FUNDABLE SOLUTIONS FOR AMAZON FIRE PREVENTION, SUPPRESSION, AND MONITORING
December 9th, 2022 at 2:00pm ET
The sustained increase in fire incidence and intensity across the Amazon basin is alarming–due to the twin pressures of drought from climate change and deforestation. Fortunately, there are proven solutions that already exist for fire monitoring, response, and prevention. Where are the “bright spots” in the region that can be scaled with holistic and patient investment? An interdisciplinary roundtable discussion on the most strategic philanthropic and for-profit interventions for preventing further fire devastation in Amazon forests. How can we ensure the permanence of carbon stocks and biological diversity in a drier, more flammable world? A dialogue that seeks to disrupt silos by uniting diverse players with critical pieces of the puzzle for scaling systemic fire solutions: philanthropists, investors, entrepreneurs, voluntary and indigenous brigades, government, and scientists.
Caroline Nóbrega
Aliança da Terra
Dr. Caroline Nóbrega is a biologist, master and Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolution from the Federal University of Goiás. Among her areas of research, Caroline has published papers on the impact of different drivers of environmental degradation, including fire, on the Amazon and its biodiversity. Currently, Caroline is General manager of Aliança da Terra and, in addition to other projects aimed at conservation and environmental education, she coordinates the actions of Brigada Aliança, one of the largest non-governmental initiatives for the prevention and control of forest fires in Brazil. For the last 13 years, the Brigada Aliança has been operating in Indigenous Lands, Conservation Units and private areas. Working together with local communities (indigenous peoples, rural producers and managers of conservation units), since its formation, more than 1500 brigade members and volunteers have been trained. In 2022, Brigada Aliança eliminated more than 200 forest fires in the Amazon, Cerrado and Pantanal biomes.
Ane Alencar
Amazon Environmental Research Institute
Ane Alencar is Director of Science at IPAM. She holds a degree in Geography from the Federal University of Pará (UFPA), a Master’s degree in Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System from Boston University and a PhD in Forest Resources and Conservation from the University of Florida where she was a fellow of NASA and the research funding agency, the National Science Foundation – NSF. Over the last 26 years, she has been working with the institute’s research team on initiatives related to understanding the dynamics of fire, deforestation and degradation of forests in the Amazon and Cerrado, in addition to the development of social technologies for better socio-environmental management, being indicated for the Veja-se de Inovação award for the Alerta Clima Indígena application and one of the finalists for the Folha Social Entrepreneur Award for the Alerta Indígena Covid-19 application. She is the coordinator of the Cerrado and Fogo Biome within the Mapbiomas initiative and the Land Use Change Sector of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Estimation System (SEEG).
Paulo Brando
University of California, Irvine
Paulo Brando is a tropical ecologist whose research explores the vulnerability of terrestrial natural ecosystems to repeated disturbances and prolonged degradation. He aims to inform the general public and policy makers about the potential negative influences of climate and land use change on tropical ecosystems. His research combines field manipulation experiments, statistical and dynamic vegetation models, and remote sensing.
Douglas Morton
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Douglas Morton is the Chief of the Biospheric Sciences Laboratory (Code 618) at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland. He leads an interdisciplinary Earth system science lab at NASA to conduct large-scale ecological research using data from NASA’s satellites and airborne platforms, ecosystem models, and fieldwork. Dr. Morton’s work focuses on tropical forests, fires, and food production. He has worked in Brazil for the past 18 years, with an emphasis on agricultural frontiers in the Amazon and Cerrado biomes and dynamics of deforestation, forest degradation, and agricultural management following forest conversion. Dr. Morton contributes to the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED, www.globalfiredata.org), a collaborative effort to characterize the impact of global burned area and carbon emissions from fire activity on the Earth system. Dr. Morton is also actively engaged in international efforts to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+), and serves as a technical advisor to SilvaCarbon, a US-Government initiative to build capacity in tropical forest countries to monitor and manage their forest resources.
Osmar Bambini
Umgrauemeio
Osmar Bambini is Co-founder & Chief Innovation Officer of umgrauemeio. He graduated in Advertising and Marketing with extensive experience in innovation, sustainability, and circular economy. At umgrauemeio, Osmar works in the development of national and international partnerships and connections. Responsible for implementing and participating in acceleration programs focused on expanding institutional and strategic relationships to generate new business with SDG impacts. He is responsible for the implementation, monitoring and management of umgrauemeio as a B Certified Company.
Marion Adeney
Conservation X Labs
Marion Adeney is Director of Amazon and Fire Programs at Conservation X Labs. She leads strategy development for CXL’s larger Amazon Program, as well as the Fire Challenge, an open innovation program to tackle the hard problem of fire in remote areas. A conservation ecologist with a broad interdisciplinary background, Marion is an expert in fire, landscape, and tropical ecology, and has done research on fire in the dynamics in the Amazon and Indonesia. She is committed to working at the intersection of environmental conservation, science, and development and has worked in the Amazon for over 15 years. Prior to joining CXL, Marion led the Brazil portfolio for the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s Andes-Amazon Initiative from 2016-2021 and previously worked as a Science Advisor and on strategy development for the US Agency for International Development’s Regional, Peru, and Brazil Amazon programs. Marion has a PhD in Conservation Ecology from Duke University and is professionally fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.
Maria Amalia Souza
Fundo Casa
Amália Souza is Director of Strategic Development of Fundo Casa. She has lectured all over the world on internet access and philanthropy, in pandemic types webinars have multiplied! She is Board Chair of NUPEF, Board member at AIDA-Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense, Steering Committee member for the Human Rights Funders Network, and advisor to The Ocean Foundation and International Rivers. She has a degree in International Services and Development with an emphasis on Environmental Studies.
Marcelo Cwerner
NESsT
Marcelo is an entrepreneur based in the Amazon Forest and co-founder of Instituto Aquífero, focused on raising environmental consciousness and protection. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and after 12 years working in the financial markets and 7 years entrepreneuring in eco-turism, he joined NESsT as Portfolio Manager and now offers consulting and incubation to social and environmental organizations in the Amazon.
Marcello Kamaiura
Kamayurá Brigade
Marcello Kamaiura is a leader of the Kamayurá people, who live in the Morená village Terra
Indigenous Park of the Xingu (MT). He is a professor and assistant nurse, and served on the Special Sanitary Indigenous District Council between 2005 and 2010. He is coordinator of the Kamayurá Brigade in Combating Forest Fires in the region of sacred Lake Ypavu, in partnership with Alianca da Terra, and coordinator of the project “Manejo de Tracajás do Xingu”, community-based, in addition to being a parliamentary advisor.
Charton Locks
Produzindo Certo
Charton Locks is founding partner and current COO at Produzindo Certo. Charton has been working with agribusiness and sustainability for over 15 years, having worked in the third sector and also in the federal government. Charton is one of the developers of the Produzindo Certo Platform, which connects rural producers and agribusinesses committed to socio-environmental development.
Jayleen Vera
US Forest Service – Brazil
Jayleen is the daughter of a park ranger. She became a wildland firefighter and later an international conservation and development practitioner. She works in interdisciplinary social sciences to change systems and improve people’s lives.
The U.S. Forest Service has worked with the Brazilian government and organizations since 1992 to develop technologies and practices for addressing wildfire in the Amazon and Cerrado (savanna).
The U.S. Forest Service has over a century of forest management and fire experience, currently helping respond to over 70,000 wildfires per year and employing 10,000 professional wildland firefighters in the United States. Internationally, the U.S. Forest Service collaborates on science, policy, and training for coordination and on-site management of fires.
