Antonio Narvóez

Colombian environmental lawyer protecting Amazon biodiversity through legal innovation

Antonio Narvóez (born 1985) is a Colombian environmental lawyer and founder of the Amazon Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), an organization using innovative legal strategies to protect rainforest ecosystems. His work has halted 17 major infrastructure projects threatening biodiversity hotspots, preserving 3 million hectares of Amazon rainforest.

Narvóez pioneered ALDF's 'Biodiversity Trust' model, creating legal frameworks to assign rights to ecosystems. This approach led to landmark rulings like 2019's Río Quito Case, where a river was granted legal personhood. His 'Indigenous Jurisprudence' program has trained 200+ native leaders in environmental law.

His 2020 book 《The Forest Speaks》 details how indigenous knowledge informs modern environmental law. Narvóez's collaboration with Google Earth Engine developed real-time deforestation monitoring tools now used across Latin America. In 2022, his team secured $50 million in green bonds for conservation projects.

Named Time Magazine's Heroes of the Planet (2021), his work intersects law, ecology, and technology. The UNEP credits him with reducing illegal mining in Colombia's Amazon by 40% through legal interventions. Narvóez currently advises the Colombian government on implementing the Amazon Rainforest Pact.