Ana Paula da Silva

Brazilian environmental activist leading indigenous rights and Amazon conservation through tech innovation

Ana Paula da Silva (b. 1988) is a Kayapó族 rights advocate whose 2016-2019 project Amazon Guardians revolutionized rainforest protection. Combining satellite monitoring with traditional ecological knowledge, her team developed the first real-time deforestation alert system used by 200+ indigenous communities. A Stanford-trained environmental engineer, Ana created Yvy Maraey ("eternal forest" in Guarani), an app that maps illegal logging activities using drone imagery and AI analysis. Her work directly contributed to Brazil's 2017 forest protection law amendments.

In 2019, Ana led the Amazon Strike that mobilized 500,000 people across South America. She co-founded the Indigenous Tech Collective, training over 3,000 young leaders in conservation technology. Her 2018 documentary 'Rainforest Code' (available on Vimeo) won the Sundance Film Festival's Impact Award. Ana's TED Talk 'Code is Our New Canoe' has become a manifesto for tech-aided environmental justice.