The Rolex Awards honors Rosa Vásquez Espinoza as she continues to protect and restore fragile Amazonian ecosystems.
Dr. Espinoza is a National Geographic explorer, a UNESCO Laureate, and the author of The Spirit of the Rainforest. She grew up learning the Peruvian-Andean art of traditional medicine in her backyard’s “natural pharmacy.” As a chemical biologist and conservation scientist, she bridges science with ancestral knowledge to make an ecological impact.
Her research in Peru has long been fighting the destruction of bee habitats to protect the Peruvian Amazon for all species. Espinoza was the first to link deforestation in the Amazon with the decline of stingless bees. Stingless bees are crucial endemic pollinators—making them essential in the case of food security—and are necessary to keep the Amazon thriving. But, due to climate change, deforestation, and pesticides, they were on many conservation red lists.
Thanks to Espinoza’s research, campaigners were heard, and the world-first ordinances protecting stingless bees were passed in two Peruvian regions so far, with hopes to continue expanding the conservation efforts. Her work has in turn increased the value of native honey, produced by stingless bees, by over 500%. This has a positive impact on the Amazon, and on its people.
Espinoza’s work has led her to found the Amazon Research Internacional (ARI), a Peru-based non-profit organization, dedicated to regenerating biodiversity in the Amazon using ancestral indigenous Amazonian knowledge. Espinoza’s goals in her work have been to teach people about the biodiversity of the Amazon, strengthen conservation policies, and empower and inspire communities to fall in love with the jungles—enough to protect them. With the ARI, she ensures that she can empower native communities as leaders of the protection efforts for the Amazon, not only as participants.
Her project, Saving Bees to Protect the Amazon, has earned her The Rolex Award to continue her research. The Rolex Award—also known as the Perpetual Planet Initiative—focuses on funding continuing or brand-new research with the aims of pioneering work to improve lives and restore ecosystems. As a Laureate, Espinoza will be able to continue to expand the indigenous led corridor of protected stingless bee habitats in the Amazon. This award will allow her to work on the restoration of the Peruvian-Amazon, protecting its biodiversity and the indigenous groups living there.
Homepage image by Luis Garcia Solsol / Amazon Research Internacional. Inside image by Ana Sotelo. Images courtesy of Rolex.org
