The Amazon Charitable Trust was set up in January 2009. Our mission is to protect the Amazon rainforest. Our approach is to work with local traditional and indigenous communities, supporting their projects to become self-sufficient, while protecting the natural resources around them.
Our ambition is to achieve true sustainability of the communities that we support, enabling the people in those areas to survive and thrive on their own resources, maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem without ongoing reliance on external charity.
We aim to take a unique approach, grounded in the belief that the endangered ecosystems of the Amazon will best be conserved by encouraging development of local communities that are genuinely sustainable, providing dignity and quality of life. This philosophy is motivated by the fact that no conservation activity can be successful without the support of the inhabitants of an endangered area. Poverty, hunger and disease are a fertile ground for destruction of the environment. The Amazon Charitable Trust therefore takes a holistic approach, working in partnership with communities that are addressing those issues, both to protect the livelihoods of local people and ensure the survival of fauna and flora. We also aim to promote innovative, entrepreneurial approaches, and support research to understand the richness of the Amazon ecosystems.
Over time the Amazon Charitable Trust expects to develop as an ‘umbrella’ organisation for environmental projects across the Amazon. We work with corporate donors, whose values of corporate social responsibility coincide with our determination to support enterprising communities in achieving sustainable economic development, which provides incentives for the protection of natural resources.
Our principles are:- Ensure the protection of the Amazon rainforest by working in partnership with local projects and communities
- Take a community development approach that is economically sustainable, while enabling local people to preserve their natural resources
- Work towards the long-term goal of self-sufficient communities in the Amazon
