Credit: Marina Silva
Marina Silva was born into poverty but has risen to become Brazil’s (native Amazonian) foremost environmentalist recognised for her advocacy to protect the Amazon rainforest. Marina has been at the forefront of peaceful demonstrations to prevent the annihilation of the Amazon by protecting the rainforest from illegal logging and the expulsion of indigenous communities from their traditional land. Her work has helped establish over a 2-million-hectare reserve managed by traditional communities.
She was also instrumental to the establishment of the ‘Amazon Fund’ – a REDD+ mechanism created to raise money in efforts to prevent, monitor and combat deforestation, as well as to promote the preservation and sustainable use in the Brazilian Amazon. She served as Brazil Minister of the Environment from 2003 to 2008 and was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize for her grassroot environmental activism.
Credit: Marina Silva