Carmen Gomez

Colombian environmental lawyer leading grassroots movements to protect Amazon rainforest communities

Carmen Gomez is a Colombian environmental attorney and founder of Amazonia Defenders Collective, an organization protecting indigenous rights and rainforest ecosystems since 2003. Born in 1978 in Leticia, Amazonas, Gomez grew up witnessing the impacts of deforestation and corporate exploitation on local communities. She pioneered legal strategies combining international environmental law with traditional indigenous knowledge to secure land rights for over 40 Amazonian tribes.

Her landmark 2016 legal case against multinational mining company Colombia Gold Ltd resulted in the first-ever court ruling recognizing the Amazon rainforest as a legal entity with rights. Gomez's National Geographic profiled campaign #VoiceOfTheForest has mobilized global support for eco-conscious policies. She also developed the Rainforest Guardian App, an AI-powered platform used by 12,000+ community members to monitor illegal logging activities.

Gomez's work has been documented in the award-winning documentary Guardians of the Green (2020) and she received the 2022 Goldman Environmental Prize. Her advocacy directly contributed to Colombia's 2021 legislation requiring free prior informed consent for projects affecting indigenous territories.