There have been 365 days in a challenging year. From January to December, SOS Amazônia maintained its goal of protecting the forests and pursuing sustainable alternatives, even when the scenario was adverse and the circumstances unfavorable.
More than ever, the Amazon was threatened in 2021 by fire, deforestation, and the manipulation of political projects that served the interests of a selective economic group. On the other hand, SOS Amazônia sought answers and alternatives to respond to these threats.
As deforestation indicators continue to rise, we promote the recovery of degraded areas through the implementation of agroforestry systems—that is, the planting of forest, fruit-bearing, and palm tree species, which later integrate into the original landscape. Additionally, we strengthen sustainable production chains of socio-biodiversity products, such as açaí, wild cocoa, and rubber.
Beyond the environmental impacts and the harm caused to people’s health, wildfires directly affect wildlife, putting at risk the lives of birds, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and many other wild animals. For this reason, SOS Amazônia developed a wildlife rescue protocol, containing technical guidelines and safety tips for professionals working directly in firefighting—both firefighters and military personnel from the fire department.
When river flooding left ten families unhoused in the municipalities of Acre, we carried out donation campaigns—supported by our partners and hundreds of people—for food and hygiene products, which were distributed to traditional and extractivist communities.
To each threat, a response. For each challenge, an alternative. Nothing would have been possible without the support we received throughout the year from associates, advisors, corporate and institutional partners, volunteers, collaborators, donors, and followers who accompany our work and allow our message to echo further. From the Amazon to the world, our gratitude.
Check below 22 reasons to remember SOS Amazônia’s actions in the past year—and a bonus reason to celebrate the arrival of 2022.
1st - Team
In 2021, the SOS Amazônia team grew and became stronger. Our members contribute to the NGO’s various projects, bringing joy, creativity, and professionalism to our mission.
PROJECTS
2nd - Nossabio: conserved territories
The Nossabio Project strengthens community-based management in five Conservation Units: Chico Mendes Extractivist Reserve, Cazumbá-Iracema Extractivist Reserve, São Francisco National Forest (Flona), Macauã State Forest (Floba) in Acre, and Guajará-Mirim State Park in Rondônia. The project promotes sustainable value chains based on socio-biodiversity products such as açaí, wild cocoa, rubber, handcrafted wood items, and ecotourism. Nossabio was approved through the Integrated Legacy of the Amazon Region (LIRA), a Brazilian conservation program developed by the Institute for Ecological Research (IPÊ).
3rd - Harpia
To monitor the public policy agenda related to conservation and environmental management, SOS Amazônia created the Harpia Project, which is built on two main pillars: advocacy (mobilization for a cause) and the implementation of the Acre Socioenvironmental Observatory. With financial support from the Climate and Society Institute (ICS), the project was established to resist the approval of Bill 6024/2019, which proposes the degazettement of the Chico Mendes Extractivist Reserve and the reclassification of the Serra do Divisor National Park.
4th - Amazônia Firefighters
The Amazônia Firefighters project, carried out with support from WWF-Brazil and spontaneous donations through our website, promotes emergency actions for monitoring and responding to deforestation and wildfires. In addition, the project carries out environmental awareness activities through courses, workshops, and capacity-building events. Amazônia Firefighters operates in rural and extractivist communities, engaging with community members on the importance of reducing the use of fire in agriculture, especially when clearing small plots.
5th - Make Forest Flourish (Faça Florescer Floresta)
Make Forest Flourish (Faça Florescer Floresta) is a project focused on restoring forest cover in degraded areas of small rural properties. It promotes the implementation of Agroforestry Systems, which involve the combined cultivation of forest species, fruit-bearing trees, and palm trees of both ecological and economic value.
6th - Alliance
Through a consortium between SOS Amazônia, the Pro-Indigenous Commission of Acre, and the Catitu Institute, the Alliance Project engages Indigenous and extractivist peoples in the defense of Acre’s forests through territorial protection and monitoring actions. The project operates directly in nine Indigenous Lands and three Conservation Units, areas that host some of the richest biodiversity in the world. In addition to environmental benefits such as climate change mitigation, Alliance also strengthens food security in traditional communities and promotes the empowerment of young girls and women.
