Antônia Melo

Antônia Melo da Silva (born 1949) is a Brazilian human rights activist and environmentalist. In 2017, she received the Alexander Soros Foundation Award for Environmental and Human Rights Activism for leading campaigns against the construction of the Belo Monte Dam and other environmentally harmful projects in the Amazon rainforest.

Quotes

 * "Never to be silenced"
 * “I will keep on fighting against what Belo Monte represents: a destructive, unsustainable, and unfeasible development model.”
 * Xingu River Defender Antônia Melo Honored for Her Lifelong Struggle, October 11 2017. Amazon Watch. Retrieved: 29, November 2023.
 * “The Belo Monte Dam is literally drowning the lungs of the earth, the Amazon rainforest, and clogging its arteries, the great Amazon river that brings water and food to millions of people,”
 * " I dedicated my life to campaigning against this project, and though it has gone ahead, I will keep on fighting against what Belo Monte represents: a destructive, unsustainable and unfeasible development model.”
 * "Our people face increased violence, unemployment and misery because the government and a group of investors want to exploit our land and rivers for profit."
 * Antônia Melo Wins Alexander Soros Foundation Award for 2017, Verena Glass. International Rivers, Retrieved: 29, November 2023.