Every 60 seconds, Amazon forest the size of 3 football fields disappears — thousand-year-old trees logged or burnt to the ground. Scientists warn that we must make a choice now: take action to save the Amazon or lose the fight in a generation. One untapped resource is the key to saving the Amazon: indigenous people who have called it their home for centuries. Like the jaguar or the giant kapok tree, these communities are not simply inhabitants of the forest, but rather part of the Amazon itself. Guardians of the forest’s hidden treasures, they are front-line experts on the plunder that threatens it and what preservation requires. But the 400 tribes don’t have resources to convert their knowledge into the political power necessary to save the Amazon.That’s where we come in.If we back indigenous communities with funds and a top-notch team of campaigners from around the world, we can make theirs the voice that saves the Amazon. We’ll train indigenous leaders in advocacy, campaigning, civil disobedience and provide them with the resources they need from media access to funded lobbying trips. Then we will set them up with satellite phones that can alert rapid response teams around the world to launch into action.

To save the Amazon, instead of leading, what we really need to do is join with indigenous communities and follow. With enough pledges now, we can combine the power of our massive global movement with the true guardians of the Amazon to do what we need to save us all.

Click to pledge now — Avaaz will only process your donation if we raise enough to ignite a global campaign