Indigenous people play an invaluable role in the protection of nature and our partnership with Nature and Culture in Ecuador will support their efforts to defend their land and wildlife. Credit: Gandy Grefa/Nature and Culture International
For thousands of years, the Ecuadorian Amazon has been the ancestral home of Indigenous communities. But today, they are under threat from oil exploration, illegal gold mining, the destruction of their sacred sites, and repeated acts of intimidation.
But with our appeal, Protecting the Ecuadorian Amazon, you can support them as they work to safeguard the extraordinary wildlife and habitats of northeast Ecuador.
Oil infrastructure is on the increase across Ecuador, including here on the banks of the Rio Napo River in the Orellana Province. Credit: Sebastián Benalcazar/ Nature and Culture International
The first people and the first guardians
The edges of the Amazon were once thought of as civilisation’s last outpost, a final frontier beyond which lay wild nature. The story goes that the Amazon must have long been untouched by human activity to be so rich in life. But we now know that this is far from the truth.
The first humans arrived in the Amazon region around 13,000 years ago and have been present ever since, diversifying into over 380 ethnic groups. Sacred sites formed, rich in myth and legend. These include the cave art of the Lindosa Mountain Range in Colombia – a spine-tingling window 12,500 years into the past. In this “Sistine Chapel of the ancients”, thousands of ochre-red sketches are scrawled for eight miles across the rockface. Together, they recall a time when now-extinct Ice Age mammals – giant sloths and Ice Age horses – roamed the more savannah-like landscape.
Once thought of as an unpeopled wilderness, a wealth of evidence – from remote archaeological digs to satellite remote sensing technology – now suggests that, before the arrival of Europeans, the Amazon basin held at least 8-10 million people. Credit: Sebastián Benalcazar/ Nature and Culture International
New evidence from the most remote corners of the Amazon is also revealing vast ancient cities that, in their ingenuity and complexity, rival any of the Roman Empire. For example, a 2,500-year-old site in eastern Ecuador that housed at least 10,000 people, complete with roads and farms. The influence of these ancient civilisations rings loudly into the present day, with Brazil Nut (Bertholletia excelsa) trees and Cacao (Theobroma cacao) trees being five times more common across the Amazon Basin than would be expected from chance alone. Far from being an isolated wilderness, the Amazon is a region that has been shaped and formed by human activity.
For many of the Amazon’s inhabitants – whether hunter-gatherers or ancient city dwellers – this land was more than just a forest – it was a living conscious being. Humans were not separate from or superior to this world, but as much a part of it as the Agami Heron (Agamia agami) or the Military Macaw (Ara militaris). The rivers and the trees were intricately woven into their culture, songs, rituals, and dances. With such a strong sense of belonging, it is little wonder that they were the Amazon’s first guardians, safeguarding sacred sites from destruction, cultivating unique varieties of agricultural crops, and practicing sustainable farming techniques like agroforestry.
A world fully alive – Indigenous people’s beliefs are often based on animism, where everything from the rocks to thunderstorms and birds to butterflies possess a unique soul, with agency and free will. Credit: Sebastián Benalcazar/ Nature and Culture International
Partnering with the Amazon’s Indigenous defenders
This autumn, we are raising funds to enable our partner Nature and Culture in Ecuador to support Indigenous communities – including the Kichwa and the Waorani – to create a vast Provincial Protected Area within Ecuador’s Orellana Province.
Crucially, the Indigenous communities will not just be beneficiaries of this project but active partners in its development together with representatives from the provincial government. Nature and Culture in Ecuador will lead on technical support, making sure that all meetings follow Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC). FPIC ensures that all communities are given sufficient time and information to consider any proposals and are not unduly influenced in any way. With this in place, the boundaries of the protected area and its management will be co-created by the Indigenous people, reflecting their needs, values, and traditional territories.
“Working with Indigenous communities is vital for conservation because they have a connection with nature that goes beyond our understanding. For them, conservation isn’t just about protecting a certain species or a specific area; it’s about safeguarding the very essence of the forest, which they see as the source of life, culture, health, and strength.”
– Nora Sánchez Luzardo, Senior Latin American Communications Coordinator at Nature and Culture in Ecuador
Through Free, Prior, and Informed Consent, the new Provincial Protected Area will reflect the needs of all members of the Indigenous communities including the Rumipamba community shown here. Credit: Daniel Sanmartín/ Nature and Culture International
Excitingly, this project will also create fertile ground for shared learning between the Indigenous communities. At the El Eden Women’s Association for example, the Kichwa community are using a unique and ancient farming system – the Amazonian chakra – to produce sustainable goods for the local community and eco-tourism. Each chakra can contain up to 150 plants, combining both trees, crops, and medicinal plants, all while preserving soil health and providing habitat for a wealth of wildlife.
As a key facilitator in this work, NCE draw upon their extensive experience working closely with Indigenous and local communities across Ecuador to generate conservation outcomes that work for all. In fact, NCE have already helped Indigenous communities to successfully secure an impressive 4.1 million hectares (10.1 million acres) across three of the Ecuadorian Amazon’s southernmost provinces as part of the Amazon Platform initiative. The support they provide is uniquely tailored to each community’s needs, but includes helping with capacity building, amplifying the voices of Indigenous leaders, and supporting ecological restoration.
By donating to our Protecting the Ecuadorian Amazon appeal, you will support this critical work to protect the rights of the Indigenous people and the Ecuadorian Amazon.
Learn more about this appeal, and how you can help, here.
