ACT In The News | June 2002 | Subscribe

ACT receives prestigious United Nations Environmental Award | June 5, 2002

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) elected the Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) of the United States of America, to the prestigious ranks of its Global 500 Roll of Honour for outstanding contributions to the protection of the environment. The organization is one of only eight individuals and organizations to receive this honour in 2002.

ACT is a creative and effective organization devoted to protecting native cultures and ecosystems in the American tropics. It was founded in 1995 by a group of conservationists to address a pressing need for a new kind of environmental organization that would work in true partnership with indigenous peoples to preserve their ancient wisdom and cultures, as well as the lands that sustain them. These conservationists, from Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Suriname and the United States with centuries of field experience among them, have developed new and effective conservation strategies and programs by combining western science and technology with tribal wisdom. ACT’s unique approach has added a much-needed complement to the work being done by larger, traditional environmental organizations.

A cornerstone of the ACT approach is the Shaman’s Apprentice Program, whereby young members of indigenous tribes train with traditional shamans and other elders to become both the healers and environmental guardians of the next generation. The most recent culmination of the ACT’s efforts was the second annual meeting of the most ancient and powerful shamans of the northwest Amazon (and their apprentices). At this unprecedented gathering, 42 shamans from seven tribes put aside their tribal differences and worked cooperatively to seize control of their environmental and cultural destinies, which they believe to be inextricably intertwined.

ACT is working with these indigenous people and the Colombian Government to create a new category of protected areas: Indigenous Reserves and Sacred Sites. The first 10,000-hectare site has already been established. In the northwest of the Amazon, ACT has partnered with the Tirio Indians to map their traditional homeland, an area of more than 20 million acres, and is helping them petition the Government for title to these lands. ACT is actively involved with these and other tribes to sustainably manage their forests for Brazil nuts and other non-timber products giving important economic value to ecosystem protection.

ACT is a powerful example of what can be accomplished by a small, dedicated team of people who share the same philosophy and vision.

“The winners of UNEP's Global 500 Roll of Honour are members of a broad and growing environmental movement that is flourishing around the world. They have taken the path that most of us hesitate to take for want of time or caring,” says UNEP’s Executive Director, Klaus Toepfer. “In honouring the Global 500 laureates, UNEP hopes that others will be inspired by their extraordinary deeds.”

The award was presented in Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China, at the World Environment Day ceremonies on 4 June 2002.

World Environment Day, which is celebrated in some 120 countries around the world on 5 June, was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 to focus global attention and action on environmental issues.

Since the inception of the award in 1987, 727 individuals and organizations, in both the adult and youth categories, have been honoured with the Global 500 award. Among prominent past winners are: French Marine explorer Jacques Cousteau; Sir David Attenborough, producer of environmental television programs; Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Prime Minister of Norway; Anil Aggarwal, the prominent environmentalist from India; Ken Saro-Wiwa, the environmental and human rights activist from Nigeria who was executed for leading the resistance of the Ogoni People against the pollution of their Delta homeland; the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Jimmy Carter, former President of the United States; Jane Goodall of the United Kingdom whose research on wild chimpanzees and olive baboons provided insight into the lives of non-human primates; and the late Chico Mendes, the Brazilian rubber tapper who was murdered during his fight to save the Amazon forest.

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