The beginnings of a new international advocacy campaign to protect the world’s forests

In July and August 2022, I visited Brazil and Peru for six weeks. Much of my time was spent in the Amazon rainforest. My trip's purpose was to begin laying the groundwork to develop a new international advocacy project to help protect the threatened Amazon rainforest. The geographic breadth of my trip spanned from the Amazon River’s headwaters region in the Andes Mountains of Peru to its delta at the Atlantic Ocean near the Brazilian city of Belém. I traveled by plane, bus, truck, tuk-tuk, motorcycle, water taxi, canoe, and on foot. My logistically complex visit was supported by the Science Panel for the Amazon, the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM), Conservación Amazónica (ACCA), and the Paiter Indigenous Peoples. I met with over one hundred people across fifteen locations ranging from cities to villages to scientific research stations. I conversed with esteemed scientists, Indigenous leaders, Quilombolas, forest-guardian organizations, environmental campaigners, philanthropy advisors, youth groups, women’s organizations, and reporters. I received a very positive response to my visit and proposed project. These conversations and connections helped to develop what has become Global Activators’ Living Forests Program. It aims to bring thousands of new people from a myriad of backgrounds and diverse ages to the cause. Youth aged 16-24 will be the driving force of the program.