Photo: Archive FUNBIO

The Arc of Deforestation, stretching from western Maranhão and southern Pará to Acre, passing through Mato Grosso and Rondônia, is the most severely impacted region of the Amazon. It faces multiple pressures, including large-scale infrastructure projects such as highways, railways, and hydroelectric dams, as well as the relentless expansion of the agricultural frontier and the exploitation of mineral and timber resources. At the heart of this devastation are the Kayapó territories – six Indigenous Lands spanning approximately 11 million hectares (twice the size of the state of Paraíba) in southern Pará and northern Mato Grosso.

The Kayapó Fund is a sustainable, long-term financial mechanism dedicated to supporting initiatives that protect and conserve biodiversity, promote ethnodevelopment, and strengthen the governance structures of the Mebêngôkre people.

Support is provided through funding for projects submitted by organizations representing the Kayapó Indigenous Peoples that meet the Fund’s eligibility criteria. Currently, the Fund supports the Kayapó, Menkragnoti, Bau, Capoto/Jarina, Badjonkôre, and Las Casas Indigenous Lands in southern Pará and northern Mato Grosso.

Established in 2011 with donations from Conservation International (CI) and the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) through the Amazon Fund, the Kayapó Fund was initially designed by FUNBIO, which continues to manage its finances and serve as the executive secretariat for its two governance bodies: the Donors’ Committee and the Technical Committee.