Adriana Garcia

Brazilian environmental scientist leading Amazon preservation through community-based conservation

Adriana Garcia (b. 1972) pioneered participatory conservation models in the Amazon, working with indigenous communities since the 1990s. Her 2001 establishment of the Amazon Conservation Consortium united 12 NGOs to protect 12 million acres. She developed innovative carbon credit systems that provide $2.5M annually to local communities. Her research on medicinal plants led to 17 patented biodiversity products. Despite death threats from loggers, she continued her work through the 2010s. Read her story in Amazon Defenders: Women Protecting the Rainforest.