapas

Regenerative Ranching and Agriculture

R2A in Argentina

Regenerative Ranching and Agriculture

The Amazon Approaches Its Tipping Point

The world’s largest tropical rainforest is turning into a savanna—preventing further destruction requires urgent, multisector action.

Science, Natural Resources and Planetary Health

Building a sustainable, prosperous future will require grounding our economic practices in the science of ecology.

Capturing the Human Planet

How viewing the world from above turned an aerial photographer into an “accidental environmentalist.”

Finding Peace

Displaced and disenfranchised by decades of war, some Colombians are rebuilding their lives—and their forests—through ranching.

We Really Are What We Eat

Cattle ranching can be hard on the land, the water, and the atmosphere. But it doesn't have to be; biodiversity is the key.

Like to Eat? Then You Need to Care About Biodiversity...and the Dung Beetle

The dung beetle is a vital link between biodiversity and agriculture. Agriculture can, and must, be the leading edge of a solution.

The World’s Eyes Are Watching Colombia’s Orinoquia

Colombia is looking to its vast tropical savanna, known as Orinoquia, to fuel rapid economic growth by satisfying global demand for food.

White Gold

For centuries, men and women of Argentinian Patagonia have made their living off “white gold. Learn about how TNC is spreading sustainable grazing projects in Patagonia!

10 Steps for a Transformative Deal for Nature

Ahead of a crucial UN biodiversity summit in Kunming, China, here are our top 10 recommendations to reset our relationship with nature.

GulfCorps: A New Generation Restoring the Gulf

The Nature Conservancy's Gulf of America Director, Bob Bendick, writes about the GulfCorps program, which puts young adults to work to help restore habitat in the region.

Fire outbreaks and deforestation alerts are happening in the same areas of the Amazon

To fight fires, we must curb deforestation, ensure legal compliance and invest in more sustainable supply chains.

Sustainable Future 2050

There is a clear path to 2050 in which both nature and 10 billion people can thrive together. But we are running out of time: Research shows we must make changes now to embrace a more sustainable future.

Latin America's Natural Resources and Climate Change

Latin America is a region rich in natural resources—and that makes it particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

Indigenous Women: Keepers of the Amazon Rainforest

Xikrin women protect millions of hectares of the Amazon Basin that are crucial for biodiversity and climate mitigation.

Restoring the Delta

Most of the Colorado River's water is used up by farms and cities before reaching the sea. What's being done to return water, and life, to the Delta?

International Fire Training

TNC fire practitioner Chase McLean shares his experiences attending a wildfire suppression learning exchange in Belize.

2-minute read time

Latin America Annual Report

TNC’s work in Latin America is advancing collaborative conservation solutions to address our world’s toughest challenges.

Changing Course

After its fishery nearly collapsed, a Peruvian community begins rebuilding its stocks and planning for the future.

Transforming the Region of the Maya Forest

TNC is working to improve the welfare of local people and promoting conservation efforts in the Maya Forest.

Mexico: Maya Forest Local Communities

The survival of the Maya Forest is deeply connected to the practices and commitment of the rural indigenous people who live there.

Agricultural Growth and Habitat Preservation Can Coexist

Efforts to massively increase agricultural production can coexist, and indeed benefit from, the determination to prevent any further habitat loss.

A New Model of Sustainable Ranching Systems in Nicaragua

Climate change and weather variability can exacerbate poverty issues in Latin America, particularly in drier areas in rural Nicaragua. However, Grupo LALA is supporting the dairy sector with the implementation of projects to influence more efficient practices.

Hard News on Soft Commodities

A commitment to more transparent supply chains by soy traders could have significant impact in Brazil’s Cerrado region.

Cooking Up Solutions to Forest Sustainability

Our work across the Yucatan is demonstrating that increasing food production does not have to come at the expense of the world’s most precious forests and other natural habitats.

Roots for growth: Why protecting and restoring forests is one of the best things any government can do for its people

A project in Brazil’s Serra da Mantiqueira region demonstrates how protecting and restoring forests can increase water security, bolster rural economies and mitigate climate change.

Mono-a-Mono: The Threat of Today’s “Green Deserts” to Tomorrow’s Food Production

Over the past 50 years, the proportion of people suffering from hunger has been cut in half. Progress, yes, but not problem solved.

Transforming Agriculture to Unleash the Regenerative Power of Nature

Science tells us that it is entirely feasible to increase global food production without converting more natural habits to agriculture.

Saving the Cerrado

Brazil's Cerrado ecosystem is massive, incredibly biodiverse—and threatened by an agricultural boom. Can a new agreement amongst private sector actors save this globally important landscape?

Bracing for Impact

On Mexico’s Caribbean coast, volunteer squads of divers are learning to repair the coral reefs that shield the shore.

