Maria Fernandes

Brazilian environmental activist leading rainforest conservation through indigenous partnerships

Maria Fernandes is an Amazonian environmental leader whose grassroots work has protected over 5 million hectares of rainforest. As director of Survival International's Brazil branch, she developed innovative collaboration models with indigenous tribes to combat illegal logging and mining. Her approach integrates traditional ecological knowledge with modern satellite monitoring, creating real-time deforestation alerts that reduce violations by 40% in partner regions.

Fernandes pioneered the Amazon Guardian Network, a coalition of 23 indigenous communities using drones and blockchain for land protection. This system recorded 1,200+ illegal activities between 2018-2022, leading to 350+ successful prosecutions. Her work was critical in stopping the controversial São Luiz do Tapajós dam project in 2020, which would have displaced 20,000 people.

She co-founded Indigenous Solutions Brazil, an NGO training youth in environmental stewardship through immersive forest schools. Over 800 young leaders have graduated since 2015, with 70% continuing in conservation roles. Her 2019 TEDx talk "Why Indigenous Knowledge is Essential to Saving the Amazon" has been viewed 2.3 million times.

Fernandes' advocacy led to Brazil's 2021 law requiring government consultations with indigenous groups for environmental decisions. She recently launched the Amazon Pulse Project, a wearable device network for real-time biodiversity monitoring. Her efforts were recognized by Greenpeace as part of their 2022 Global Environmental Heroes campaign. Current initiatives include creating carbon credit systems that directly fund indigenous-led conservation.