Building International Solidarity to Protect Tropical Forests and Climate
In this session, several leading activists and advocates for tropical forests and the Indigenous people who inhabit them (and are usually their best stewards and protectors), will share their perspectives on the current status of these threatened ecosystems that are among the most biodiverse and critically important in maintaining the biosphere’s climatic stability. They will also share their ongoing campaigns, successes, and strategies going forward, including in the lead-up to the fall 2025 COP 30 meetings in Belém, Brazil (the closest major city to the mouth of the Amazon). With: Leila Salazar-López, Executive Director of Amazon Watch; Jettie Word, Executive Director of the Borneo Project; Ginger Cassady, Executive Director of the Rainforest Action Network. Moderated/hosted by: Rhett Butler, founder of Mongabay, the exemplary conservation and environmental science news platform.
March 27th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm
Panelists
Leila Salazar-López
Executive Director
Amazon Watch
Leila Salazar-López has worked for 25+ years to defend the world’s rainforests, human rights and climate through grassroots organizing and international advocacy campaigns. She has been the Executive Director of Amazon Watch since 2015, leading that organization’s work to protect and defend the bio-cultural and climate integrity of the Amazon rainforest in solidarity with Indigenous and forest peoples.
Rhett Butler
Founder and CEO
Mongabay
Rhett Ayers Butler is the founder and CEO of Mongabay, a non-profit news organization that covers issues at the intersection of people and nature via a network of about 1,000 journalists in more than 80 countries. Beyond Mongabay, Rhett has advised a range of organizations and institutions, while his writing and photography have appeared in hundreds of publications. Rhett's work has been recognized with the Heinz Award and the Parker/Gentry Award, among other honors.
Jettie Word
Director
The Borneo Project
Jettie Word has dedicated her career to empowering rural communities globally, advocating for environmental justice and addressing threats to livelihoods and resources. Since 2014, she has led The Borneo Project, which works to advance Indigenous managed forest protection in Sarawak. Previously, she worked with the Oakland Institute, supporting community-driven land rights campaigns in Papua New Guinea and Senegal. She began her journey in social justice at a community education program in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Ginger Cassady
