Chicago scientists, Indigenous peoples collaborate to conserve Amazon Basin
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A team of scientists from the Field Museum of Natural History has just returned from one of Earth's most remote, undisturbed forests.
For a month, Conversation Ecologist Dr. Lesley De Souza and Environmental Social Scientist Dr. Elliott Oakley worked in the far reaches of the Amazon Rainforest in South America, specifically in Guyana, a small, luscious country home to less than a million people. Few have ever stepped foot in the areas that these scientists explored.
"A sea of green that just keeps going and going, and the waterways weaving through the forest, and not seeing any impact from mining or deforestation," is how De Souza explained viewing Guyana overhead from a helicopter.
The expedition is considered the "largest-ever" and the most comprehensive study performed on the area's ecology and biodiversity. The Field Museum team partnered with the Protected Areas Commission (PAC) and local Guyansene institutions.
The findings will be fundamental to the scientific understanding of forest ecosystems as they exist today, according to the museum.
"Guyana has some of the most in-tact forest on the globe, so as conservation biologists, we want to go to places where we can make the biggest impact," De Souza said.
Geology, plants, fishes, reptiles, birds, amphibians, soils, and local ecology -- all were studied.
"Some of the largest piranas I have ever seen in my life!" De Souza said she saw, who also is an ichthyologist, or one who studies fishes.
The team discovered 20 potential new species to science—mainly fish, but also a frog and a lizard.
With limited time in the field, the scientists conduct a "Rapid Inventory," a survey of the landscape's biological and cultural assets for conservation.
"We call it a rapid inventory, but it is anything but rapid in the build-up," Oakley said.
"Through the process of working over two years really with government partners, local stakeholders -- then we can have a consolidated, month-long expedition to get so much done in the field," he said.
The scientists will give the information to Guyana's decision-makers in hopes that they will take more action to preserve the landscape and make it a protected area. Guyana has one of the most ambitious global targets around climate and conservation, which includes protecting 30% of its terrestrial and marine space by 2030.
"One of the exciting urgencies of doing this scientific work is that the government is hoping that our data generated from this project goes directly into the planning they do, both at the national level but at all levels of stakeholders," Oakley said.
Currently, 8.4% of the country has protected designation, and it will take less than 6 years to reach the goal of 30%.
"We have this really exciting pressure to translate the data into an outcome that not only delivers for the biodiversity but also supports those communities that live near and know best these forests," he said.
Rapid Inventory combines social and biological sciences. "Our focus is communities and conservation," Oakley said.
Working in tandem with the Indigenous is "fundamental" to their work, said Oakley, calling them the experts. "It is our privilege to be there, working alongside people who have known these forests for generations," he said.
Their goal is to marry scientific knowledge with the indigenous knowledge of the land.
"When we look at effective conservation around the world, it really works best when it aligns with the aspirations of communities who live in or near those areas. It's really a core value of our team," De Souza said. "I wouldn't have been able to collect the fishes that I collected without their support," she said.
Biodiversity data is more accurate and comprehensive when Indigenous people who have lived there for generations and know the area are involved.
"They have knowledge of the river systems and the trails. Their knowledge of that landscape lets them notice really small variations," Oakley said.
"Right now, we're asking how can we change the biodiversity and climate crises. So, we need to go to places with the highest levels of biodiversity," De Souza said. Biodiversity is an ecosystem's variety of animals and plants.
According to the World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) 2024 Living Planet Report, the average size of monitored wildlife populations has declined 73% in just the last 50 years. Human-caused climate change and the global food system are the main culprits, causing habitat loss, degradation, and overharvesting.
"Significant declines in wildlife populations negatively impact the health and resilience of our environment and push nature closer to disastrous tipping points," according to the report.
The less biodiverse an ecosystem is, the less healthy an ecosystem is, according to the WWF. Biodiversity ensures health and food security, maintains water quality, and helps store carbon from the atmosphere. This is why there is an urgent push to have more land protected.
Guyana has over 8,000 plant species and 1,800 animal species. For comparison, Illinois has over 2,200 native plant species.
"One of the reasons that we, as scientists, care so much about these intact forests is because intact forests mean there's connectivity," Oakley said. The Guyana rainforest is connected to neighboring areas in Brazil, Suriname, and French Guiana, and he said that creates a habitat.
In Chicago, many conservation groups are working to expand connectivity across the urban wildlife corridors. "There are huge things that we connect with our colleagues in Chicago," he said. The scientific questions they return to are how to strengthen connections across biological systems and people to those systems.
We all can start caring about conservation in our own backyards, like supporting insect and pollinator habitats, according to De Souza.
For example, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is urging the public to help save the Monarch Butterfly, which is the official insect of Illinois. Planting milkweed and nectar plants, even in small areas, can help "put them on the road to recovery," according to the Service.
"I would encourage some connection to the landscape and the forest and the waterways that you live in right now," De Souza said.
The Chicago Wilderness Alliance has a list of dozens of conservation efforts in and around Chicago, including Friends of the Forest Preserve, Alliance for the Great Lakes, and the Chicago Ornithological Society.
De Souza said there is still more to do and more to learn. Their report will be out in the coming months.
