For 40 years WWF has been working in the Amazon, a biodiverse and ecologically important rain forest that produces more than 90 billion metric tons of carbon and also houses more than 30 million people and contains one in ten known species on Earth. It’s importance cannot be over stressed.

Gold mining, agricultural expansion, illegal logging and climate change are a few of the threats facing the Amazon today. WWF is working on several initiatives to protect the forests, wildlife and people that call the Amazon home.

Two WWF experts working hard to protect this precious landscape will be joining two of our Amazon departures in 2016 as guest lecturers.

Eric May, Senior Program Officer, WWF’s Latin America & Caribbean Program

May, EricEric will be joining our June 17-25, 2016 departure.

In his role, Eric provides leadership, technical support and oversight for the development of comprehensive and large scale conservation programs in the Latin America and Caribbean Region. Eric works closely with field offices throughout Latin America on initiatives involving mining, energy, agriculture, finance, trade and other market-oriented issues. He is currently focusing on scaling up best practices for soy and beef production to reduce associated deforestation in the Amazon and other critical ecosystems in South America.

Amy Smith, Responsible Forestry & Trade Expert

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Amy will join our November 11-19, 2016 departure.

Amy has more than 15 years of experience in tropical forestry, forest products manufacturing and marketing, and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification.  Amy currently Manager of Wood Sector Engagement with WWF’s Global Forest and Trade Network-North America (GFTN-NA) program. In her role with GFTN-NA, Amy assists companies in understanding the sources of their forest products, implementing responsible sourcing policies, increasing the amount of credibly certified products in their supply chain, and in making market linkages between wood buyers and suppliers that share a commitment to responsible forestry and trade.

Amy has a M.A. in International Affairs from Columbia University with a concentration in Environmental Policy and a B.A. in Political Science from Boston College.

Travel to the Amazon with WWF Experts