UF LAS 74th Annual Conference in February 2026 – The Power of Connections: Harvesting Lessons and Strengthening Coalitions for Amazonian Conservation

This year’s conference, “The Power of Connections: Harvesting Lessons and Strengthening Coalitions for Amazonian Conservation,” is part of a 19-month-long project generously funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. From February 23-27, join us for plenary talks, training clinics and discussion forums, a poster session, and a keynote delivered by our Bacardi Family Eminent Scholar!

Over the past 6 months, UF and partners have convened Pan-Amazonian practitioners, Indigenous elders and youth, researchers, private sector actors, and government officials in workshop settings across the basin to synthesize what has been working on the ground to consolidate biodiversity conservation that honors territorial and cultural integrity, fosters pragmatic synergies between ancestral wisdom and contemporary understandings and contexts, and creates opportunities for Indigenous peoples and traditional communities who are on the frontlines of safeguarding regional biodiversity.

The “Power of Connections” Conference and Summit in Gainesville will build on these first-hand, effective conservation insights forged in the face of constant social and ecological change. The upcoming February 2026 gathering of diverse actors will further stimulate collective actions that avert negative tipping points and catalyze positive ones that support thriving cultures, communities, and biodiversity.