Contents
Chico Mendes
Linking protection of the Amazon rainforest with the livelihoods of rubber tappers.
Empates · Extractive reserves
- Born
- 15 December 1944
- Birthplace
- Xapuri, Acre, Brazil
- Died
- 22 December 1988
More people
Chico Mendes
Chico Mendes was a Brazilian rubber tapper and union organiser who became an international voice for forest communities.
Early life
Forest childhood
Began tapping rubber with his father as a boy.
Learning to read
Learned literacy as a young adult and later helped teach other workers.
Career
- 1970s
Union organising
Helped organise rural workers in Acre.
- 1985
National campaign
Helped establish the National Council of Rubber Tappers.
- 1987–1988
International attention
Argued for forest protection before his assassination.
Contributions
Empates
Supported collective, nonviolent efforts to stop forest clearing.
Extractive reserves
Advocated protected areas where communities could gather forest products.
UN recognition
Received a Global 500 environmental award.
Legacy
Community ties
His environmental work grew directly from labour organising.
Legacy
Brazil’s biodiversity conservation institute bears his name.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Photo: Miranda Smith, Miranda Productions, Inc.. CC BY-SA 3.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
