As the world’s mightiest tropical forest – the Amazon – nears a critical ecological tipping point, a number of diverse and far-reaching media organizations are partnering with the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) to support the largest-ever global conference on the biodiversity-rich biome.
The biome is one of the most culturally and biologically diverse regions on Earth: it’s home to more than 30 million people, around 410 ethnic groups, and over a tenth of the planet’s known biodiversity, including many endemic and endangered species.
But forty percent of the Amazon Biome is in danger of irreversibly losing its function as water-generating rainforest and transforming into a dry, degraded landscape: a catastrophe for human well-being and planetary health.
We can change this trajectory – but only if the world acts now.
To help catalyze and advance the action that is required, an online conference, ‘GLF Amazonia: The Tipping Point – Solutions from the Inside Out’, will take place on September 21-23, 2021. The solution-led event will convene local and global actors to explore how to preserve and restore the biological and cultural diversity of the biome.
“For GK it is key to partner with GLF to broaden knowledge and ties among organizations working for similar objectives, such as caring for the environment and promoting the regions’ Indigenous Peoples rights,” said GK, one of the most widely read independent media outlets in Ecuador. “Mutually amplifying these issues is a win for the Earth.”
Notable regional, national and international media organizations are now partnering with the GLF to ensure the conference’s key messages reach as many people as possible.
Regional partners include Brazilian independent media organization Mídia NINJA; its Amazon-focused network Casa NINJA Amazônia; the Brazilian universities news agency Radio Web UFPA from Federal University of Pará (UFPA), the Federal University of Amazonas (UFAM) channel TV UFAM; Ecuadorian independent media organization GK; and the media arm of the Amazonian Youth Cooperative for Sustainable Development, COJOVEM; and the sustainable and environmental specialized publisher, Revista Amazônia.
“The importance of the GLF Amazonia Digital Conference, at a time when the Amazon region is heavily threatened by the devastation caused by man and the insecurity of Indigenous and Traditional Peoples – who are the true guardians of the forests – is key to launching a greater alert about the risks that the biome faces,” said Mídia NINJA and Casa NINJA Amazônia, a network of independent journalists. “The involvement of Mídia NINJA and Casa NINJA Amazônia shows how networking, independent journalism and cultural movements are synchronized with current climate emergencies, with these two fronts acting to denounce fires, deforestation and crimes of all kinds that are done against the Amazon, and to present its riches and strengths, as well as its essentiality for the planet’s climate. All of this is largely connected with the fight for climate justice.”
New partners with a global focus and reach also include renowned environment and conservation news platform Mongabay; global science and development news site SciDevNet; and environment-focused streaming platform WaterBear Network.
“We, who are daily covering the main issues of the Amazonia know that we are reaching the tipping point in many ways. Today, more than ever, journalism is needed to know what is happening, the information being generated by experts, and testimonies from Indigenous Peoples and local communities. An important source of information is, with no doubt, the Global Landscapes Forum. We consider the key to join forces to connect information and communication in a space of dialogue. We are confident this will allow us to inform more and better about urgent matters from the world’s largest humid tropical forest,” added Mongabay Latam.
“The backing of our media partners from across Latin America and beyond are helping us to amplify the knowledge and wisdom coming to us through local voices in the region,” said John Colmey who leads the Global Landscapes Forum “and the GLF community, as well as its partners and funders, are immensely grateful for that.”
Registration for GLF Amazonia is now open: it’s free for residents of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, and only 10-15 Euros for those living outside the region.
The event is sponsored by the Ford Foundation with support from the German Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and FOLUR.
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