At a glance:
- Jaime Toro, Coordinator of the Amazonian office at Nature and Culture in Ecuador, tells us about his work with Indigenous communities and the Ecuadorian government to create collaborative conservation efforts.
- Learn about the biggest threats to the Ecuadorian Amazon and how conservation can counteract them.
- Understand the deep connection Indigenous communities have with their rainforest home.
- Discover how your donations to our autumn appeal can help to protect Orellana and create the biggest connectivity corridor in Ecuador.
“The best way to create inclusive conservation is through trust, and the more dialogue between the Indigenous cultures and the governments, the more we can generate that trust. That’s what I like most about my job.”
– Jaime Toro
WLT: Can you tell us about your connection to the Ecuadorian Amazon?
Jaime: I have been working for Nature and Culture in Ecuador since 2011. When the organisation created the Amazon office in the province of Pastaza, they chose me to oversee it and our activities in this part of the Amazon. The office has really grown as we now have projects in Pastaza, Napo, Orellana and others.
My first connection with nature came from my studies as a forest engineer. When I started with Nature and Culture in Ecuador, I realised how important the protection of natural resources is for local people. Working in the Amazon, I have really learned the value of nature due to my relationship with the Indigenous Nationalities, as they have such a strong connection to everything the forest gives them. We have so much to learn from the role they play in protecting this land.
Indigenous Nationalities have lived in the Ecuadorian Amazon for thousands of years. Their ancestral knowledge is key to protecting the forests there.
Credit: Gandy Grefa/NCI
WLT: From your experience working in the Amazon, what changes and threats have you seen in the region?
Jaime: There are several things we can see happening in the Amazon. One is the growth of the farming frontier. More people are farming and cutting down trees to install these farms, which causes environmental degradation. Another is the opening of roads without proper planning, but one of the biggest concerns is destructive activities such as oil and mining. This harms the natural resources of the Amazon and impacts negatively on the Indigenous people that live there.
WLT: Considering these threats, how does Nature and Culture in Ecuador approach conservation?
Jaime: As an organisation our premise is that conservation is to protect natural and cultural resources, but at the same time contribute to improving quality of life for local people. That is specifically important in the Amazon as most of the population are Indigenous Peoples. So, we have been working very closely with the subnational government and Indigenous groups. This is something we are very focused on with the Amazon Platform for Forest, Climate, and Human Wellbeing Initiative.
Jaime with colleagues and community members during a recent site visit to Orellana. Credit: Sebastián Benalcazar/NCI.
WLT: Through our autumn appeal, supporters will help to create a protected area in Orellana, which will in turn expand the Amazon Platform. Why is Orellana a key area for the Platform to extend into?
Jaime: Through the Platform, we have already created three Provincial Protected Areas and brought 4.2 million hectares under protection status. We feel it’s the right time to add Orellana to this initiative, because we already have established processes in those other provinces and because our final goal is to create the biggest connectivity corridor in Ecuador. By adding Orellana, we will reach 5.5 million hectares of protected tropical forest (That’s an area over twice the size of Wales.)
It’s also important to highlight that before these subnational initiatives the protected areas in Ecuador were scattered, so with the Amazon Platform we are seeking to connect these areas to protect the Amazon for the future. Orellana is key to the project because it connects to the southern provinces of the Amazon Platform and to national protected areas such as Yascuni National Park.
Jaime and team enjoying a traditional meal while visiting the El Eden Kichwa community. Credit: Sebastián Benalcazar/NCI.
WLT: You’ve mentioned Indigenous people and their connection to the forest. How significant is the Ecuadorian Amazon for these communities, and why is it so important that they’re involved in conservation efforts?
Jaime: While the Amazonian basin in general is very important for all Indigenous people, the Ecuadorian Amazon has gone a step forward because in 1992 the Ecuadorian state acknowledged the property of these collective territories in the name of the Indigenous peoples.
The forest is not only their house but where they find everything they need to survive and live in harmony with the land – it’s their pharmacy, their local market. They have been caring for it for generations.
Historically, protected areas have been established without a proper process of consultation – so Indigenous people haven’t really been involved in the decision-making for conservation of their territories.
Now that we have the Amazon Platform everything goes through a detailed consultation process. This creates trust between the Indigenous organisations and subnational governments, as both actors have the same level of position in defining and managing the protected area.
WLT: So, it sounds like collaboration is really at the heart of the project?
Jaime: Yes, it is exactly that. It’s about trying to unify and find common ground in the planning of the provincial government and the planning of each Indigenous people. It’s an exercise of collaboration, of co-governance, and of trust, to make decisions together.
The best way to create inclusive conservation is through trust, and the more dialogue between the Indigenous cultures and the governments, the more we can generate that trust. That’s what I like most about my job.
The new protected area in Orellana will preserve vital standing forest in direct partnership with the indigenous communities that call it home. Credit: Daniel Sanmartin/NCI.
WLT: What message would you share with people considering donating to this appeal?
Jaime: It’s urgent to develop conservation initiatives in Orellana because 84% of the area is still intact forest. Within this percentage, about 800,000 hectares currently don’t have any protected status even though Orellana hosts a huge amount of natural and cultural richness.
The work we’ve been implementing with the Amazon Platform is paying off, and these subnational initiatives are succeeding in creating conservation that is born from collaboration. This gives me hope to be able to replicate this in Orellana.
Each trip we take to Orellana is a new adventure. We get to admire a diversity of species, which is of course wonderful, but most importantly for me, we meet Indigenous people who are approaching conservation with strength and responsibility.
With the support of WLT, we can expand the Amazon Platform and help Indigenous communities safeguard their land in Orellana for generations to come.
Learn more about our Protecting the Ecuadorian Amazon appeal here.
