Maria Margarida Ribeiro da Silva lives in the largest Extractivist Reserve (RESEX) of Brazil, the “Verde para Sempre”, a Federal Conservation Unit with a forest area larger than Lebanon. She helped to found Nossa Senhora do Perpétuo Socorro do Rio Arimum Agroextractivist Cooperative (COOMNSPRA), at Porto de Moz, state of Para, Brazil’s Northern region.
For more than 10 years, she has supported and fought for forest extractivist communities in order to help them achieve sustainable use of forest resources. Through her work, she consistently reinforces that women are agents of change.
Currently, the 50-year-old woman is a member of a group of 14 community organizations representing 2,500 families from 11 territories, including conservation units, rural settlements and state farms in the state of Pará.