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Saving Millions of Acres in the Upper Amazon
They call themselves Earth Defenders. They are women living in the Amazon Rainforest fighting to protect their land from illegal mining, poaching, and other threats.
“We want the world to know that there are women willing to fight for our land. Women trying to leave a legacy for our children,” said Alexandra Narvaez of the A’l Kofan community of Sinangoe in the upper Amazon.
From being the first woman to join her community's land patrol to helping win a landmark case before Ecuador's constitutional court, Alexandra is a powerful example of what women can do in the Amazon.
Strength in Numbers
With the support of Daughters for Earth, Alexandra and other women leaders are launching the Women’s Resistance program, which is working to protect five million acres of rainforest across more than 80 Indigenous communities.
Rather than each community working on its own, the Women's Resistance helps women in the region speak with one voice. The effort is being coordinated by the Indigenous organization, the Ceibo Alliance, which provides everything from leadership training to support for land patrols and women-led eco-tourism businesses.
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The Amazon Matters A LOT!
"The world’s largest rainforest!"
"Home to 10% of all earth's animals!"
When it comes to the Amazon Rainforest, this isnt' hype!
But the Amazon is about more than mind-blowing numbers. It's vital to the survival of the people who live there and the billions who do not.
Every day, millions of Indigenous Peoples are struggling to protect their communities from the relentless threat of miners, loggers, industrial farmers, and others. But our Indigenous sisters are not only thinking of themselves: An unharmed Amazon is critical to every person in the world.
The Amazon absorbs 5% of the world's carbon dioxide, making it essential for fighting climate change.
It's home to millions of plants, animals and insects, some of which are on the verge of extinction.
Despite the vital role it plays, the equivalent of one football field is being destroyed every second.
A win for the Peoples of the Amazon is a win for every living being who calls Earth home. And who better to lead the effort to protect the Amazon than the 200+ Indigenous groups living there today?
- It's their home;
- It's their future at stake;
- And it's their people, expertise and cultural values that have protected the Amazon for centuries.
But Indigenous Peoples cannot do this alone - especially given the enormity of the threat. They need our support.
Indigenous Peoples are standing by the Amazon. Let us all stand with them.
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