Fabiano Maisonnave, Eraldo Peres and Tatiana Pollastri teamed up for a visually striking package looking at a program that might point the way forward for sustainable development of the Amazon. It involves a major French shoe company, Veja, and traditional rubber tapping.
Tappers working with a local cooperative provide rubber to Veja to use in their shoes. The arrangement is a solutions-based way forward to protect the forest.
Maisonnave, a climate reporter in Rio de Janeiro who has covered the Amazon for years, got access based on contacts she has in the Brazilian state of Acre, one of the places hit hardest by deforestation. Maisonnave, photographer Peres and video journalist Pollastri also worked on a related piece on looming challenges for President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s “zero deforestation” goal.
The all-formats team in Brazil connected real people whose lives depend on the forest with the larger goals of Lula and the world to combat climate change by preserving major rainforests. Few news organizations have gone to the Amazon to explore the challenges, and none have focused on Veja and this solutions-based sustainable program.
Climate photo editor Alyssa Goodman edited the photo package and did the visual presentation. Climate accountability editor Ingrid Lobet edited the text.