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The Lawsuit against the Ecuadorian Government

Nemonte’s efforts in leading the lawsuit and bringing together the plaintiffs led to a significant first step towards success: a positive verdict from the Ecuadorian Supreme Court recognizing the tribes’ right to consultation before any government action impacting them is carried out and concluding that the participation rights of the tribes had been violated over the years. 

As early as 2010, the government had declared a portion of Yasuní National Park an area of “national interest” due to the economic potential of oil drilling in the area. It is crucial to emphasise how this victory not only countered former President Lasso’s reform efforts but also crowned decades of legal battles. In fact, the Yasunì-ITT initiative was already created in 2007 to restrict off-limits drilling areas. However, tribal fragmentation at the time combined with public unawareness of the essential role of their vote in protecting their home led to the initiative’s failure in a 2018 referendum. Therefore, Nemonte Nenquimo’s efforts have triumphed in both reviving old battles and confronting new but equally threatening reforms.

Nemonte’s ability to bring the case to the Supreme Court led the Ecuadorian Government to conduct a new referendum asking the people whether they would consent to the decrees remaining in force and thereby allowing foreign industries to intensively conduct mining and oil drilling in the contested territory. To provide the reader with additional data, more than 5.2 million people voted in favour compared to 3.6 million against, solidifying protections for Indigenous communities living in voluntary isolation. This referendum was a consequence of Nemonte’s efforts, together with the members of the Celibo alliance, to further sensitise the importance of voting against what Lasso defined as his “death policy”. 

As a result, Green Grants reports, ‘The referendum made Ecuador one of the first countries in the world to set limits on natural resource extraction through a democratic vote.’ In fact, the Ecuadorian government has ceased operations and initiated reforestation. This decision will not only preserve a significant portion of the Amazon rainforest but will also prevent the release of about 345 million tons of carbon dioxide and leave nearly 726 million barrels of oil underground.

Rainforest Foundation US reports that in an unofficial statement three days after the election, Minister of Energy and Mines Fernando Santos Alvite declared that the government of Guillermo Lasso would ignore the popular vote and grant permission for oil drilling in the region. Less than 24 hours later, the Ecuadorian government reversed course and issued a statement reaffirming its commitment to respect the democratic decision to protect Yasuní Park and the rest of the Amazon. Despite the Ecuadorian government trying to seek appeal and ways not to implement the Supreme Court judgement, it was not successful.

While the national impact is undeniable, the policy’s international impact is also noteworthy. This set a precedent for the rights of indigenous peoples, as noted by the UN Human Rights Office, which through the words of the High Commissioner declared, ‘People directly affected by mining projects or activities must be heard, not repressed,’. Thus, emphasising the importance of giving indigenous people the possibility to peacefully express their concerns about government policies and actions.

‘Our Rainforest is Not for Sale’ Online Campaign

The policy most importantly led to the successful lawsuit against the Ecuadorian government and the historical moment in indigenous recognition that occurred in 2019. The support and rate of involvement has of course dropped since 2019, and therefore hashtags such as #waoraniresistance and #savetheamazon are not used as much. However, the high profile collaborations and connections that the campaign secured for Nemonte Nenquimo and her cause had a long- lasting effect. Aside from spreading awareness of the impacts of climate change, the online campaign also presented Nemonte Nenquimo as a climate activist on a large scale, which is evident by the prizes she won thereafter.

Nemonte received the 2020 Goldman Environmental Prize and was named one of Times Magazine’s Most Influential people of 2020 by Leonardo Di Caprio, the only indigenous woman to have received such a recognition. When nominating her, Leonardo Di Caprio said ‘I am lucky to have met her, and I am luckier still to have learnt from her’. Following the campaign, Nemonte is seen as a climate leader internationally, allowing her to dedicate herself to the cause and further grow her media presence through collaborations with Amazon Frontlines and the DiCaprio Foundation. 

