Widow of Dom Phillips Mobilizes Indigenous Journalists to Defend the Amazon’s Truth

December 05, 2025 – General – 

In a powerful move to honour the legacy of her late husband, British climate journalist Dom Phillips, his widow Alessandra Sampaio is working to empower a new generation of Indigenous and environmental journalists to continue reporting from the world’s largest rainforest — helping turn tragedy into resistance and hope.

Phillips and Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira were murdered in Brazil’s Amazon jungle in June 2022 while investigating illegal environmental destruction. Their deaths sparked global outrage and left a vacuum in critical reporting from remote regions long threatened by deforestation, illegal logging, and land grabbing.

Since then, Sampaio has channelled her grief into action. At the UN’s COP30 climate conference in Belém, she unveiled efforts under the banner of the newly launched Dom Phillips Institute — a platform dedicated to equipping young Indigenous leaders and community reporters with training, resources, and visibility to tell their own stories of environmental struggle, human rights, and resistance.

In her conversation with advocates at the conference, Sampaio emphasized that these young voices — often dismissed or ignored — are vital to safeguard both the Amazon and the rights of its inhabitants. “Quality information is key to continuing his mission,” she told the audience.

The initiative comes as environmental journalism remains perilous. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), only a fraction of crimes against reporters worldwide are ever resolved — a chilling reality for those working in conflict zones like the Amazon, where illicit actors and criminal networks operate with near-impunity.

By positioning Indigenous communities as the primary storytellers — rather than outsiders — the project seeks to shift not only who reports the news, but how it is framed: from exploitation and destruction toward resilience, agency, and native wisdom. For Sampaio, this isn’t just activism — it’s a deeply personal commitment to honour Phillips’s memory and ensure that his final mission lives on.

As environmental threats to the Amazon mount, the work of these new journalists could prove decisive. Their perspective — rooted in ancestral land rights and lived experience — offers a powerful counter-narrative to exploitation. If successful, the Dom Phillips Institute might become a model for how journalism, justice, and environmental activism can converge — even in the deepest, most dangerous jungles.

Reference – 

Widow of murdered reporter Dom Phillips empowers young Indigenous leaders to defend the rainforest