About Acre

Acre is a Brazilian state located in the heart of the Amazon rainforest.

88% of Acre remains forested, with most of the state covered by dense tropical and bamboo forests. Acre provides a home to an incredibly rich concentration of plants and animals, including jaguars, harpy eagles, pink river dolphins, scarlet macaws, squirrel and howler monkeys, giant otters and black caiman (also known as river alligators).

The people of Acre

Nearly 700,000 people live in Acre, including:

• subsistence farmers
• rubber tappers
• fishermen
• cattle ranchers
• city dwellers
• indigenous people

These people rely on the rainforest for their livelihood, including the indigenous tribes, some of whom continue to live in voluntary isolation today.

Acre is home to some of the most marginalised people in Brazil. Over 40% of the Acre population live in poverty, while around 15% cannot read or write.

The poor in particular rely on the rainforest as a key source of food and resources.

It’s important that rainforest conservation goes hand-in-hand with improving quality of life for local people. Together with the Acre state government, we work with marginalised communities to achieve long-term sustainable development.

Learn more about the people of the Amazon

Acre’s commitment to the rainforest

Acre’s state government has a history of grassroots environmentalism.

Acre was home to the famous rubber tapper Chico Mendes and former Brazilian environment minister Marina Silva. Today, the state government pursues a progressive conservation and development programme, but this wasn’t always the case.

Around 12% of Acre’s rainforest has already been lost to deforestation. In the decade leading up to 2005, the state lost an average of 600 km2 of forest annually, generating an estimated 22 million tonnes of CO2 each year.

In Acre, key causes of this destruction include conversion of land for small-scale (often subsistence) agriculture and cattle ranching, and the paving of roads leading to other parts of Brazil and Peru. 

However, the deforestation rate has dropped by over 50% since 2004. Half of the state’s forests are now protected by the government, which has shown a strong commitment to balancing economic and social development with environmental conservation.

A crucial moment for Acre

Sky Rainforest Rescue is working in Acre at a critical time.

A main road, the BR364, is being paved through the project area, threatening to undo the good work that has been achieved. Without our help, road building will inevitably increase deforestation, as more areas of the rainforest are made accessible.

We need to take action now to ensure conservation of the Amazon rainforest for future generations of people and animals.