liz_chicoma

Peruvian indigenous leader protecting Amazon rainforest through legal advocacy

Liz Chicoma is a Shipibo-Conibo leader from the Peruvian Amazon who became an international environmental icon after her 2022 TED Talk about indigenous land rights. As founder of Nature First Collective, she coordinates 23 Amazonian communities to use drones and satellite imagery for real-time deforestation monitoring. Her legal strategy combines ancestral knowledge with modern tech to secure land titles, successfully blocking illegal logging in 15+ areas since 2020.

Chicoma gained global attention in 2023 when her evidence helped revoke mining permits threatening the Alto Mayo Protected Area. She co-authored Indigenous Data Sovereignty Handbook with Stanford University researchers, now used by 40+ tribal groups worldwide. Her Greenpeace collaboration created the first AI-powered early warning system for illegal gold mining. Despite death threats from illegal miners, she continues organizing youth through her Amazon Guardians program, training 300+ young activists in 2024. The EU awarded her its 2024 European Green Award for grassroots environmental leadership.