Written by Nicolas Francis and Habeeba Shaik
League of Storytellers
In today’s example of SUNY Geneseo’s five core values, we look at an example of a man excelling in the value of Sustainability. Many readers will not know this, but there is a horrible problem facing Peru. In the Madre de Dios region of Peru, in the Amazon rainforest, there exist some of the worst human-caused environmental issues on the planet. Muhtady Ahmed set out to change that problem. Muhtady is the Eddie Lee ’76 Ambassador in Sustainability for SUNY Geneseo in 2026. He received this honor due to his amazing work on what he calls The Amazon Project. We here at the League of Storytellers had the unique opportunity to sit down with him.
Muhtady is a driven man; he saw an injustice, and he worked to stop it. “I believe that there is constant injustice that is happening in this world right now.” He said to us. “And as Martin Luther King once said, an injustice somewhere affects justice everywhere.” He used to work for the Wildlife Conservation Society, and it is there that he thinks that his activism was stirred. He researched places where there was great injustice to animals and landed on the Madre de Dios.
In no uncertain terms, Muhtady is a noble man, and The Amazon Project is certainly a noble goal. So, what is this issue facing Peru? Illegal gold mining is spreading toxic mercury into the ecosystem of Madre de Dios, Peru. As Muhtady put it, this “10 Million Dollar criminal industry” is “harming not only the food chain, but also the indigenous communities that live there.” Now Muhtady doesn’t “intend to just take down this $10 million criminal industry.” But he believes “this research can aid in providing the proof as to what is actually going on.” So “that we can start finally helping the people that need it, as well as the ecosystem.” He plans to provide this proof to the relevant authorities and finally make a real change in the region. During the course of this project, which will take place in late May and last around 10 weeks, Muhtady will be collaborating with Hoja Nueva to gather environmental data that sheds light on the impact of illegal gold mining. This will include deploying “camera traps to observe population patterns among apex predators of that region, which are typically like jaguars.” And also “testing the water quality of affected water sources for mercury and metals.” His main goal is to attain essential data that will showcase the exact negative effects this particular region of Peru is facing and bring awareness to what is happening to the people, the children, and the animals, as well as the effects on their health, which have been seen to decline due to the poisoning from the industry’s efforts. He plans to highlight their stories, as they cannot usually speak for themselves. All of this is working to answer the question “How might we translate scientific data into enforceable policy and land protection measures, to reduce environmental health risks for all species?” and to solve this horrible problem. His research question focuses on how scientific data can translate into enforceable land policy and land protection measures for the people and animals in Madre de Dios, Peru, in the Amazon Rainforest region.
Hopefully, Muhtady’s research will finally provide the real proof needed to make a change in this beautiful slice of Earth’s unique ecosystem. We will all be rooting for him.
Looking toward the future, the sophomore definitely finds himself motivated to go on this journey and make such an impact on the local communities of Madre de Dios. When asked about one piece of advice he would give to students who are inspired by his story and wish to be involved in a program like his, Muthady responded, “I know we all want to like help with something or this or that, whatever may be in our hearts…It doesn’t matter because all that matters for our world is our actions…if you have the will and desire to do it, I believe that you should go out and chase it.” If you would like to see a snippet of his interview or the full thing, please check our website over at https://storytellers.geneseo.sunycreate.cloud/ or our Instagram page @storytellerleague.
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