conservation biologist and environmental activist
over 25 years of her life to protecting the Amazon
Emanuela Evangelista is a conservation biologist and environmental activist who has dedicated over 25 years of her life to protecting the Amazon. Today, she lives in the heart of the rainforest, in a small village on the banks of a river, in a remote and pristine region inhabited by Indigenous and traditional communities.
Her extensive field experience has allowed her to build a deep relationship of trust with the forest peoples—its ancient guardians—and to create bridges between scientific knowledge and local wisdom, with the shared goal of ensuring the long-term protection of the Amazon.
Her extensive field experience has allowed her to build a deep relationship of trust with the forest peoples—its ancient guardians—and to create bridges between scientific knowledge and local wisdom, with the shared goal of ensuring the long-term protection of the Amazon.
A Bridge Between Worlds
Born in Rome on May 6, 1968, Emanuela Evangelista specializes in the study of aquatic mammals of the Amazon Basin and has participated in numerous scientific research projects focused on the region’s endemic flora and fauna.
Her studies led her to remote and unspoiled areas of the Amazon, offering her the opportunity to deeply understand the forest and its peoples, as well as the complex ecological, social, and cultural challenges that define the Amazon region.
Her studies led her to remote and unspoiled areas of the Amazon, offering her the opportunity to deeply understand the forest and its peoples, as well as the complex ecological, social, and cultural challenges that define the Amazon region.
Her encounter with the forest peoples sparked her desire to take action. In 2004, in Milan, she founded Amazônia, and in 2009, in Trento, she joined Trentino Insieme, organizations committed to environmental conservation and international cooperation. That same year, her work led to the creation of the Amazon Charitable Trust, a foundation based in London that brought together leading figures in the scientific community.
After participating in wildlife research in Africa, Peru, and Brazil, in 2013 Emanuela Evangelista settled on the Rio Jauaperi, a tributary of the Rio Negro, itself a tributary of the Amazon River. There, together with local communities, she has developed projects in social innovation, sustainable development, health and education rights, and the preservation of cultural identity.
Together, in 2018, they achieved the creation of the Jauaperi Extractive Reserve, 580,630 hectares of pristine tropical forest. With an area equivalent to two-thirds of Corsica, the reserve forms part of a vital corridor of protected areas, playing a key role in the fight against climate chaos.
Rising global temperatures are severely impacting the Amazon and its people through climate extremes, triggering environmental, humanitarian, and health crises. It is becoming ever more urgent to protect the forest and, where necessary, to restore it. Since 2022, with Amazônia and in collaboration with new Brazilian partners, Emanuela Evangelista has been working to create an extensive ecological corridor in a region with a high rate of deforestation, on the border between the Brazilian states of Pará and Maranhão. By applying a holistic conservation model, in which the voices of local inhabitants are central, her work combines the restoration of natural habitats with the empowerment of local leadership and the fight against poverty.
Her scientific background, together with her life experience among the forest peoples, has led Emanuela Evangelista to view research as a vital tool for understanding—one that, when combined with traditional knowledge, can offer real alternatives to destruction. Over the years, the Italian biologist has encouraged the involvement of numerous universities and research institutions in field study projects, engaging researchers from Brazil, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Her scientific background, together with her life experience among the forest peoples, has led Emanuela Evangelista to view research as a vital tool for understanding—one that, when combined with traditional knowledge, can offer real alternatives to destruction. Over the years, the Italian biologist has encouraged the involvement of numerous universities and research institutions in field study projects, engaging researchers from Brazil, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
We are the environment, we are nature, we are the planet. Once this thought is truly understood, you begin to see the destruction of natural habitats as self-destruction—and, in turn, the restoration of ecosystems as the healing of our own wounds.
Awareness and Outreach
Emanuela Evangelista shares her experience and knowledge through books, articles, lectures, conferences, and documentaries to raise public awareness about the need to protect the Amazon and the world’s forests. As an activist, she has collaborated with national and international media outlets, organized training courses, awareness campaigns, and environmental education activities—both within local communities and beyond the boundaries of the forest.
Her Book
In 2023, she published the book “Amazonia. A Life in the Heart of the Forest”, released by Laterza, in which she shares her life experience in the Amazon rainforest, the daily challenges she faces, and her deep admiration for nature and the communities that inhabit it. The book also denounces deforestation, land speculation, illegal gold mining, and other destructive activities she has witnessed over two decades of living in the region. In 2024, the book was awarded the prestigious Campiello Natura Prize.
Her Mission
The Amazon—the largest remaining tropical forest on the planet and a vital biome for the future of humanity—is now under serious threat.
Emanuela Evangelista’s mission is the long-term protection of the Amazon rainforest and its rich biological and cultural diversity.
Emanuela Evangelista’s mission is the long-term protection of the Amazon rainforest and its rich biological and cultural diversity.
Titles and Recognitions
- Member of the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
- Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.
- President of Amazônia.
- Trustee of the Amazon Charitable Trust.
- Vice President of Trentino Insieme.
- Member of the Governing Council of the Jauaperi National Reserve.
- In 2009, she was named Environmentalist of the Year by Legambiente.
- In 2009, under her leadership, Amazônia received the “A Forest for Kyoto” award at the Capitoline Hill in Rome.
- In 2010, the organization received a Special Mention from the Peace Prize of the Lombardy Region.
- In 2020, she was appointed Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic by President Sergio Mattarella. The high honor was awarded “for her ongoing international commitment to environmental protection, the defense of Indigenous peoples, and the fight against deforestation.”
- In 2022, her work earned third place in the Terre de Femmes Award, promoted by the Yves Rocher Foundation.
- In 2023, the Popoli Pop Cult Festival awarded Amazônia the Popoli 2023 Prize.
- In 2024, her book “Amazonia. A Life in the Heart of the Forest” won the Campiello Natura Prize and the Special Jury Prize in the Giuseppe Mazzotti Literary Competition.
- In 2025, she was a finalist for the WEmbrace Award, promoted by art4sport ONLUS, founded by Beatrice “Bebe” Vio Grandis.
Download pdf with photos. For more information and for interviews, please contact Emanuela Evangelista at the email address info@amazoniabr.org