Martín von Hildebrand

Dr. Martín von Hildebrand is an ethnologist and anthropologist who has led efforts to secure indigenous territorial rights and the protection of the Colombian Amazon tropical forest. He has been awarded the Right Livelihood Award, the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship and The Order of the Golden Ark in recognition of his work with Fundacion Gaia Amazonas and the COAMA program.

Known as an activist for indigenous rights, cultural and ecological diversity, his work in both government and non-government sectors have led to more than 26 million hectares of the Colombian Amazon territory being officially handed back to the local indigenous inhabitants enabling indigenous organisations to manage their own education, health and other programs through local governance and state policy decentralisation. Hildebrand established in 1990 the COAMA program, winner of the Right Livelihood Award, and is founding Director of the NGO Fundación Gaia Amazonas, ranked #40 among the top 100 NGOs of the world by the Global Journal.

Martín von Hildebrand, a nationalized Colombian, was born in New York City on 26 January 1943. He moved to Colombia in 1948 when his parents, Franz von Hildebrand (son of philosopher Dietrich von Hildebrand ) and Deirdre Mulcahy, were invited to Bogotá to establish the University de los Andes. He spent his childhood living with his family in the building that is today the University’s Law Faculty.

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