Leveraging deep field partnerships cultivated over decades by both the Moore Foundation and the Tropical Conservation and Development Program of the University of Florida (UF), we will realize a series of interconnected iterative convenings of diverse key actors committed to Amazonian conservation that enables 1) the exchange and dissemination of lessons learned in developing and implementing conservation strategies; and 2) the invigoration of existing networks and catalysis of new cross-generational coalitions to advance thinking and action for enduring Amazonian conservation.
Why and why now? The vivid intertwined crises of climate change and the pandemic have starkly revealed humanity’s potency and vulnerability. Amazonia, widely regarded as a linchpin in the earth’s climate system, faces a dangerous shift–from stabilizing the earth’s carbon levels to becoming a major carbon emitter. To avoid this infamous tipping point various organizations and actors (from Indigenous and local communities to governments, NGOs, private enterprises, universities, and philanthropic groups) have spent decades collaboratively advancing the understanding of Amazon basin dynamics and implementing actions to sustain basin ecology and fortify conservation-aligned socioeconomic systems.
Notable progress includes massive increases in protected areas, demarcation of Indigenous territories, and consolidation of informal conservation zones. Silver bullets (past, present and future) have given way to more nuanced, cooperative approaches that embrace the basin’s environmental heterogeneity, rich biocultural diversity, and the escalating influence of climate change.
Those at the conservation forefront have been forging innovative alliances as they face these realities, actively experimenting with strategies to harmonize sustainable development and conservation of Amazonia. Amid pandemic, economic, cultural, and political disruptions, the timing is right to harness lessons learned over past decades, foster intergenerational exchange of knowledge between leaders and learners, and chart a strategic path forward for Amazonia.
5 thematic workshops will be held in the Amazon basin between May and December 2025, creating a space where key conservation actors can exchange strategies, timelines, setbacks, and key lessons linked to the following Amazonian conservation strategies:
- Innovative policies, laws, and legal strategies
- Collaborative management centered on Indigenous People and Local Communities
- Sociobioeconomy and Conservation finance
- Innovations in the research process
- Reshaping institutions for Next-Gen conservation leaders.
A multi-day, high-visibility UF Amazon Summit in February 2026 at Austin Cary Forest will convene diverse key actors committed to advancing Amazonian conservation.
For more information contact: Dr. Karen Kainer, Project PI, kkainer@ufl.edu