Acai: The Roots Of A Super Fruit

Açaí may be “trendy” in the United States, but for villagers in the Oiapoque indigenous region of northern Brazil, açaí has been a diet staple for centuries.

Mexico: Harvesting the Flavors of the Maya Forest

Chefs and experts from the field explain how sustainable agriculture practices are good for both your taste buds and the Maya Forest.

Our Work In Chile The Valdivian Coastal Reserve

The Valdivia Reserve has survived glaciation; The Nature Conservancy has rescued it from a highway.

Partnering With Indigenous Peoples

The Nature Conservancy is partnering with indigenous peoples to conserve the Amazon rainforest.

Our Work In Chile Oceans Coasts

Human activity and climate change are straining Chile's coastal habitats and depleting fish stocks. We are developing innovative mechanisms to promote sustainable seafood, secure livelihoods and conserve marine habitats.

Colombia: Protecting Water at the Source

We are devising innovative strategies to help improve the social and economic conditions of upstream communities that surround Colombia's rivers, lakes and paramos.

CR Chocolate

The Nature Conservancy has helped bring together 17 community groups in La Amistad International Park in Costa Rica and Panama to create an ecotourism network.

Rivers that Produce Energy and Guarantee Conservation: Hydropower by Design in Mexico

The work of The Nature Conservancy is improving the sustainable development of energy infrastructure in Mexico.

Brazil’s Forest Code

Brazil’s Forest Code governs how much of the Amazon rainforest can be developed.

Our Work In Chile Water

Learn about how The Nature Conservancy works to protect this critical natural resource in Chile.

Sprawling Soy: Can a New Tool Help Manage the Crop’s Footprint?

Soy is a valuable commodity and staple in global food supplies—but it also has a growing footprint on many landscapes. A new tool aims to help farmers and businesses determine where they can plant soy to achieve minimal environmental and social impacts.

Solutions to Fighting Climate Change in Maya Forest

Protecting forests and reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (known as REDD+) is a powerful tool against climate change.

Monarch Butterfly

Researchers estimate that a jaw-dropping 970 million monarchs have vanished since 1990. Learn more about these incredible butterflies and how you can help protect them.

Growing Green

The Nature Conservancy works every day with farmers, ranchers and fishers who want to conserve natural resources and reduce their impact on the environment.

The Business Case for Healthy Agricultural Systems

We need to scale up the shift to healthy agricultural systems to restore the health of agricultural areas and their capacity to increase production.

Saving Great Rivers

A feature story in Nature Conservancy magazine about the world's great rivers.

Women Need a Seat at the Table for Sustainable Development

Why women’s participation is crucial for sustainable development and climate mitigation.

How to Assess the Return on Investment in Watershed Conservation

Preserving and restoring water quality is a major concern for cities around the world. A study explores Brazil’s Camboriú River Watershed.

Growing Our Way to a Healthier Climate

Latin American farmers can make a substantial contribution toward global food security as they grow their way to a healthier climate by locking carbon into the soil.

A Natural Solution to Water Security

Report analyzes 4,000 cities to demonstrate the health, climate and biodiversity benefits of source water protection.

Climate Change: How a Thirst for Soy Puts Latin America in the Eye of the Storm

The Nature Conservancy is working to implement deforestation-free production and sourcing in the soy and beef sector.

Growing Greener in Mexico’s “City of the Mountains”

Bringing natural solutions into the urban center and helping Monterrey thrive as a modern city.

Reforesting The Amazon

After decades of turning forests into pastures and fields, Brazilian landowners have begun reversing the trend.

Humboldts New World

A Nature Conservancy magazine article about how two hundred years ago, a young scientist set off on a voyage of scientific discovery that would inspire the likes of Thomas Jefferson and Charles Darwin—and sketch a road map for the future of conservation.

Designing Necessary Infrastructure to Have No Net Impact on Natural Capital

Hydropower by Design is used to support best practices in planning and evaluation of projects in the hydropower sector in Magdalena in Colombia.

Water Fund Bogota

Fund for water protection in Bogotá

More Food, Less Habitat Loss

The Nature Conservancy in Colombia is working to halt deforestation, restore grasslands and tackle climate change using sustainable agricultural practices.

Magdalena River

Join a team of Nature Conservancy staff and scientists as they navigate the Magdalena river and bring to life its rich communities and culture through a series of short stories.

Project Portfolio

Project Portfolio of the LACC

Who We Are

Members of The Latin America Conservation Council

Press Releases

Press Releases of the Latin America Conservation Council

Santiago Water Fund

The Nature Conservancy is protecting water at the source to ensure a healthy Mediterranean Chile and planet.

Ecuador Water Funds

Two Water Funds in Ecuador help protect and manage water resources for the benefit of people and nature.

Videos

Our Work: Check out our videos

Brazil

Some of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world that are also some of the most threatened. The Nature Conservancy is working to reforest these areas back to health.