Brazil, Brazil (AP) — A friend has committed to finishing the project after British journalist Dom Phillips was tragically shot while researching a vital book aimed at protecting the world’s largest rainforest. Three years later, the work has come to fruition.
“How to Save Amazon” was released on Tuesday in Brazil and the UK, with a US launch set for June 10th. The book was crafted by fellow journalists who delved into Phillips’ notes, outlines, and several chapters he had initially written. It weaves together their contributions and Phillips’ original writing into a compelling investigation of the circumstances surrounding his life.
A core team completed the book, with additional support from peers like Associated Press journalists Fabiano Mayzonabe and David Biller, who assisted in editing various chapters.
AP Audio: A journalist was killed while writing a book on Amazon. This is how friends completed his work
According to Associated Press correspondent Charles de Ledesma, following the murder of journalist Dom Phillips while he pursued a crucial book on the Amazon, a friend vowed to bring the project to completion. Three years later, they succeeded.
A regular contributor to the Guardian, Phillips was on one of the final reporting trips planned for his book when he and a fisherman were shot on June 5, 2022. Habari Valley in the West Amazon. Bruno Pereira, an indigenous Brazilian expert who worked tirelessly to protect the community from various threats, was also killed. Their deaths garnered headlines around the globe, and nine individuals have been indicted for murder.
“It was an incredibly horrifying and sad moment. Everyone was left pondering: can this book address this tragedy?”
Signs read in Portuguese “Dom and Bruno Justice,” featuring images of British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira, during protests in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2022.
With the support of Phillips’ widow, Alessandra Sampaio, five friends agreed to continue the project. The group, led by Watts, also included Andrew Fishman, president of Rio-based Intercept Brazil, Phillips’ agent Rebecca Carter, David Davis, a London-based music journalist, and Tom Hennigan, a former Latin American correspondent for the Irish era.
“It wasn’t merely about what transpired; it was a way to move forward, especially since many of Dom’s friends are journalists,” Watts remarked. “And returning to what you know best is journalism.”
An Unfinished Exploration of Rainforest Solutions
At the time of his passing, Phillips had traveled extensively throughout the Amazon, completing introductions and turning four out of the ten planned chapters into nearly finished products. He left behind an overview of the remaining chapters along with pages of notes and details at varying stages of completeness.
“It’s reasonable to say that even Dom was uncertain about what he would include in those chapters,” Watts noted.
Phillips was in search of hope. He envisioned a character-driven travelogue that would introduce readers to the diverse individuals residing in the region.
The group led by Watts chose writers for the remaining chapters, covering topics from Brazil’s bioeconomic initiatives to global financing for rainforest conservation efforts. Beto Malbo, a leader from the Habari Valley indigenous peoples, contributed to co-writing the afterword. They also successfully launched a crowdfunding campaign to finance additional reporting trips.
A significant challenge for the team was to ensure that the book accurately reflected the political shifts in Brazil’s stance towards the Amazon in the years following Phillips’ death. Most of Phillips’ research was conducted during the term of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, when Amazon deforestation hit a record high for the first time in 15 years in 2021. The rate of destruction decreased after Bolsonaro’s defeat in 2022 by leftist leader Luis Inácio Lula da Silva.
Fragments of Hope amidst Stark Realities
Throughout the more than 300 pages of the completed manuscript, shards of hope intertwine with grim reality. In Chapter 2, “Cattle Chaos,” Phillips observes that 16% of the Brazilian Amazon has already been turned into pastureland. Even farmers who have been role models for enhancing productivity without clearing excessive land have faced criticism for their extensive fertilizer usage.
In his chapter on bioeconomics, journalist Jon Lee Anderson explores a planting initiative with Benki Piyako, Ashainka leaders, who blend ayahuasca treatment with fish farming to foster environmental renewal. However, he questions the scalability and reproducibility of such methods in light of human threats and climate change.
Later in the chapter, he cites Marek Hanusch, a German economist at the World Bank: “Ultimately, deforestation is a macroeconomic decision, and as long as Brazil’s growth model relies on agriculture, the encroachment into the Amazon will persist.”
In the introduction, the team of five stated, “Like Dom, none of us delude ourselves into thinking we can save the Amazon, but we can follow his example by reaching out to those we may know.”
However, the manuscript, while tinged with dread and limited hope, conveys another essential message. According to Watts, “Above all, this represents solidarity among our friends and journalism as a whole.”
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Source: apnews.com