This event features Barbara Frazer and Fr. Alejandro Marina both of Maryknoll. 

This will offer an overview of the threats facing the Amazon, actions that Indigenous and other Amazonian communities are taking to defend this fragile and spectacular part of creation, and how their struggle is part of a global web of actions in which Maryknollers around the world are also involved.  Providing 20% of the planet’s freshwater, the Amazon is home to a wide array of both biological and cultural diversity. Yet most of its human residents lack access to safe drinking water, and the basin’s hydrological cycle, which plays a crucial role in regulating the global climate, is threatened by human activities that cause deforestation and ecosystem degradation, exacerbated by climate change. Amid the uncertainty, the greatest hope can be found at the grassroots, where Indigenous people, especially women, stand up courageously to defend their territories, and communities, often involving church people, organize to protect the ecosystems on which all Amazonian life depends.  Following on the topic, Fr. Alejandro will expand on this theme by introducing a model for maintaining the delicate “balances” that sustain life in the Amazon and across the planet. He will highlight the very real threats to these balances and explore how our collective efforts can help counter the challenges facing this vital part of our planet.

A freelance journalist with more than 30 years of experience in Latin America, Barbara Fraser has reported from across the hemisphere—from migrant routes in southern Mexico to Indigenous communities confronting oil contamination in the Amazon. Based in Peru since 1989, she specializes in environmental, public health, and Indigenous issues. Her work has appeared in Nature, Science, The Lancet, National Geographic, Mongabay, EcoAméricas, Discover, and Catholic media outlets.  She holds a B.A. in Communication Arts/Journalism from the University of Dayton and a master’s in environmental studies from Green Mountain College.

Fr. Alejandro Marina, M.M. A Maryknoll priest from Argentina, Fr. Alejandro Marina has devoted his life to mission across Latin America. After joining Maryknoll in 2012, he became the first foreign-born priest to take a permanent oath in 2020. Ordained in 1993, he has served as diocesan mission director, ministered in Cuba, and directed the Maryknoll Missionary Center for Latin America in Cochabamba while teaching anthropology. He currently works in the Bolivian Amazon, focusing on social justice, pastoral ministry, ecological restoration, and mission formation, including reforestation and sustainable development initiatives carried out in partnership with local communities.