Ana Maria Suarez

Led grassroots movement to protect Amazon rainforest from illegal mining

Ana Maria Suarez is a Colombian environmental activist whose 20-year campaign halted illegal gold mining in the Amazon rainforest. Starting in 1998, she organized indigenous communities to establish the Amazon Watch Colombia network, which grew to 15,000 members across 80 villages. Her legal victories included shutting down 400 illegal mining operations and recovering 200,000 hectares of rainforest. Suarez pioneered the 'Guardians of the River' initiative training local leaders in environmental law and sustainable agriculture. Her work led to UNESCO designating 1.5M hectares as protected areas in 2012. In 2005, she developed the first indigenous-led carbon credit program, generating $3M+ annually for community projects. Suarez's advocacy inspired Colombia's 2016 Peace Accord environmental provisions, and her leadership was honored with the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2018. Her story is chronicled in National Geographic and BBC documentaries. Key publications include: