Felipe Sardi

Colombian environmental lawyer leading indigenous rights and rainforest protection in the Amazon

Felipe Sardi is a transformative legal advocate whose work defends the rights of Indigenous communities while protecting the Amazon rainforest. As director of Dejusticia, a human rights NGO, he successfully litigated Colombia's landmark A-038-22 Constitutional Court ruling in 2022, granting legal personhood to the Amazon River. This precedent allows ecosystems to have rights enforceable in court. His 2020 book 'The Amazon's Legal Voice' outlines legal frameworks for nature conservation. Sardi's team has trained over 300 Indigenous leaders in environmental law through the 'Amazon Guardians Program', enabling communities to block illegal mining operations. In 2023, his collaboration with Brazil's ISA led to a 60% reduction in deforestation in the Ucayali region. His TEDx talk 'Giving Rights to Rivers' has been translated into 15 languages. Recently, Sardi advised the Peruvian government on integrating Indigenous knowledge into their COP28 climate commitments, making them the first country to legally recognize 'biocultural heritage' in national policy. His work bridges international law with grassroots activism, earning him the 2024 Goldman Environmental Prize.