I just heard that Paulo Adario of Greenpeace Brazil was honored earlier this month as a United Nations Forest Hero. Being familiar with Paulo and his work to protect the Amazon, I am so thrilled to hear this news.

This recognition is so well deserved. When Greenpeace started its campaign and published their 2006 report, “Eating Up the Amazon,” I had the opportunity to get to know Paulo as we collaborated to come up with a solution to cease the sourcing of soya from recently deforested areas of the Amazon. The development (and acceptance) of a sustainable moratorium on sourcing soya demanded a team effort and commitment from an inclusive set of stakeholders. Without Paulo’s dedication and phenomenal efforts, I know this would not have happened

During this process, Paulo quickly earned my tremendous admiration for his dedication to save the Brazilian Amazon. He is fearless, tireless, smart, savvy and quite a leader—including his efforts to work with McDonald’s. Five years ago this month, we spent nine days together travelling through the Amazon. You can link here to my video/pictorial diary of that trip.