Latin America

Latin America includes Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Guatemala and Peru; some of the most biodiverse* countries in the world. Rural population are dependent on natural resources, having few employment opportunities. These resources are under threat from various activities such as logging, large-scale development and natural disasters, all linked to unsustainable deforestation. One solution to this is environmental awareness of sustainable harvesting techniques to reduce the impact on the forest ecosystem.

Education is vital in this region and I.T. skills are invaluable in enabling the use of new information and communication technologies for educational purposes and for small and medium enterprises. Supporting education can also help reduce child labour. Poor school attendance and performance promotes illiteracy and can also be linked to malnutrition, infections and other diseases, as well as lack of future opportunities.

Down2Earth works with local partner organisations and indigenous landowners to implement environmental conservation strategies, encourage ecologically viable methods of income generation and we support education and environmental awareness. Alongside this we work with organisations to promote indigenous rights, women's rights, and homeless and child rights.

* Biodiversity is the diversity of genes, species and habitats (for more information on biodiversity see the Convention on Biological Diversity)