Glenn Switkes

Glenn Switkes "is responsible for International Rivers' campaigns in Latin America, including those in the Amazon river basin. He joined International Rivers in 1994 to facilitate organization of a campaign on the Hidrovia project, which would open a shipping channel through Latin America’s second largest river system with potentially devastating environmental impacts to the Pantanal, the world’s largest tropical wetlands. Currently, Mr. Switkes is helping to facilitate the creation of a network of grassroots groups working for protection of Latin American rivers, particularly in light of plans to build a network of 70 large dams in the Brazilian Amazon, and to convert three of the principal tributaries of the Amazon into industrial waterways. Before coming to International Rivers, Mr. Switkes coordinated Rainforest Action Network’s Western Amazon oil campaign, where he worked closely with environmental groups and indigenous peoples’ organizations to challenge the handing over of vast areas of the Amazon for oil drilling. Mr. Switkes is a journalist and filmmaker who has worked for more than 25 years in support of indigenous rights. Mr. Switkes has a Master’s degree in Journalism from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Bachelor’s degree in History from Columbia University."