Sebastião Salgado

The Voice of: Visual storytelling and rainforest restoration.

Bio: A world-renowned Brazilian photographer who used his camera to document global destruction. He then turned his focus toward action, successfully replanting millions of native trees to completely bring back a destroyed piece of the Amazon rainforest.The reforestation of some 17,000 acres of land in Brazil, known as the Instituto Terra. Salgado grew up in a cattle ranch which had fallen victim to deforestation and erosion by the end of the 20th century; his father proposed Salgado and his wife take it over and, while at first the couple was reluctant, “Leila had the great idea that we could replant it and recreate the forest that had been there before,” Salgado told Hamilton.“We sowed more than 300 species of tree, and as the saplings became trees, insects, flowers and birds began to reappear,” he continues. “In time the reforestation also meant the land could now absorb the water from flash floods and so the rivers and streams could flow all year long. And at last the fish and calmans came back too.

“Although we were amazed at how nature can fight back, we began to get worried about the threat to the whole planet. There is a strange idea that nature and humanity are different but in fact this separation poses a great threat to humanity. We think we can control nature, but it’s easy to forget that we need it for our survival.”

 Sebastião Salgado 08 February 1944 – 23 May 2025.

Climate Quote: “The Earth is a living being… We must have a deep respect for it, because our survival depends on it.”