In Palmeras, Ecuador, Raquel Antún leads a gathering of Shuar women.
New policies which would place women at the heart of decision making in the Amazon have been proposed by indigenous people from Peru and Ecuador.
Their recommendations came from eight community leaders based in the heart of the region in a new book, Weaving the Future.
They call for simple, practical changes, which would combine to create lasting change so indigenous groups can lead conservation on their own terms and protect their land against illegal mining, logging, poaching and drug production.
Canga, Awajún community in Amazonas, Peru.
Lack of strong governance across the region means that there is little protection against catastrophic, unregulated environmental damage. Indigenous peoples and environmental defenders have long argued that local communities need real power to govern their territories. Putting women in leadership is a crucial step.
Practical Action is working closely with indigenous groups to enable them to lead the management of their land and supported the publication of the book.
Practical Action CEO Sarah Roberts said: “Research shows thatwhen women lead, decisions land better for families and forests. Indigenous women are already organising, negotiating, holding authorities to account and defending their territories. Their knowledge, political work and care for their communities and their forest are all part of that power.
“When initiatives recognise this leadership, back women’s agendas and channel resources directly to them, participation stops being symbolic and starts driving good decisions.”
Gender equality is not an add-on, it is central to climate resilience and poverty reduction, and it must be visible in who leads and who decides.
We always demand that women are present at every event. They must team up with men, because together we can support each other
Matut Impi, vice president of the Awajún Autonomous Territorial Government.
Weaving the Future sets out five practical asks to turn that principle into practice.
1. Guarantee women’s participation.
Male indigenous leaders have often failed to make decisions on behalf of the long-term interests of their communities, while women have a history of promoting education and young people’s rights. However, often their committees sit informally and lack allocated budgets. So planning, travelling and reporting fall through the gaps. The call is for formal representation with clearly laid-out governance, responsibility and ownership, so women can shape decisions, rather than just attend them. Magaly Nawech of the Shuar Arutam people said “We are weaving paths of resistance and hope, with a new dynamic where everyone has a say because we have the same rights”.
Magaly Nawech.
2. Make showing up affordable, possible and safe.
Logistics barriers silence voices. Women leaders, especially from remote communities, bear the costs and risks themselves, which is not sustainable. Budgets should cover translation, childcare and safe travel, and meetings should be scheduled at times and in places that work for carers and for those travelling long distances. Only with full participation and representation will decisions reflect everyone’s needs.
3. Invest in leadership across generations.
Leadership does not renew itself. It is built through training, mentoring and organiser networks designed by women. Dialogue with male leaders must be maintained and it should sit equally and centrally in plans, budgets and oversight. As FEPNASH-ZCH’s Nelly Lorena Tando put it, the effect is transformative. “What I learned there changed my life and reinforced my desire to work for Indigenous women in a real way.”
Maruzzela Suamuth Dati, ORPIAN-P women’s programme technical specialist, works closely with Raquel Caicat, vice president, featured in the publication.
4. Build alliances and visibility to help good ideas grow.
The problems in the Amazon are vast and stretch cross political and national borders. Change in one small area is good, but not enough. For big changes to happen, we need good practice to spread through joint proposals and with shared outcomes. Communication is vital so other women-led processes can build on what works, united in “the principles of solidarity and reciprocity,” said Sandra Alvarado of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon (CONFENIAE).
5. Lock change into policy and budgets.
Amazonian governments often lack the resources or the mandate to work with, and protect, indigenous populations. Without their support and the political will to protect the rainforest, illegality has become endemic in the region. To address this, indigenous rights must be formalised and made part of the legal framework for law creation, enforcement and for public finance. This needs to recognise Indigenous women’s leadership in conservation, governance and services, and coordinate with state providers so support reaches remote territories. As AIDESEP’s Teresita Antazú notes, progress is possible when rules change: “We have managed to change the statutes so they state that men and women have equal rights and that, therefore, positions must be assigned equitably.”
None of the measures in the book require large new institutions or vast budgets. They ask for a shift in how decisions are made and who is resourced to make them. They recognise the leadership of the people who live in and care for some of the world’s most vital lands, and back them to shape the future of their forests and families.
This publication was written by AIDESEP and CONFENIAE, the representative Indigenous institutions for the Amazon in Peru and Ecuador, and supported by Practical Action through DEFRA’s Biodiverse Landscapes Fund (BLF) Andes Amazon project, financed by UK International Development.
This project is implemented by a consortium led by Practical Action with Nature and Culture International, AIDESEP, WWF, Terra Nuova and COSPE.
