THE CHALLENGE

The Amazon rainforest, recognised as one of the planet’s most important ecosystems and home to 10% of Earth's species and over 47 million people (including 2 million Indigenous people), is rapidly shrinking. An area the size of Qatar was cleared between 2021 and 2022, threatening the planet's largest tropical rainforest.

THE SOLUTION

The Rio Anapu-Pacaja Forest Protection project in Brazil's Para state aims to conserve 165,707 hectares of the Brazilian Amazon. Around 50% of the population in this region are rural communities, who have historically relied on subsistence agriculture and wood extraction to survive. But unplanned timber logging and grazing activities, along with high levels of land grabbing and land conflict is putting increasing pressure on native forest dwellers. With the aim to strengthen local governance and put an end to illegal logging in the region, the project supports local communities by securing land rights and promoting sustainable practices and improving local socioeconomic development by providing training in new income streams, such as beekeeping.

THE IMPACT

127 families have obtained land tenure, protecting the rainforest and reducing deforestation emissions. This initiative preserves the rainforest in the Brazilian Amazon, which in turn effectively reduces climate-warming emissions associated with deforestation, safeguards cultural heritage and biodiversity, and protects the livelihoods of Amazonian communities.

[ Image is for reference purposes only. Photo by Orpita Akther Ratna on Unsplash]

GOAL 8 - Decent work and economic growth: "Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all." - While the global unemployment rate steadily recovered to a record low of 4.9% in 2025, systemic gaps persist, leaving a vast portion of the global workforce trapped in informal, unstable jobs lacking social protection. 

GOAL 12 - Responsible consumption and production: "Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns." - The world continues to extract natural resources at an unsustainable rate. While over 80 new national circular economy and sustainable consumption roadmaps were submitted recently—integrating strict measures across high-impact sectors like textiles—the critical challenge remains shifting from policy readiness to verified tracking and implementation performance. 

GOAL 13 - Climate action: "Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts." - Global average temperatures reached a dangerous 1.43°C above pre-industrial levels in 2025, while atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations reached their highest documented peak in 2 million years, requiring immediate global reductions in greenhouse gases. 

GOAL 14 - Life Below Water: "Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development." - While marine conservation reached a major milestone in 2026 with 10.01% of the global ocean officially designated as protected, marine health faces an ongoing state of emergency from severe eutrophication, plastic pollution, and escalating ocean acidification. 

ALL DATA AND INFO COURTESY OF THE UNITED NATIONS

[Photo by Mayra Coz on Unsplash]