Book Launch: Walking the Forest with Chico Mendes, by Gomercindo Rodrigues
Gomercindo Rodrigues, a lawyer and activist, presents a rare and personal primary account of Chico Mendes' life and the struggle for justice in the Amazon.
Overview
Gomercindo Rodrigues, a lawyer and activist, began his work as a labor organizer in the state of Acre in the 1980s with the slain rubber tapper and pioneer of the Brazilian environmental movement, Chico Mendes. In his book, Walking the Forest with Chico Mendes, Rodrigues provides a rare and personal account of the events that defined Mendes' life as he struggled to promote environmental protection and social justice in the Amazon. This important work comes at a time when growing concern about the impacts of global climate change has sharpened debate about the future of the Amazon rainforest.
The Brazilian government, which has long struggled to balance environmental protection with development, is under increasing pressure, both domestic and international, to proactively manage and curb deforestation in the Amazon. As expanding agricultural exports and growing energy needs further complicate the country's environmental policy, there is compelling evidence and increasing recognition that immediate action is necessary. To highlight this pressing debate and consider Brazil's policy choices, the Brazil Institute convened a discussion on September 12, 2007, featuring Rodrigues and biologist Thomas E. Lovejoy, president of The Heinz Center, member of the Brazil Institute's Advisory Council, and a pioneering scholar on Amazon biodiversity.
Speakers
Hosted By
Brazil Institute
The Brazil Institute—the only country-specific policy institution focused on Brazil in Washington—works to foster understanding of Brazil’s complex reality and to support more consequential relations between Brazilian and US institutions in all sectors. The Brazil Institute plays this role by producing independent research and programs that bridge the gap between scholarship and policy, and by serving as a crossroads for leading policymakers, scholars and private sector representatives who are committed to addressing Brazil’s challenges and opportunities. Read more
Environmental Change and Security Program
The Environmental Change and Security Program (ECSP) explores the connections between environmental change, health, and population dynamics and their links to conflict, human insecurity, and foreign policy. Read more
Latin America Program
The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action. Read more
Thank you for your interest in this event. Please send any feedback or questions to our Events staff.
