Saving the Amazon rainforest
Nemonte Nenkimo, an indigenous woman, is among the 100 most influential people in Time magazine’s ranking. Her struggle? It is the survival of her people and the Amazon forest. Victorious combat that she leads against the giants of this world.
The Amazon rainforest must be protected!
Nemonte Nenkimo confronts oil and agricultural companies that have political weight. These multinationals have seen the Amazon rainforest as a terrain for exploitation, without taking into consideration the environment and the people who live there. With 5.5 million square kilometers, this forest is more and more coveted for its oil and forest wealth. In 50 years, the exploitation of resources and the pollution generated have had a profound impact on the populations. The inhabitants see their health deteriorating with the appearance of congenital malformations and cancers. Their way of life has been disrupted, fishing is almost impossible in polluted water and their culture is in jeopardy.
The victorious involvement of Nemonte Nenkimo
To prevent the plundering of Amazonian resources, a voice has been raised. Nemonte Nenkimo is fighting for the 4,800 people who make up her people, the Waorani, and for the other twelve indigenous communities. She has been president of the Coordinating Council of the Waorani People of Ecuador (conowaped) since 2018 and is the co-founder of Ceibo Alliance. This organization brings together indigenous people from the Amazonian forests of northern Ecuador. The organization, whose name means “many stars, facing the sun”, was included in Time magazine’s 2020 ranking of the 100 most influential people in the world. A breakthrough rich in significance.
The activist is known for his historic legal victory against oil exploitation. In 2019, she and other Waorani leaders filed a lawsuit against the Ecuadorian government. The government wanted to sell their community’s territory to oil companies. Such a project was deemed an attack on the self-determination of the people. The verdict allowed for the conservation of half a million hectares and encouraged the indigenous peoples to continue their struggle.
“Our territory is not for sale,” “ We said, if the government does not pay attention, we, with our strength, with our own song, with our own spirit, we will show them the truth. And we won.” N. Nenquimo
A symbolic leader
N. Nenkimo also helps people adapt to the changes they have undergone. With Ceibo Alliance, she accompanies them in drinking water projects, in the mapping of their territory, and in cultural survival. Then with the conconawep she gives covid-19 tests in isolated regions, in fact ensuring that there is pedagogical continuity.
Her commitment and fervor make her a symbolic leader. She is in fact engaging in a collaboration between indigenous peoples and Westerners to stop environmental damage. Then, she managed to make her voice heard as a woman and as an indigenous person. What is all the stronger is that she stands up to powerful actors and to a Western public that does not know her. If Time magazine named her a leader, it is because she has succeeded in making it heard that human rights and environmental rights take precedence over financial interests.
Photo Credits :@NSiekopai / Twitter ; @mikeballet / Unsplash
Sources : Huffpost , Geo , L’Express, Slate , Le Monde
