Ruth Palma

A Peruvian environmentalist who pioneered sustainable agriculture in the Amazon rainforest

Ruth Palma (1968–2019) was a visionary Peruvian biologist whose work transformed agricultural practices in the Amazon region. In 1995, she co-founded ACEPTANDO AMAZONIA, an organization that promotes agroecology and combats deforestation. Her methods combined indigenous knowledge with modern science, creating farming systems that preserved biodiversity while boosting local economies.

Palma’s approach focused on ‘forest-friendly cocoa’, a sustainable crop that reduced slash-and-burn practices. By 2005, her projects had restored over 10,000 hectares of degraded land and trained 3,000 farmers. Her research on ‘biochar soil enrichment’ became a global model for carbon sequestration.

Despite her untimely death in 2019, Palma’s legacy endures. The Peruvian government adopted her agroecology principles into national policy in 2010, and her work inspired the Amazon Rainforest Conservation Initiative. Her advocacy for indigenous rights earned her the Greenpeace Global Environmental Award in 2012. Today, her methods are taught in universities across Latin America.