7th - The Forest’s Income (A Renda da Floresta)
Reducing emissions caused by deforestation without compromising the well-being of traditional populations in the Brazilian Amazon has been a major concern of the international community for years. A research project led by Julie Subervie and Gabriela Demarchi aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Payments for Environmental Services (PES) in reducing deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, with the goal of lowering CO₂ emissions and mitigating the effects of climate change. This research gave rise to a program called “The Forest’s Income” (A Renda da Floresta), implemented in the Vale do Juruá region, in the rural areas of Acre. The study is funded by INRAE, a French institute dedicated to research in agriculture and the environment, and is conducted in partnership with the University of São Paulo (USP) and SOS Amazônia. With logistical support from SOS Amazônia, the project team worked on site for five months, reaching 460 rural properties—mostly located in remote areas of Tarauacá and Feijó. Of the 460 families registered, around 220 were selected to sign a voluntary agreement providing financial compensation in exchange for keeping the forest remnants on their land standing for twelve months. Deforestation before and after the payments will be monitored by the European Space Agency. The project is expected to provide strong evidence on the impact of PES programs and serve as a guide for the development of policies aimed at reducing deforestation and mitigating climate change worldwide.
8th - Wildlife Rescue Protocol (Protocolo de Resgate de Fauna)
SOS Amazônia and WWF-Brazil launched the protocol “Practices of Care and Procedures for the Rescue of Wildlife Affected by Fire,” which provides a methodological framework and technical guidelines for rescuing wild animals impacted by wildfires. The content development and illustrations by Igor Strochit represent a meticulous and pioneering effort, as this is the first wildlife rescue guide to feature in-depth research alongside realistic illustrations that highlight the animals’ anatomical details.
9th - Pressed Virgin Cernambi
In nine steps, the booklet presents best practices for latex extraction and the production of Pressed Virgin Cernambi—a new technique that reinvents the traditional rubber tapping process.
10th - Amazonia’s Wild Cacao
The booklet “Good Practices for the Production of Wild Cacao” provides technical guidance on the harvesting and processing of cacao beans. It includes instructions for cleaning cacao trees, managing shade, cutting vines, controlling witches’ broom disease, and tips for producing seedlings to be planted in existing clearings within management areas.
WORKSHOPS AND CONVERSATION CIRCLES
11th - Organizational Psychologist
Beyond the time dedicated to meeting work demands, SOS Amazônia has set aside special moments to care for the human aspect of its team. Organizational psychologist Tailine Silva facilitated integration meetings with the staff through motivational activities. This support was crucial in identifying challenges and areas for improvement in the team’s work, as well as strengthening bonds of empathy and professionalism.
12th - Conversation Circle on Gender
To enrich the discussion on gender equality, SOS Amazônia welcomed psychologist and Ufac professor Madge Porto, who explored the concept of gender and the symbolic representations of what it means to be a man or a woman. The concept of gender encompasses power dynamics, political struggles, and prejudice, which subjugate women while reinforcing masculine supremacy within heteronormative standards.
13th - Conversation Circle on Racial Equality
Within SOS Amazônia’s team, 11 individuals self-identified as mixed-race, seven as white, four as Black, and one as Asian. This data was collected by sociologist and educator Jayce Brasil as part of a conversation circle on racial equality. During the session, Jayce aimed to encourage a critical, investigative, and questioning perspective on the racist structures that permeate human relationships, especially in the workplace.
14th - Workshop on Nonviolent Communication
Empathic and conscious communication can be key to resolving conflicts—whether diplomatically between nations or personally in family and professional relationships. To explore this topic, SOS Amazônia’s team welcomed lawyer Luciano Trindade, who introduced Nonviolent Communication as a tool for rebuilding connections between parties and resolving both individual and collective conflicts.
