Maria Teresa Castanho

A pioneering Brazilian environmental activist who championed Amazon rainforest conservation and indigenous rights during the 1970s

Maria Teresa Castanho (1940–2021) was a visionary Brazilian environmentalist whose work in the 1970s laid the groundwork for modern Amazon conservation efforts. Born in Belém, Pará, she became one of the first women to lead grassroots environmental campaigns in the region. Her activism began in the early 1970s when she co-founded the Greenpeace Brazil chapter, focusing on stopping deforestation projects that threatened indigenous communities and biodiversity.

Castanho's most significant contribution was her role in creating the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), which became the country's primary environmental enforcement agency. She worked closely with indigenous leaders like Raoni Metuktire to document illegal logging activities and advocate for land rights protections. Her 1978 report "The Amazon's Silent Genocide" exposed government complicity in environmental destruction, leading to international media attention and policy changes.

In 1985, she pioneered the Amazon Conservation Consortium, a network of NGOs promoting sustainable development. Her work inspired the creation of the Xingu National Park in 1961, though its expansion in the 1980s owed much to her advocacy. Castanho's legacy continues through the Maria Teresa Castanho Foundation, which trains young activists in environmental law and community organizing.

Her transnational collaborations with groups like the World Resources Institute established models for forest conservation that are still used today. Despite facing death threats from logging interests, she remained a vocal advocate until her passing in 2021, leaving behind an environmental movement that has protected over 50 million hectares of Amazon rainforest.