Amazon Research Internacional

Amazon Research Internacional (ARI) is a Peru-based organisation founded in 2021 which unites traditional knowledge with modern science to regenerate the Amazon Rainforest sustainably, safeguarding biodiversity, culture, and communities.

ARI is focused on preserving biodiversity, ecosystems and indigenous knowledge through conservation, research, education and community empowerment. Its mission is to mitigate climate change, regenerate species and ecosystems, elevate traditional knowledge, and empower livelihoods that benefit both nature and culture.

Operating in four regions – Loreto, Junin, Madre de Dios, and Cuzco – ARI has also partnered with Ese Ejje women in the Bolivian Amazon as a fifth regional pilot. It collaborates with Kukama-Kukamiria, Ashaninka, and Harakbut communities, each with unique worldviews, yet united by the belief in the interconnectedness of nature and humanity.

The organisation has a particular focus on stingless bees, vital to Amazonian ecology and culture. The bees’ decline threatens soil health, food chains, traditional medicine, and centuries-old cultural knowledge. ARI documents traditional knowledge on stingless bees and complements this with groundbreaking scientific research.

It is also currently partnering with the Earth Law Centre to develop the first Rights of Nature declaration for stingless bees. This is led by Ashaninka communities and will be presented to local municipalities and eventually to Congress for legal protection.