Rosa Vásquez Espinoza
on Tiny Life Forms
“We cannot protect what we don’t know is there.”
That means we need to become able to see the “unseeable”. Through the microscope, Rosa Vásquez Espinoza, Ph.D. is not only looking for microorganisms but trying to find out how tiny life forms determine big shifts for people and the planet. She is the curator of this “unseeable” universe most of us cannot even imagine.
Of Peruvian-Andean and Amazonian descent, Rosa grew up learning about traditional medicine from her grandmother in their backyard’s "natural pharmacy". Elders knew how to tap into nature’s resources to keep their community members alive, because “biodiversity of the Amazon does not end where the eyes meet; it’s not just the beautiful plants and exotic animals; there’s so much more life there!”
Rosa became a chemical biologist, conservationist, National Geographic Explorer, and award-winning artist, inspired to dive deeper and discover new antibiotics and green chemistry tools. As the creator of MicroAmazon, a multidisciplinary examination of the rainforest at its tiniest, she’s studying the microbes in the river’s extreme environment.
Natural hot springs and rivers are commonly associated with volcanoes, but there are no such things in Peru. Rosa was still determined to find “The Boiling River”. A two-lane road that reaches depths of 16 feet, and snakes through approximately four miles of rainforest. The home to a variety of lichens, cyanobacteria, bacteria, and other microorganisms that live in the soil. A place scientists gravitate towards due to the microbes’ medicinal value. Not an easy journey, as microbes leave behind strange traces: they are “extremophiles,” organisms able to adapt to inhospitable or extreme conditions.
Rosa keeps on travelling to the most extreme environments on the planet from the Amazon Rainforest to Yellowstone’s acidic, boiling waters searching for the tiniest creatures, from microbes to stingless bees, following these “extremophiles”. She is the Founder of Amazon Research Internacional, a for-purpose organization in Peru dedicated to advancing conservation and knowledge of Amazonian biodiversity and culture through science, capacity building, conservation policy and storytelling: “I think I’ve always thought more like an artist and I’ve been trained as a scientist.”
If we really want to protect endangered areas, we need to learn about the less obvious organisms: "they can be harmful in some ways, but in many others, they give us more superpowers.” Microbial life on Earth sustains “everything we know as life: our bodies, our waters, our oceans, our trees, our animals. By looking at the micro-life we can unlock its solutions and use that knowledge to remedy the damage we are doing”.
Thank you, Rosa, for being a Tiny Life Forms Explorer!
#INSPIRATORS QUESTIONNAIRE
Name: Rosa Vásquez Espinoza
Company / Institution: Amazon Research Internacional
Title: Founder and Executive Director
Website: www.rosavespinoza.com
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosavasqueze/
Country of origin: Peru
Country you currently live in: United Kingdom
Your personal definition of Regeneration: Living multiple lives - whether that’s upcycling and recycling, giving ourselves permission to reinvent ourselves at any point during our lives or allowing our oceans, soils and jungles to live and flourish throughout the development of humanity.
Main business challenge you face: Finding a space in mainstream media (TV, documentaries, book) to communicate important native stories from the Amazon Rainforest to bridge the gaps in knowledge.
Main driver that keeps you going: Thinking of our future generations. I would like for my grandkids to have access to beautiful and clean oceans and luscious forests.
The trait you are most proud of in yourself: Resilience.
The trait you most value in others: Fairness.
Passions & little things that bring you joy: Trying new foods, the smell of roses, playing with puppies, a good paper book.
The #inspirators who determined you to take the regenerative path:
My grandmother.
A hint or starting point for companies or professionals that are taking the first steps in the regeneration journey: Look for information obsessively, whether you prefer books, podcasts or documentaries, and listen to more than one point of view!
Most used and abused clichés in sustainability that bother you: "We plan to be carbon zero by 2030 by focusing on offsetting our carbon footprint."
Offsetting is a double-edged sword mechanism that needs to be better monitored and managed to avoid greenwashing.
An honest piece of advice for young people who lose hope: The internet lets us amplify our voices and the economy follows demand. Don’t be afraid to be loud!
Books that had a great impact on you: Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.
Must-reads for any regenerative professional: An Immense World by Ed Yong.
Movies or Documentaries you would watch all over again: The Territory.
Blogs / Websites / Podcasts you visit frequently: @rainforestpartnerships (on Instagram), treehugger.com, The Universe Within (podcast).
Music that makes you (and your heart) sing: Afro-Peruvian music, because it encompasses so much culture and history of my ancestors and highlights how much they prioritized joy and rhythm despite the challenges they had to overcome.
Places you travelled to that left a mark on you: The Amazon Rainforest, Vietnam, China.
Global Regenerative Voices you recommend us to follow:
Dr Rae Wynn-Grant
Andrés Ruzo
Callie Veelenturf
Dr Hodges Vernard
Trends in Regeneration we should keep an eye on: Microbial biotechnologies to lower methane emissions from cattle.
Best places for business networking (online or offline): LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.
Events we should attend: Any Gordon Research Conference!
Associations, business clubs, tribes you belong to – and why:
National Geographic Explorers - they bring together local leaders who believe in bringing all our passions and talents together to better understand and protect our world.
Sustainable Development or Regeneration courses, trainings, or certifications that really teach us how to have an impact: @theoxygenproj (Instagram) organized various courses.
Reasons to feel optimistic about our future in 2030: All our youth is actively thinking about climate. They are growing up in a new generation of technology and, with curiosity and courage, I believe they will continue to expand the conservation initiatives taking place around the world and bring about new bold ideas to protect and regenerate our planet!
Reasons to feel pessimistic about our future in 2030: Seeing what the 1.1C increase is already doing to our planet! I can’t imagine what the expected 3C will do by 2030!
Regenerative Leadership qualities much needed today: Creativity, there are no linear paths anymore!
The #inspirator you are endorsing for a future edition of the newsletter is:
Callie Veelenturf
The quote that inspires you:
"Nature is the source of all true knowledge. She has her own logic, her own laws, and she has no effect without cause nor invention without necessity."
(Leonardo da Vinci)
Your own quote that will inspire us:
