74th Annual Conference
The Power of Connections: Harvesting Lessons and Strengthening Coalitions for Amazonian Conservation
UF CENTER FOR LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES
Approximately half of Amazonia is currently under some form of protection. While this is a tremendous achievement, more is needed to avert an ecological tipping point. According to the Nobre-Lovejoy hypothesis that emerge from our 2017 UF-Moore collaborative conference, if Amazonian deforestation crossed over a 25% threshold, negative biophysical synergies could irreversibly destabilize the basin and larger planetary systems.
Since early 2025, the University of Florida, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and on-the ground partners have convened 123 Pan-Amazonian Indigenous elders and youth, private sector actors, researchers, government officials, and conservation, development and legal practitioners in workshop settings across the basin. As part of The Power of Connections: Harvesting lessons and strengthening coalitions for Amazonian conservation project, these representatives from 8 countries gathered to exchange and synthesize what has been working on the ground to consolidate and expand 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.
While the intertwined topical challenges are innumerable, the five 3.5-day workshops focused on critical current issues pertinent to all Amazon basin countries. In addition to forthcoming scholarly publications, each workshop has generated complete workshop reports, executive analyses of key workshop findings, graphic reports, short videos capturing participant perspectives on the workshops, and multiple social media posts. In a context of constant and unpredictable change in Amazonia, the “Power of Connections” Conference and related activities will build on these first-hand, effective conservation insights, leveraging the collective intelligence of all participants to further advance protections for Pan-Amazonian lands and people.
Agenda (day by day)
TCD Visioning (TCD alumni only, Sunday afternoon and Monday morning, Feb 22-23)
TCD visioning with TCD alumni will explore how the program should evolve over the next 10 years to strengthen research and training. The discussion will focus on the key skills future TCD students need, how conservation may change in the coming decade, the program’s added value (field-based, problem-oriented, and communication-focused training), and the importance of networking and community building.
Discussion Forums (Monday afternoon, Feb 23)
• Insights from the Science Panel of the Amazon (SPA);
• 40 years of conservation science & practice;
• Conservation in context of rising crime & Illegal activities;
• Conservation funding.
Conference main day (Tuesday Feb 24)
• Plenary Talks
• Power of connections project + Keynote speech with Bacardi Scholar Ane Alencar
• Poster session
Training Clinic Topics (Friday all day, Feb 27)
• Systemic architecture for collaborative work;
• Women in conservation;
• Conservation storytelling for scientists and conservationists;
• Developing policy briefs;
• Data management & archiving;
• Polarization & difficult conversations;
• Community engagement protocols.