Sustainable Use of Forests 193
Partnerships to protect the forest
Building partnerships with as many as possible of the groups that benefit
from the forest helps make sure the forest is used in ways that meet everyone’s
needs. Partnerships with people outside your local area can also help protect
your rights.
Working together to protect the Amazon rainforest
The people of Amazanga did not always live where they do now. An oil spill
forced the members of the Quichua tribe to move from their traditional land
in the Amazon. When their new homes were threatened by deforestation and
industrial farming, the villagers decided that managing their lands according
to the traditions of their people — hunting, fishing, and gathering plants for
food and medicine — was the best way to protect their lands.
But this required more land than they had. Amazanga demanded that
the government grant them territory to live as their ancestors had lived. “We
cannot live from a piece of land like a piece of bread,” they said. “We are
talking about territory, and the right to live well from the forest.” When the
government ignored their demand, they asked international environmental
groups for help buying back their ancestral lands.
The villagers invited their international partners to take photographs and
videotapes showing traditional ways of using the forest, and to share these
with people in their home countries. After several years, Amazanga raised
enough money to buy almost 2000 hectares of forest.
But buying this much land created suspicion among members of the Shuar
tribe who lived nearby. When the Shuar claimed ownership of the same land,
the people of Amazanga understood they had made a mistake. They had
built partnerships with international organizations, but had failed to make
agreements with their neighbors! The Shuar were so angry they threatened
violence. After many meetings, the people of Amazanga and the Shuar
agreed to share the forest according to shared rules. Because the Quichua
and the Shuar have similar understandings of how to best use the forest, they
were able to form an alliance.
They made the land a forest preserve and agreed to a forest management
plan preventing the felling of trees and building of roads. The land was
declared “patrimony of all the indigenous tribes of the Amazon” and
protected for future generations. By reaching out to visitors from near and
far, the people of Amazanga will protect the forest, preserve their culture,
and help others to protect their own forest homes.
A Community Guide to Environmental Health 2012