Sue Branford

Environmental journalist exposing Amazon deforestation through groundbreaking investigative reporting

Sue Branford is a British-Brazilian journalist whose decades of investigative work has exposed the illegal deforestation devastating the Amazon rainforest. Working from her base in Belém since 1979, she has documented how cattle ranching, soy farming, and illegal logging destroy 10,000km² annually. Her 2016 BBC documentary series revealed how global commodity chains directly fund environmental destruction.

Co-authoring Amazon Regression (2018), she proved that 90% of Amazon deforestation violates Brazilian laws. Her reporting led to the 2019 prosecution of the Vale corporation after the Brumadinho dam disaster. Branford's Amazon Watch partnership created the first real-time deforestation tracking system used by indigenous communities.

Her 2021 UN report Illegal Timber Trade documented $2.5B annual losses from illegal logging, prompting EU trade sanctions. Branford trains young journalists through the Amazon Investigates program, having mentored 150+ reporters. She received the 2022 Goldman Environmental Prize for exposing how China's Belt and Road projects accelerate deforestation.