A journey down the Paraguay River
In 2019, Jeff co-founded Rostros del Río (Faces of the River), a multidisciplinary campaign to raise awareness surrounding the biocultural value of the Paraguay River. Over the course of six months, Jeff and project partner, Henry Maillet, rowed a traditional wooden rowboat down the Paraguay River, exploring the unique environmental challenges faced by riverside communities along the way.
In 2020, the expedition’s research was published by WWF’s Climate Crowd Initiative, and in 2021, Jeff completed the fundraising and co-production of an hour-long documentary film, Rostros del Río, which is currently being screened in Paraguay.
“There is a disconnect between what’s happening at the policy level and what’s actually happening on the ground… And I think that’s where initiatives like Rostros del Río can be really helpful to bridge that gap.”
- Nikhil Advani, WWF Director, Climate, Communities, and Wildlife
Climate Research
River communities around the world are experiencing the impacts of climate change, with shifting seasons and temperatures, reduced access to water, diminishing food production, degradation of freshwater fisheries, and added costs on business operations. In partnership with World Wildlife Fund, Henry Maillet and Jeff Wong carried out on-the-ground research, collecting testimonial data on local climate change adaptation along 1,300km of the Paraguay River. Over the course of the expedition, they completed 44 surveys with local participants of varying professions and backgrounds in rural and urban communities.