Exports from Amazonia

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Born in Brazil and educated at Harvard, Forgach was an investment banker and an oil trader in the U.S. and Europe. He also bred Latin American macaws--a pursuit that grew into a Swiss organization that protects endangered tropical birds. In 1995 he returned to Brazil and founded an organization that returns illegally confiscated animals, like macaws and yellow-throated crocodiles, to their natural habitats. While in search of a private forest preserve to relocate a pack of primates, Forgach learned that many preserves in the Amazon were going bankrupt because of poor management. That took him to Banco Axial. "I went from thinking like an environmental romantic to an environmental pragmatic," says Forgach.

Altogether, A2R has invested about $100 million in its first year of operation, and expects to invest $400 million more by 2006. The A2R fund that invested in the Muana hearts-of-palm operation aims to generate a 20% annual return over its 10-year life span. Most of its portfolio is in organic foods, now a global industry with $20 billion in annual sales. "When I began A2R, I never imagined the impact it would have on people," says Forgach. "My office is filled with photos of smiling kids." And so far, his investors are smiling too.

To learn more about Forgach or investing in the Amazon, visit our website at time.com/global