Andes-Amazon
The Andes-Amazon region comprises the transition zone from the eastern Andes mountains to the western Amazon Basin. Altitudinal gradients ranging more than 5000 meters create niche environments that harbor exceptional biological diversity. Numerous Amerindian tribes, some of them uncontacted, inhabit the area. Modeling shows that the region's forests, still relatively intact compared to the highly fragmented eastern Amazon, could serve as climate change refugia for biota as the eastern Amazon gradually dries. We support work that empowers local inhabitants including the region's many indigenous groups to retain territorial control and fend off large-scale infrastructure development including highway construction, oil, gas and mineral extraction, and hydropower projects.