Adam Gebb Male • United States of America

Adam Gebb is a conservation strategist who has devoted his career to solving critical landscape connectivity issues, primarily through collaborations with Indigenous and rural communities. As the Executive Director of the Andes Amazon Conservancy, he collaborates closely with Indigenous nations in Ecuador to safeguard essential wildlife migration corridors linking the Andes and the Amazon. With over 30 years of experience in wildlands conservation, Adam has led various wildlife migration and corridor studies and created innovative strategies to preserve ecological integrity while supporting local community development.

Born and raised in New York City, Adam initially pursued a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis on International Marketing at Northeastern University in Boston. However, his passion for environmental conservation led him to shift his focus, and in 1989, he furthered his studies in ethnoecology and tropical ecology at San Francisco State University. His journey took him to Northern Thailand, where he gained invaluable firsthand experience with tropical ecosystems and learned about the deep connections between Indigenous communities and their environments.

During his time in Thailand, Gebb witnessed a significant disconnect between government-led conservation efforts and the needs of local communities. This experience profoundly reshaped his perspective on conservation and reinforced his belief that lasting environmental solutions must prioritize the involvement of Indigenous peoples, who have long stewarded these landscapes. His approach to conservation is now centered around empowering communities through collaborative strategies that protect biodiversity and maintain the ecological processes crucial for sustaining future generations.

In 2018, Adam Gebb moved to Ecuador to establish the Andes Amazon Conservancy, an organization dedicated to preserving the world's most biodiverse rainforests. By partnering with Indigenous nations like the Shuar, Kichwa, Shiwiar, and Sapara, he works to protect their lands while also promoting sustainable development. Under his leadership, the organization is working toward creating a 300-kilometer wildlife migration corridor that will reconnect the Amazon rainforest with the Andes Mountains, facilitating the free movement of wildlife across vital habitats.

Adam's work emphasizes the importance of landscape connectivity, which involves creating conservation networks that allow wildlife to migrate freely between critical areas. This principle is especially vital in the Amazon, where habitat fragmentation caused by deforestation and infrastructure development threatens ecosystems. Through Indigenous-led conservation and land use planning, Adam is helping to implement strategies that go beyond conventional scientific approaches, leveraging the wisdom of local communities to ensure both ecological sustainability and human well-being.

Food sovereignty plays a central role in Gebb's conservation efforts in Ecuador. Many Indigenous communities in the region have seen their traditional food sources lost due to deforestation and infrastructure development. Adam works with local leaders to integrate sustainable agriculture and edible forests into conservation land use plans to establish networks supporting wildlife migration and food security. His work empowers local communities while preserving vital ecosystems, ensuring that people and wildlife coexist harmoniously.

A significant accomplishment of Adam Gebb's work is the Edible Forest Program, which he leads to restore fragmented rainforests by planting diverse forest corridors with native fruit, nut, and edible palm trees. This initiative tackles two essential challenges: conserving biodiversity and addressing food insecurity. By promoting ecological connectivity and providing communities with access to nutritious food, the program supports local populations and protects the Amazon's fragile ecosystems.