In a remarkable week for Amazon conservation, two major breakthroughs were announced: a pioneering method for counting endangered giant South American river turtles and a historic multinational pledge to finance rainforest protection through Brazil’s ambitious Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF). Both developments, revealed on August 23, 2025, underscore the mounting urgency—and the creative solutions—being brought to bear in the fight to preserve the world’s largest rainforest.
On the scientific front, researchers at the University of Florida unveiled a new process that promises to revolutionize how threatened species are counted. The subject? The giant South American river turtle, Podocnemis expansa, a species whose population has been hammered by poaching and habitat loss. Using drones, white paint, and sophisticated probability models, the team led by Ismael Brack from the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences’ School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences managed to uncover the largest turtle nesting site ever recorded—over 41,000 individuals nesting along the Guaporé River, straddling Brazil and Bolivia.
Why does this matter? Well, as Brack explained in a press release, “We describe a novel way to more efficiently monitor animal populations. And although the method is used to count turtles, it could also be applied to other species.” According to AZ Animals, this is no small feat: these turtles are highly social, gathering in massive, shifting clusters along riverbanks each summer to nest. Females, which can reach up to 30 inches and weigh a staggering 300 pounds, are especially vulnerable to poachers due to this very social behavior. Historically, human exploitation has been devastating; in the mid-1800s, as many as 48 million eggs were collected annually and shipped to Europe. Today, illegal poaching continues, targeting both eggs and hatchlings for the black market pet trade.
Traditional methods of counting—ground surveys or aerial photo mosaics—have proven unreliable. Researchers on the ground counted 16,000 turtles, while the old orthomosaic aerial method (which stitches together thousands of photos) estimated a wildly inflated 79,000. The culprit? Movement. Turtles meander, dig, and overlap, leading to rampant double counting. Brack’s team tackled this by marking 1,187 turtles with white paint and flying drones over the nesting site for 12 days, capturing 1,500 images per day. By tracking the movement of marked turtles, they developed probability models to correct for overcounting. Their findings were illuminating: 20% of turtles were counted as different individuals up to seven times, and only 35% were actually visible in drone imagery.
The result—a corrected estimate of 41,000 turtles—provides a much-needed baseline for conservationists. As Brack noted, “If scientists are unable to establish an accurate count of individuals of a species, how will they know if the population is in decline or whether efforts to protect it are successful?” The study, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, suggests that similar techniques could be adapted for other species, from seals (with fur clipping) to elk (using high-visibility collars). The implications are broad: accurate data is the bedrock of effective conservation, and this breakthrough could help direct resources where they’re needed most.
Meanwhile, in Bogotá, political leaders from the eight Latin American nations that make up the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) gathered for the Amazon Summit, issuing a joint declaration of support for the TFFF. This fund, proposed by Brazil in 2023, aims to channel an initial $25 billion from donor nations and $100 billion in private finance into rainforest conservation worldwide. The TFFF’s unique structure will reward rainforest nations based on proven reductions in deforestation and carbon emissions, with an estimated $4 per hectare disbursed—totaling $2.8 billion per year, according to Climate Change News.
The summit’s declaration called the TFFF an “innovative mechanism” for mobilizing finance to protect climate and biodiversity, and invited potential investor countries to “announce substantial contributions.” Interest has already come from Britain, Norway, and the UAE. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, speaking at the summit, was unequivocal: “We need this to be the most serious COP of all, one that doesn’t end in empty speeches and promises. We’re fed up with promises. I want to see who’s going to put up the money to keep the forest standing.” Colombian President Gustavo Petro echoed the need for unity, saying, “The proposal that we arrive united at COP30 in Belem is fundamental.”
One notable outcome of the summit was the creation of the Amazonian Indigenous Peoples Mechanism (MAPI), an advisory body comprising both government and Indigenous delegates from each country. MAPI will focus on issues like deforestation and species trafficking—an overdue recognition of Indigenous expertise and stewardship. Yet, not all voices felt heard. Despite calls from Indigenous leaders and civil society, the declaration sidestepped explicit mention of fossil fuels, even as leaders pledged to “advance toward a just, equitable and orderly energy transition.” Some campaigners, like Juan Bay of Ecuador’s Waorani People, expressed frustration: “Amazonian presidents are not listening to the voices of the Indigenous peoples who have protected the forest since ancient times. They ignore the fact that we are experiencing a climate crisis.”
The TFFF’s financial model has drawn both praise and skepticism. The fund will borrow at roughly 5% interest and invest in higher-yielding emerging market bonds at about 8%. This approach, as outlined in a new concept note, is designed to generate returns for investors while funneling surplus cash to conservation projects. The BRICS bloc—including China—has endorsed the TFFF as a “promising blended finance instrument.” However, critics like Max Alexander Matthey and Aidan Hollis have warned that emerging market bonds are fraught with risk, pointing to recent defaults in Argentina, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Sri Lanka. “As long as nothing goes wrong, it looks like a win-win. But a single sovereign default could topple the entire structure,” they cautioned in a recent op-ed.
Importantly, the TFFF’s concept note rules out investments in polluting sectors such as coal, oil, and gas—a move welcomed by environmental groups like Global Witness. Ashley Thomson, the organization’s senior policy advisor, argued that “national governments must act now with binding rules, or it’s like bailing out a sinking ship without fixing the hole.”
As the world looks ahead to COP30 in Belém this November, the stakes for Amazon conservation have never been higher. Between technological innovation and unprecedented financial commitments, there’s a sense that meaningful progress is finally within reach—provided that promises are kept, risks are managed, and all voices are brought to the table.
