IT ALWAYS SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE
UNTIL IT'S DONE

Nelson Mandela

The Black Jaguar Foundation is planting trees in Brazil to restore the balance between nature and mankind. Planting trees improves the life of each of us and all future generations on our earth. We all have the power to change.

OUR MISSION

OUR AMBASSADORS

OUR TEAM

OUR MISSION

OUR AMBASSADORS

OUR TEAM

OUR OFFICES

NO RISK, NO LIFE

Q&A

OUR OFFICES

NO RISK, NO LIFE

Q&A

OUR MISSION

RESTORING THE AMAZON RAINFOREST AND CERRADO SAVANNA

OUR MISSION

RESTORING THE AMAZON RAINFOREST AND CERRADO SAVANNA

The Black Jaguar Foundation started in 2009, its initial goal making a unique documentary about the black jaguar in the wild – a dream of initiator Ben Valks. During his numerous expeditions it was not the black jaguar he encountered, but the drastically deforested Amazon. Inspired by the powerful documentary ‘HOME’ by Yann Arthus-Bertrand and its message that ‘we all have the power to change’, the BJF has expanded its mission. Ben has since devoted his life to restoring the Amazon rainforest and Cerrado savanna through the BJF.

Instead of being the focus of the foundation, the black jaguar came to be its icon. It symbolizes the precarious future of the entire Amazon and Cerrado as well as the endangerment of our own species. Now, our sole focus is tree planting and the restoration of biodiversity.

PEOPLE

OUR AMBASSADORS

Koen
Vanmechelen

Conceptual artist

H.R.H.
Princess Basma bint Ali

Global Environmentalist

Prof. Dr. Jan
van Hooff

Science Supervisor
at Burgers’ Zoo

Kees
Rijnhout

Owner of Jaguar,
the fresh (fruit) company

Shannon O’Leary Joy

President, EarthSense Foundation

Nalden

Co-owner of WeTransfer

Tarcila
Ursini

Board member,
Sustainability, Strategy, Innovation, People & Culture

MEET OUR CORE TEAM

Our dedicated core team is a mix of professionals, working fulltime to bring our dream of conservation into reality. The BJF core team works both in the field in the Corridor and/or at one of our offices.

Ben
Valks

Initiator

Joël
Boele

Community Outreach Coordinator

Eric
Schoorl

Campaign Coordinator

Carol
Sacramento

Development Coordinator

Kaléo
Pereira

Restoration Analyst

Eduardo Carlos
Oliveira

Field Coordinator

Dimitrio
Schievenin

Project Coordinator

Piet-Hein
Goossens

Finance Consultant

André
Lopes

Human Resources Coordinator

Clarissa
Sciarra

Geoprocessing Analyst

OUR FIELD TEAM

Our field team is made up of over 120 hard-working individuals, most of which have lived in or near our restoration sites for a big part of their lives. They are the ones on the ground, working hard to make the Araguaia Biodiversity Corridor a reality on a daily basis. By working at the Black Jaguar Foundation, members of the field team are able to earn a living wage while helping to preserve the environment that they live in and depend on.

OUR ADVISORY BOARD

Our advisory board consists of 7 highly experienced individuals, providing a wealth of knowledge from the worlds of Finance, Law, Sustainability, Environmental Research, Strategy & Agribusiness.

Camila
Lefèvre

Partner, Vieira Rezende Advogados

Fernando A.
Simões Filho

Managing Partner, Bemtevi Investimento Social

Fernando
Bedaque

Partner
Denmark, Rossi, Beraldo & Bedaque Advocacia

Sheilla Pereira
Albuquerque

COO South & Southeast
Agrogalaxy

Marcello
Brito

President
ABAG (Brazilian Agribusiness Association)

Ingo
Isernhagen

PHD Researcher
Embrapa

Rebecca
Raposo

Founding Partner
RR Strategy

OUR TECHNICAL ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION COMMITTEE

Our Technical Committee is composed of four qualified specialists from different areas, and two of BJF’s forest engineers. They are currently giving their input and advice on our plans to drastically scale up our field operations during the planting seasons for the next 5 years.

Our team of professional volunteers

Meet our amazing and ever-growing team of successful professionals from all over the world. They contribute their time, talent and services free of charge or work at charitable rates to help us plant trees.

Meet our amazing and ever growing team of successful professionals from all over the world. They contribute their time, talent and services free of charge or work at charitable rates.

Alex Vermeule – Alexey Neischenko – Ana Paula Aquino – Angel Garcia-Rojo – Anouk Kuiper – Anton Theunissen – Ashley Aslett – Babette Zwager – Bart Greve – Bart Jenezon – Berry Philippa – Bianco Nijhoff – Brenda Smeenge – Camila Tubino Bandeira – Cees Berkhout – Cherie McDonald – Chris Tap – Claire King – Constantijn de Longh – Daisy Longden – Daniel Hillel-Tuch – Daniel Oscar Hunter – David Velt – Davy van der Elsken – Derek Gallo – Dietmar Dahmen – Dwight Groot – Eelco Wisman – Ellen Windemuth – Elvire Jaspers – Emmelie Zipson – Eric Steuten – Esther Lapère – Eveline Dietz – Farhad Massoudi – Fatima Del Carmen Lopez – Fernando Bedaque – Flavia da Cruz Carneiro – Flávia Frazão – Floris de Clerque – Floris Wouterson – Fred Porro – Geert Sonnemans – Gerard Nieveen – Gijs van Kampen – Gina van Dijk – Hans Idema – Hans Knoop – Hans Lutz – Hans Simons – Heidi Little – Herman Witkam – Ingeborg van Bruggen – Ingrid Valks – Irene Andrea – Isabelle Delannoy – Jacqueline Goffart – Jack Myasushkin – Jan Coppelmans – Jan Willem Lokerman – Jeanette aan de Stegge – Jeroen Otter – Jessica Benedictus – Joao S. de Queiroz – João Bosco Paulo Carneiro – John Kappel – Jolanda Treffers – Joris Vos – Junior Afraino Machabo – Juliano Lissano – Kurt Kelly – Leonie Roos – Maaike Gonzàlez – Maaike Veen – Marieke van der Heijden – Mario Dos Santos Cabreira – Martijn van Rooij – Martin Nijdam – Matthijs van Schendelen – Menfis Alves – Merel van Beeren – Michael Hekking – Michelle Bade – Michelle Johnson – Leonie Roos – Natascha Wouterson – Natasja de Winter – Nicole Bekhuis – Nuño Negroes – Paco Valks – Pascale Fuchs – Patrick Wachner – Paul Feenstra – Peter Vosters – Peter Baas – Philip Jan Meijer – Philippe van den Weghe – Randy McNamara – Raymond Badoux – Remco de Boer – Rob Burkhard – Roberta Carminati – Roelof ten Broeke – Ronald Kip – Ru van Meeteren – Sjoerd van Schaaijk – Sonja de Vries – Suzanne Bergman – Tanya Lyabik – Tatjana Medvedev – Thaís Sabino – Thijs Gerritsen – Thomas Roos – Ton van der Meer – Tulio Dornas – Virginia Hamilton – Vladyslav Kadlubytskyy – Willem van Riet – Yann Arthus-Bertrand – Yoska van der Harten