The Kayapó homeland in Brazil stands out as an island of intact forest against a surrounding onslaught of deforestation (fires highlighted in red, which were previously rare before development in the surrounding area). Photo Credit: NASA

Upon first glance, the Amazon and Canada's boreal forest might not have too much in common, outside of the fact that they're both large forests. But upon looking closer there are some striking similarities, including the struggles of native peoples in the Amazon and First Nations in Canada with regard to dealing with the onslaught of development in and around their traditional lands.

Jeff, our senior scientist, recently spent a week in Spain for the 10th World Wilderness Congress (WILD10). There he met an interesting person with a lot to share about the struggles of the Kayapó people of the Amazon in dealing with widespread development immediately surrounding their traditional lands. Having worked on the Canadian boreal forest some time, Jeff found striking parallels between their struggles and those of their Canadian First Nation counterparts.

He recently wrote about these similarities on Huffington Post. It's definitely worth the read:
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/jeff-wells/what-the-amazonian-kayapo_b_4226959.html