This policy has clearly opened the world’s eyes to the disastrous effects of deforestation within Ecuador, both for the nation and the world. Even today, she continues to collaborate with campaign organisations such as Avaaz to educate people on the ongoing struggle. This campaign, albeit starting as a way to tackle local problems associated with climate change, clearly addresses global warming on a global scale, such as deforestation and human security. This policy continues to be implemented even after the success of the lawsuit, with Nemonte Nenquimo collaborating with Global Wildlife Conservation and Amazon Frontlines on Global Earth Day to educate the public on their role as a protector of the Amazon, titled ‘Are you a good ancestor?’.

In the video linked to the campaign, we see how Nemonte describes that the indigenous people are protecting and fighting for the Amazon, providing clean air and water not only for themselves but for the whole world, ‘We fight to protect life itself’. Therefore it is clear to see how the ‘Our Rainforest is Not for Sale’ online campaign has been crucial in raising awareness and gaining support for the fight against climate change on a global level.

Nemonte’s media presence was inflated due to this campaign as she often spoke directly to the global population, such as through her Guardian article or by using articles such as ‘we’ and ‘our’, she included the international community in the victims of the Ecuadorian government’s actions. Furthermore, her position as a leader of an indigenous community was an important stake in this policy as her beliefs and connection to the Earth, are ones that are little understood by the Western world, therefore this campaign was crucial in educating the world not only on the effects of climate change but also of the intricacies and beauty of indigenous communities.

By presenting a united front between indigenous communities in the Amazon, and spreading their messages in unison, their impact was felt worldwide and they were able to make a clear difference in Ecuadorian politics. This online campaign demonstrated Nemonte Nenquimo’s ability to modernise politics and climate activism, through the use of social media and online support to achieve change.

Amazon Sacred Headwaters Initiative

Despite the initiative being funded by various tribes, it remains an ambitious plan to be implemented, as it requires a significant number of people and investments. The estimated costs are $17.57 billion, with the aforementioned actors responsible for managing the funds, while 31% of the budget should come from the Ecuadorian government and 64% from the Peruvian government.

Despite the organisation being created in 2017, the initiative began to have a concrete plan and proposal only in 2021. It’s important to note that it’s a 10-year plan, and thus its impact cannot be fully analysed and evaluated yet. However, the plan is ongoing, and progress can be seen through activities carried out so far and goals achieved or in progress.

Some key achievements of the initiative include the protection of a tract of rainforest. Through protests and peaceful demonstrations, the initiative managed to ensure the protection of 86 million acres of rainforest between Ecuador and Peru. This is crucial as it allowed the rivers passing through the forest to be regenerated and reduced water pollution, resulting in flourishing greenery in the area. 

Additionally, one of the communities, the Achuar, has fully developed a project to address food insecurity caused by climate change in the area. This includes the sustainable cultivation of resources from the Amazon, from which local communities ‘can generate income for necessities such as their children’s education or medical emergencies,’ reports the founder of the Pachamama association. Continuing with this project, which aims to address the last pillar of the Headwaters initiative, they have started the “Living Amazon School.” In the past year, young people have been learning traditions passed down by their elders to cultivate and harvest the land. The school also includes teaching technological models to advance progress in the area and provide economic alternatives to extractivism.

Furthermore, to meet the goal of restoring 21.5 million acres of deforested land, the Achuar and Shuar communities in Ecuador are leading projects to restore deforested lands by planting native tree species crucial for ecosystem health and cultural practices. To do so, they are establishing nurseries and tree banks to ensure an adequate supply of native plants. The plan aims to protect indigenous communities and result in the avoidance of 1.9 metric tons of CO2 emissions.As of 2023, the initiative, in collaboration with Fundación Pachamama and partners such as Reforest’Action and the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance, has planted 158,293 plants and trees across 770 hectares (approximately 1,900 acres) in the Sacred Headwaters region of the Ecuadorian Amazon.

IExRAIA Summer Research Program:

This article is an excerpt from a report about Nemonte Nenquimo produced as part of an RAIA research program on climate leaders. For a full picture of Nenquimo’s climate leadership read the full report. This project was fully financed by IE University’s IE School of Politics, Economics and Global Affairs.

Authors: Lucinda Schüler and Matilde Romagnoli

Editor: Ksenia Kumanina

Project Lead: Francia Morales