Trees, Water & People

Since 1998, Trees, Water & People has worked to improve lives by helping communities to protect, conserve, and manage the natural resources on which their long-term well-being depends. We support community-led conservation projects throughout Mesoamerica and on U.S. Tribal Lands with one question in mind: How can we improve the environment while creating opportunity for local people? We believe that natural resources are best protected when local people play an active role in their care and management. Our Indigenous Lands Program supports Native American communities and organizations, in New Mexico, Colorado and South Dakota, in the preservation of their lands, natural resources and cultural lifeways. We build the capacity of Native American Tribes in the Western U.S. to manage their natural resources through conservation planning and restoration activities on sovereign Tribal and ancestral lands. Our Mesoamerica Program supports Indigenous and marginalized communities in the protection of their lands, natural resources and cultural lifeways across Central America and Mexico. We work with local organizations to help families prosper in ways that regenerate and heal the land. Our programs seek to advance 5 priorities: Dignified Livelihoods, Environmental Stewardship, Indigenous Sovereignty, Gender Equity and Inclusion and Youth Development. These are driven by trust in the communities we serve, TWP staff and partners who deliver the impact, and our donors, who fund the work.