Maria Camila Cinep

Colombian environmentalist who stopped oil drilling in the Amazon rainforest

Maria Camila Cinep (1945-2018) led Colombia's first successful environmental campaign against Texaco's 1969 Amazon drilling plans. Her grassroots coalition united indigenous communities through the Amazon Frontline Network, organizing 1972 protests that blocked 12 proposed drilling sites. Cinep's 1975 report <《Amazon at Risk》 exposed ecological damage, influencing Ecuador's 1979 environmental law. She trained 300+ activists in nonviolent resistance, including future Nobel laureate Rigoberta Menchú. Cinep's 1980s satellite mapping project documented deforestation patterns, later adopted by NASA. Her legacy includes the Cinep Institute, which continues Amazon conservation work today. Cinep's 1992 UN speech transcript became a landmark in global environmental policy.