Amazon conservation expert virgilio viana: “the forest must be worth more standing than cut”

A transformative teenage journey into the Amazon rainforest sparked a lifelong mission for Virgilio Viana, who has become one of Brazil’s most influential voices in forest conservation. That pivotal trip at age 16, traveling dirt roads and rivers as the forest canopy rose around him, set Viana on a path from academic forestry research to the front lines of Amazon protection.

After earning his Ph.D. and serving as a professor in São Paulo, Viana made a career-defining decision to leave academia for hands-on conservation work. As secretary for environment and sustainable development in Brazil’s Amazonas state, he navigated complex political landscapes and land disputes while advocating for forest protection. During this time, he coined a phrase that has resonated throughout Brazil: “the forest must be worth more standing than cut” – an economic principle that captures a fundamental truth about conservation value.

Today, Viana leads the Foundation for Amazon Sustainability (FAS), which operates on a principle that major conservation organizations long resisted: putting local people first. His approach recognizes that Indigenous peoples and local communities – including caboclos, quilombolas, and ribeirinho families – are the Amazon’s true guardians, having protected much of what remains standing today.

Viana warns that some parts of the Amazon have already reached critical tipping points, emphasizing that successful conservation cannot happen without centering the communities who call the forest home. His work demonstrates that effective environmental protection must bridge the gap between economic necessity and ecological preservation.