NGM APRIL 2025 
THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC 33
 
National Geographic’s inaugural annual list of 33 changemakers with the ideas and the influence to make our world a better place. From household names to up-and-comers, these 33 individuals are leading the way in conservation, science, policy, storytelling, exploration, and more. They are people whose ideas and actions are making a material difference for us and our planet now. Other features in this issue include:
• The Congo Basin, Earth’s “second lung,” is at a crossroads. While its forest coverage comes second to the Amazon’s, the African rainforest may fix more carbon annually than its South American counterpart. This is one of the many research projects that a new generation of African scientists is taking part in, to shed light on a region that for decades has remained largely overlooked.
• Sturgeons were once so abundant in America’s rivers that early European settlers claimed they could walk across the water on their backs. Now, they are the most threatened group of fishes on the planet.