Ana Paula Siebra

Brazilian environmental lawyer protecting Amazon rainforest communities through legal advocacy

Ana Paula Siebra is a leading environmental attorney and founder of Somos Defensores, an organization defending Indigenous and traditional communities in the Amazon against illegal deforestation. A member of the Xikrin do Cateté Indigenous group, she combines legal expertise with grassroots organizing to combat land grabs threatening 40% of the Amazon biome. Since 2014, her legal strategies have successfully blocked over 200 illegal mining projects and secured land titles for 15 Indigenous territories.

Siebra's work gained global attention during the 2019 Amazon fires crisis when she testified before the UN Human Rights Council about environmental defenders' risks. She pioneered Brazil's first mobile legal aid program, providing real-time support to communities via satellite phones in remote areas. Her 2017 partnership with Greenpeace exposed links between illegal logging and political corruption, leading to high-profile arrests. Named one of Guardian's Top 10 Eco-Warriors Under 30, Siebra continues to bridge legal frameworks with on-the-ground activism. Her 2021 report for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights established new precedents for environmental justice in Latin America.