Since January 2025, the Forest Guardian Program has been operating in the Ikongo District – an exciting next step in an initiative that shifts power, authority, and finance into the hands of rainforest guardians, recognizing their leadership in the struggle to protect biodiversity and fight climate change. In just one week in March, twenty community members underwent training to become Forest Guardians as part of the Ikongo Fagnimbogna project, launched with Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders and Malagasy NGO Ny Tanintsika.

On April 2, 2025, territory agents from the Xipaya Indigenous Land, together with members of the Kuruaya Indigenous Land and the Riozinho do Anfrísio Extractive Reserve, set out on an expedition driven by courage and resistance. The goal was to revitalize territory borders, identify new areas for sustainable use, and combat illegal activities that threaten the rainforest and its people.

The Xipaya Indigenous Territory is located in the municipality of Altamira, in an area rich in biodiversity and extremely important for the conservation of the Brazilian Amazon. Covering approximately 179,000 hectares, the Territory encompasses six villages and is an inspiring history of resistance. Kwazady Xipaya is one of the Indigenous leaders, chief of the Tukamã village, father of five, and a teacher, as is his wife Warawara. Watch a video to hear their perspectives on culture, well-being, and the forest.

The biodiversity-rich Manombo Special Reserve plays a vital role in maintaining the delicate balance of the Earth’s biosphere. Yet, deforestation threats include climate change, logging, and hunting, as well as unexpected forest fires, particularly during the dry season. As part of its efforts to prevent and combat these forest fires, Health In Harmony recently took another step forward by organizing a specialized training course.

This week, we published our 2024 Impact Report, charting successes, growth, and learnings from our climate-critical work alongside communities in Earth’s most vital rainforests. In addition to hearing from these guardians, the 2024 Impact Report details the impact in numbers across Brazil, Panama, Indonesia, Madagascar, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Plus, key 2025 plans, press, and financials. 

In 2024, HIH joined a partner in Panama launching a three-year program, Boosting Indigenous Nature-Based Business Models, funded by IDB Labs. Learn more about the project and how Health In Harmony will collaborate with core partners and Indigenous Peoples in Panama.

Held against a backdrop of US government funding freeze decisions, Skoll offered space for critical thinking and brave conversations—and what emerged for me were themes that still feel urgent, still feel unfinished. Read post-Skoll World Forum 2025 reflections by HIH attendee Associate Manager of Partnerships’, Farah Nabil, PhD.

Next month, HIH is heading for two major global summits for impact-driven innovation, including a key presence at the world's largest event of solutions for the planet, ChangeNOW.

Since 2017, Health In Harmony, along with Indonesian partner Alam Sehat Lestari, has worked with local community members to action the Chainsaw Buyback program. This innovative program supports those wishing to give up illegal logging in seeking alternative livelihoods that do not damage the forest.  Now, the program is developing in exciting new ways.

Rainforests are the most biodiverse terrestrial biome on our planet. The level of biodiversity – the number of different kinds of life you'll find – varies from place to place. Islands are known for their biodiversity, because the isolation of islands allows organisms to evolve in their own, unique directions – and nowhere on Earth has more one-of-a-kind species than Madagascar.

Local communities in Madagascar, the fourth most climate-vulnerable country in the world, found that cyclones were damaging tree nurseries, particularly in 2023, when three cyclones hit the area. Communities voiced a need to build cyclone-resilient nurseries and worked with HIH to implement these designs: learn how a cyclone-proof nursery is built, the impacts of climate resilience, and this initiative’s progress so far.

Traditional nursery bags are made of plastics that cannot be recycled and harm the environment as well as human health. To address this issue, Health In Harmony worked with communities in an initiative to reduce waste as well as support local livelihoods in a sustainable way.

Located in São Félix do Xingu, Pará, Brazil, the Apyterewa Indigenous Territory comprises ~750k hectares of primary rainforest, sequestering over 80 million tonnes of carbon. Apyterewa has the highest deforestation rate among Indigenous territories in the Amazon, but in just a few months, community-led solutions here have begun to heal the forest, restore biodiversity, and strengthen the Parakanã’s rightful stewardship of their land.

2025. Another vital year for Earth's climate. More audacious goals. Find out more about what Health In Harmony has worked on in 2024 and aims for this year.

In 2024, in Brazil, Indonesia, and Madagascar, rainforest community members have designed innovative and sustainable pathways to protect the ecosystems they call home. Watch a video now to hear accounts of planetary health solutions from community members first-hand. 

In August 2024, Health In Harmony was honored to attend Juma Institute’s first Meeting of Indigenous Xipai Women and Riverine at the Kaarimã village in the Xipaya Territory. This joyful event’s focus was to unite and strengthen women's ancestral knowledge, promote cultural practices, and encourage the exchange of knowledge between communities of the Xipaya Indigenous territory and its partners. 

Meeting the expressed healthcare needs of women and girls is not only critical for their well-being but also for fostering sustainable livelihoods, empowering decision-making, and strengthening community resilience to the cascading effects of climate change. In Madagascar, cervical cancer prevention is a pressing health concern; find out more about HIH’s cervical cancer initiatives.

During this holiday season, we are honored to share words from Health In Harmony’s Laura Tesch, offering a Native American perspective on reclaiming Thanksgiving. Read more now.

It’s time to do things differently.