GRASROOT ACTIVIES
15th - Trips and Transfers
Whether under the sun or in the rain, SOS Amazônia staff are on the ground, working to strengthen sustainable production activities in Conservation Units, settlement projects, and traditional communities. Traveling by car, boat, motorcycle, ATV, or on foot, technicians cross the forest to reach riverine, extractivist, and small-scale farming communities. During a field visit through the São Francisco National Forest, the Nossabio project team had to face the challenges of nature. With the arrival of the Amazonian winter—the rainy season—igarapés overflow and roads become impassable. At one point, the team even had to improvise a bridge to cross with an ATV.
16th - Technical Assistance
Technical assistance and rural and forestry extension (ATERF) is one of SOS Amazônia’s pillars, encouraging grassroots activities to adopt best practices aimed at meeting the projects’ economic and environmental goals. This work is based on transferring technical knowledge to producers and extractivists, who have direct contact with families, providing a space for knowledge-sharing and experience exchange, thereby enhancing production in the territories.
CAPACITY-BUILDING
17th - Cooperativism Workshop
Aiming to strengthen the management of community associations, SOS Amazônia—through the Nossabio Project (LIRA/IPÊ)—is promoting the first cycle of workshops on cooperativism and business management. The sessions are led by administrator and consultant Leonardo Lopes, with a focus on the functioning and structuring of community associations, participatory management, and fiscal and financial responsibilities.
18th - Good Management Practices
Moments of learning and experience-sharing. Through workshops on best management practices for açaí and wild cacao, SOS Amazônia technicians guide extractivists in various Conservation Units to adopt techniques that can enhance productivity and income generation. During the workshops, safety kits were distributed to support the proper handling of the fruits.
19th - Minicourse on the prevention and monitoring of fire
In response to the ongoing environmental impacts and disasters caused by the use of fire, SOS Amazônia and the MAP-Fire Project held a virtual minicourse titled “Education and Monitoring of Fire Activity,” focused on wildfire prevention and response. Around 30 participants, including firefighters, were trained to apply risk assessment strategies aimed at reducing the negative impacts of fire on both the environment and society.
CAMPAIGNS
20th - SOS Recycling (SOS Reciclagem)
The campaign aims to promote environmental education on the proper disposal of solid waste. It began in 2013 as an experimental initiative for separating and selectively disposing of recyclable materials. Currently, the campaign is active at SOS Amazônia’s headquarters in Rio Branco (AC), where people can dispose of plastic and aluminum packaging as well as batteries.
21st - Campaign for Lives (Campanha por Vidas)
The first three months of 2021 were particularly challenging for the population of Acre. In addition to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, the state faced a dengue outbreak and severe flooding in ten municipalities. The population found itself in a public health crisis that disproportionately affected socially vulnerable families.To help mitigate the effects of this crisis, the Campaign for Lives – North Edition was launched in partnership with students from Unicamp and the Asas pela Amazônia Institute. The campaign aimed to raise 40,000 reais in 40 days to support 58 riverine families living in the Rio Gregório region in Tarauacá, Acre.
22nd - Campaign against Law Project 6024
Aligned with economic interests that disregard socio-environmental responsibility, Bill 6024 seeks to abolish Serra do Divisor National Park and reduce the boundaries of the Chico Mendes Extractivist Reserve. In 2021, SOS Amazônia, the Chico Mendes Committee, the Pro-Indigenous Commission of Acre, and the National Council of Extractivist Populations launched the #PL6024NO campaign and mobilized a petition against the bill, aiming to block its approval while it is under discussion in the Chamber of Deputies.
And to celebrate 2022’s arrival:
23rd - 100 Best NGOs
To close out 2021, SOS Amazônia was recognized as one of the 100 best NGOs in Brazil, in an award organized by Instituto Doar, O Mundo que Queremos, and Ambev VOA. The recognition comes in light of its work in defending environmental conservation in the Amazon, through the development of sustainable productive activities and its engagement with environmental public policies. This marks the second time SOS Amazônia has been included among the country’s top 100 NGOs, the first recognition was received in 2017. Since then, the organization has worked to strengthen its institutional image by improving its internal planning and management systems.