Dear Jack,

Which South American forest has the fastest rate of deforestation in the world? (HINT: it’s not the Amazon)

The Chaco forest in Paraguay wins that dubious award. It’s home to the only uncontacted people in South America outside the Amazon – small groups of the Ayoreo tribe. But bulldozers are closing in on the remaining islands of forest, threatening their very survival.

The Chaco is the second largest forest in South America – an immense ecosystem of semi-dry forest, completely unlike the Amazon. Vast regions have been sold to cattle ranchers, forcing those Ayoreo who are uncontacted to live on the run. Life is a constant flight from the invaders that are destroying their home.

Since the 1970s, Survival has worked with contacted Ayoreo communities fighting to secure their land. Almost 1.4 million acres of their ancestral land has been recognized so far.

But there’s much more to be done to ensure the survival of uncontacted Ayoreo communities.

The fight isn’t over until the Ayoreo have ownership of ALL their ancestral lands, and the uncontacted Ayoreo can stop running, and finally live in peace.

Please take action today.

Yours,

Teresa Mayo
Campaigner
Survival International

PS If you’d like to opt out of Uncontacted Tribes Week, follow this link, and you won’t receive our emails this week.