For thirty years, biologist David Campbell has been exploring the lush vistas of the far western Amazon. He has traveled hundreds of miles into the rain forest to survey every living plant in a land so rich that an area of less than 50 acres contains three times as many tree species as in all of North America.
Along the way, Campbell came to know the people, who eke out a living in this remote land where abundance is in jeopardy. He also confronted marvelous and dangerous animals and insects. Now, he has emerged with a difficult message: there is a dark inevitability to the fall of this basin of life.
Hear a conversation with biologist David Campbell about Amazonia’s wild western frontier.
Guests:
David G. Campbell, professor of biology at Grinnell College in Iowa and author of the new book, “Land of Ghosts: The Braided Lives of People and the Forest in Far Western Amazonia.”
