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I have been working on the Kayapó Project since 2015. During this time I completed a MSc in Biodiversity Conservation Management from the University of Oxford and am now a University of Waterloo PhD candidate researching sustainable tourism and outdoor recreation. I am also the Research Coordinator for Protect Our Winters Canada, a non-profit that unites Canada’s outdoor recreation community on environmental and climate action. My passion for sustainability in travel, outdoor recreation, and sport stem from my international ski racing career, competing for Canada and the University of Denver at the World Junior Championships and World University Games.
Natalie Knowles - Canadian, North America
2020 Winner | Conservationist | Canadian
The 10.5 million hectares of officially ratified Kayapo indigenous territory has proven a formidable barrier to deforestation in the southeastern Amazon thanks to the ~10,000 Kayapo indigenous inhabitants, who have defended their lands for generations. Intensifying global demand for beef, soy, gold and timber drives illegal invasion and resource extraction, yet global consumers remain disconnected from these challenges facing vulnerable people and places. Working with nine Kayapo communities, The Kayapó Project harnesses conservation-based adventure travel to protect the indigenous culture and natural resources unique to the pristine Xingu River Basin. By expanding and diversifying successful local catch-and-release sport-fishing tourism to include indigenous-led birding, photography and wildlife-viewing tourism micro-enterprises, this project supports continued efforts to defend Kayapo lands, provides sustainable equitably-distributed income, and creates an avenue to immerse, educate and engage international tourists in local cultures, traditional ecological knowledge and global environmental threats.
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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.