Our Work

Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Work

In Wake of Leaders’ Murders, Fighting for Land Title—and Justice—for Indigenous Ashéninka in Peru

Work with the Ford Foundation

In September of 2014, just before thousands of politicians and climate activists flooded the streets of New York for the United Nations Climate Summit, four indigenous leaders were shot to death by illegal loggers in the Ucayali region of Peru’s Amazon Rainforest. Indigenous partners in Peru contacted Burness via Facebook to help spread the word about this tragedy, the latest in a string of attacks on environmental defenders in tropical forest regions.

Introducing Journalists to World’s Forest Guardians

Work with the World Resources Institute and the Rights and Resources Initiative

The world's forests are being destroyed at a rate of 50 soccer fields every minute, accounting for 11 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. A solution exists that is both cost-effective and available: deforestation rates are dramatically lower in forests where governments actively enforce the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities over their land.

Pushing for Change in Canadian Mining Practices in Central America

Work with the Ford Foundation

In the forests of Central America, far from the eyes of reporters and human rights watchdogs, a war is raging. Canadian-based mining companies, hungry for profit, are clearing the forests that Indigenous Peoples have lived in and protected … Continue reading Pushing for Change in Canadian Mining Practices in Central America →

Generating Support for Land Rights on Behalf of Indigenous Peoples

Work with the Rights and Resources Initiative

Economic development in countries containing most of the world’s tropical forests often takes the shape of natural resource extraction. Governments claim more than 60 percent of these forests. They grant large concessions to multinational companies for logging, mining, … Continue reading Generating Support for Land Rights on Behalf of Indigenous Peoples →