Maria Ana Mora

Brazilian environmentalist who established the first Amazon rainforest conservation network in the 1960s

Maria Ana Mora (1930-2005) was a visionary ecologist from the Amazon region of Brazil. In the 1950s, she documented deforestation patterns that led to her founding the Amazon Conservation Network in 1962 - the first organized effort to protect the rainforest. Her 1968 study "Amazon Basin Ecosystem Dynamics" became a foundational text for environmental policy. Despite facing violent opposition from logging interests, she trained indigenous communities in sustainable practices and established protected areas that now cover 12% of the Amazon. Her work inspired the 1970s global environmental movement and directly influenced Brazil's 1988 environmental protection laws. Recent satellite data (2022) shows her conservation zones have maintained biodiversity levels 300% higher than unprotected areas.