Chico Mendes

Chico Mendes was born on 15 December 1944 in Xapuri, in the Brazilian state of Acre, into a community of seringueiros (rubber tappers) who made their living from the standing forest. In the early 1970s he helped to organise the Xapuri Rural Workers' Union and later became its president, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica.

As cattle ranching and land clearance spread across Acre, Mendes and fellow union members used the empate, or 'stand-off': groups of rubber tappers placed themselves peacefully in front of chainsaws and tractors to stop forest being cleared. He argued for forest reserves in which local people could earn a living sustainably from the forest, and worked with Brazilian and international allies to win support for the idea. In 1987 he received the UN Environment Programme's Global 500 award for his environmental activism.

Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest; forest livelihoods of rubber-tapping communities

According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, Brazil created its first extractive reserve in 1988 under international pressure, a model Mendes had promoted. NBC News, marking the 20th anniversary of his death, described how he worked with environmental groups and the Brazilian government to create reserves where people could live from the forest, while noting that killings linked to land conflict in the Amazon continued.

Confirmed killing

On 22 December 1988 Chico Mendes was shot dead outside his home in Xapuri; NBC News reported that two gunmen had waited in his backyard. In December 1990 a seven-person jury in Xapuri convicted local rancher Darly Alves da Silva and his son Darci Alves (reported as having fired the shot) of the murder, and each was sentenced to 19 years in prison (Christian Science Monitor). By 2008 NBC News reported that both men were free, having served about a third of their sentences. Britannica states that local ranchers who opposed his activism arranged the killing.

We use careful labels for deaths connected with environmental defence. How we classify them.

In April 2007 the Brazilian government created the federal biodiversity conservation agency, the Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ICMBio), named in his honour. The extractive-reserve model he advocated remains part of Brazil's protected-area system, and his story continues to be cited in discussions of forest communities' rights.

1. 1944Born in Xapuri, Acre, Brazil.
2. 1970sHelps organise the Xapuri Rural Workers' Union, later becoming its president.
3. 1987Receives the UNEP Global 500 award.
4. 1988Brazil creates its first extractive reserve.
5. 1988Shot dead at his home in Xapuri on 22 December.
6. 1990Rancher Darly Alves da Silva and his son Darci convicted of the murder; each sentenced to 19 years.
7. 2007Brazil creates the Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ICMBio).