A landmark study has revealed that lands stewarded by Afro-descendant communities in Latin America experience 55% lower deforestation than national averages offering a compelling model for global climate and biodiversity goals. The findings, published July 22, 2025, in Nature Communications Earth and Environment, emphasize the powerful role of traditional knowledge and community-led conservation.
The research, conducted by scientists from Conservation International, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, and MIT, found that territories managed by Afro-descendant communities descendants of Africans enslaved and brought to the Americas preserve biodiversity-rich forests and store immense quantities of carbon. In fact, 57% of these lands rank among the world’s top 5% for biodiversity, and they collectively hold over 486 million tonnes of irrecoverable carbon.
The study analyzed data across protected and non-protected regions, finding that deforestation rates were 29% lower inside protected Afro-descendant territories, 36% lower outside them, and 55% lower at the edges compared to national norms. These striking differences are attributed to sustainable land use practices rooted in ancestral African knowledge and a deep cultural-spiritual bond with nature.
Yet despite their proven conservation impact, many Afro-descendant communities lack formal land recognition. In Brazil, for example, 9.1 million hectares of land inhabited by Afro-descendants remain unrecognized. Similar patterns exist in Colombia and Suriname, where vast tracts of land lack legal status, leaving communities vulnerable to displacement and their ecosystems exposed to external threats.
“For centuries, Afro-descendant communities have managed landscapes in ways that sustain both people and nature, yet their contributions remain largely invisible in mainstream conservation,” said lead author Sushma Shrestha Sangat.
The study urges governments to formally recognize Afro-descendant territories, fund community-led conservation, and integrate their land stewardship practices into national and international climate and biodiversity frameworks.
Afro-descendant leaders echoed these calls. “This study is very important to us, the Saamaka people,” said Hugo Jabini, a Maroon leader from Suriname. “It shows how our cultural and spiritual relationship with the land helps preserve forests. We are not merely claiming land; we are protecting life.”
Former Colombian minister of culture Angélica Mayolo emphasized the need for recognition in countries like Panama, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic, along with innovative financing and economic support for these communities, many of whom live under socio-economic stress and climate vulnerability.
As the global community grapples with climate change, the study offers compelling evidence that empowering Afro-descendant communities with land rights and decision-making power could become a cornerstone of environmental justice and planetary health