Barbara Bramble

"There were things that came together after his death that probably couldn't have if he were still alive, because they would still be fighting over whether extractive reserves should be established or not. After he was killed, there was no question. And people were still arguing about whether the people of the forest should be able to make a living and save it themselves. After his death, nobody was arguing that. It was clear that who saves forests are the people in the forest."

Adrian Cowell

"[Chico Mendes] would collect thirty or forty rubbertapper men, women, and they would go unarmed to where people were cutting down the forest - and they were usually all armed. [The rubbertappers] would surround the trees that people wanted to cut down and try to resist them nonviolently, and explain to them what a disaster it was - not only for them to cut down the forest, but it cut down the livelihood of everyone."

Tom Lovejoy

"When we started off, it was all about this or that endangered species. Quickly realized that you didn't protect endangered species without protecting their natural habitat. Then you started to worry that you couldn't have protected areas survive unless the local community was engaged. So you started to worry about the social and economic matrix in which all was set. Then you began to realize you needed to worry about forces from outside, like acid rain, distortions of nitrogen, then ultimately, climate change. That's why my profession today is no longer just conservationist or environmentalist. I'm actually sort of a planet doctor."