Rebeca Atencia (Fundación Jane Goodall): "Tú eres importante, cada gesto en cada día, cuenta"

Rebeca Atencia, representing Jane Goodall's legacy, emphasized today that conservation and environmental protection is not a utopia, but a real possibility driven by hope. Reflecting on Africa, Atencia stated that together, we can strive for sustainable development for this planet, as it belongs to all of us. Goodall's philosophy of action guided her work defending orangutans, and similarly, Atencia followed in her footsteps, carrying on Dian Fossey's legacy with mountain gorillas.

Atencia urged that each person matters, every action in every day counts, and one can make the world a better place to live in. In Madrid, Atencia participated in the opening ceremony of the EXPANSIÓN GreenWorld and Sustainability events, hosted by various organizations such as Moeve, Airmagic, Ence, Engie, Grifols, Heineken, Iberdrola, L'Oréal, PwC, Radisson Hotels, Redeia, Universidad Europea, and Veolia.

Atencia shared her personal and professional journey in Africa, detailing her struggles with limited resources, wild animals, and diseases like malaria. Despite the hardships, Atencia gained valuable life lessons she wishes to share with the world.

Atencia traced her path back to her childhood in Galicia, where she loved animals and science from a young age, inspired by Fossey and a popular game called Micronova. As the sixth of seven siblings, she spent much time playing in an eucalyptus forest near her home, which was destroyed by fire when she was six years old. This tragedy instilled in her a strong sense of life and how small actions can influence others and humanity at large.

Her veterinarian studies were inspired by Jaime, a forest ranger who saved all the animals in the forest, took them home, and later reintroduced them back into nature. Atencia pursued veterinary studies, specializing in wild animals, and eventually received a call to work on an orangutan reintroduction program. In the dense jungle, she learned to communicate with them, observe their behavior, and protect them.

Living in a wooden house in the middle of nowhere, Atencia fell in love with the jungle, realizing that we are all part of nature.

She learned to avoid elephants, handle malaria, and even cared for a dominant, injured chimpanzee named Kutu for 15 days. This experience taught her the importance of connecting with non-human species and building trust. Atencia also identified trees and taught local people their names. One day while marking a tree, Kutu, an aggressive chimpanzee, jumped on her and bit her head. Thinking he saved her life, Kutu became her lifelong companion.

This experience led Atencia to work with Jane Goodall, following Goodall's advice to never lose sight of the objective. Together, they tackled habitat loss and fragmentation, forming local people in wildlife welfare, reintroducing orangutans to forest islands, and running education programs for sustainable development and local and national government support. Atencia concluded that with these efforts, we can save the jungle, orangutans, and countless other species.