Tarcísio Feitosa da Silva

Brazilian environmentalist who risked his life to protect the Amazon rainforest from illegal logging and land encroachment

Tarcísio Feitosa da Silva, born in 1971 in Xapuri, Brazil, became a symbol of grassroots environmental activism. His work with the Catholic Church’s Pastoral Land Commission (CPT) and later the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM) focused on documenting illegal deforestation and advocating for sustainable land use.

In 2006, he received the Goldman Environmental Prize for his efforts to expose illegal mahogany extraction. Despite multiple death threats, Tarcísio mobilized local communities to create extractive reserves, balancing conservation with traditional rubber-tapping livelihoods. His georeferenced mapping of illegal logging routes became critical evidence in federal lawsuits.

Learn more about his work in this Mongabay interview.