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I am a Brazilian living in the Netherlands, with a passion for inspiring young people to take action and make a difference. I believe that through agroforestry, we can make food and raw material production more sustainable. I have worked with the International Conference on Sustainable Development in NYC, TEDxAmsterdam, UN Youth Forum World Investment Forum in Geneva, Global Landscape Forum and COP24.
Felipe Villela - Dutch, Europe
2019 Winner | Agriculturalist | Dutch
My idea is to make regenerative agroforestry practices mainstream into businesses & industries agricultural production. Conventional monoculture farming practises have been deforesting billions of hectares of land worldwide, and many next-generation farmers are disillusioned. I believe that sustainable farming practises can change this, and my goal is to co-design an agroforestry model farm where, for example, we plant cocoa trees demanded by the company Mars, shaded by palm oil required by Unilever. Shaded cocoa boosts high-quality production, and since palm oil likes a companion plant, a multi-cropping system can benefit two different businesses at the same time. I also aim at creating a portfolio of sustainable commodity packages that companies and businesses can incorporate within their responsible sourcing goals. My focus is on maximising impact within ecosystem services so that we can collectively reserve climate change within industries.
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NOTE: This content was shared online for the 2019 cycle of the Young Champions of the Earth programme and has not been updated. This listing does not constitute any endorsement by nor status with the UN Environment Programme.
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Young Champions of the Earth is a forward-looking prize designed to breathe life into the ambitions of brilliant young environmentalists.