International conference “The Future of the Amazon” held at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB)
From October 25 to 27, 2023, the international conference “The Future of the Amazon: A New Era of Indigenous Activism, Post-Carbon Environmental Models and Latin American Alliances with China and the Global South” was held by the Orfalea Center for Global & International Studies at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), a leading institution in development and environmental sustainability issues.
As well as addressing topics such as finance and environmental policies and the situation of native communities, this forum involved the sharing of experiences between academics, environmental defenders, and young social leaders, chiefly from Brazil and Ecuador. Special attention was also placed on the impacts of China’s investments in this important region.
Professor Cynthia Sanborn, took part as a speaker representing Peru in the panel “Projects and Alliances between China and the Amazon Region: Challenges and Opportunities” alongside Dr. Carol Wise, member of the Advisory Council of the Center for China and Asia-Pacific. Studies. Dr. Sanborn is an expert in analyzing the socio-environmental impacts of Chinese investment in the Andean region, and has written and edited numerous publications, including Development Banks and Sustainability in the Andean Amazon (also published in Spanish as “La banca de desarrollo y el desarrollo sostenible: lecciones desde la Amazonía y los Andes”.
The conference also features the presentation of the book The Tropical Silk Road: The Future of China in South America (Stanford University Press).
