Bioregional Alliance of Indigenous Peoples

The Initiative aims to support ecosystem-based and indigenous-led governance of this vast region and to secure stronger territorial rights.  While historically, indigenous peoples had conflicts over territorial boundaries and still do at times, in the past two decades the region’s indigenous peoples have formed strong alliances to confront outside threats.  This initiative seeks to unite indigenous peoples and strengthen alliances throughout the entire Napo-Marañon River Basins, expanding their collective purview to the larger bioregion. Viewing the strategy for protecting this region from the perspective of the entire river basin presents compelling and strategic opportunities to more effectively address regional threats brought by oil projects, dams, mining, and roads as well as to enhance the ecological and landscape connectivity.

 

As co-facilitators of this planning and alliance building process, Amazon Watch, Pachamama Alliance, and Terra Mater will work to ensure meaningful participation of affected indigenous peoples at all stages of this initiative.

- Participatory strategic planning process, bringing together indigenous organizations of the Napo-Marañon region to articulate and adopt a shared vision

- Bi-National Convergence of Indigenous Peoples of the Napo-Marañon Basins of both Peru and Ecuador with their allies 

- Sub-regional gatherings and workshops for the Napo, Pastaza, Morona Santiago, Alto Marañon, Pastaza/Corrientes regions.

- Indigenous life plans guiding the agendas of the subnational gatherings.

- The promotion of the Sacred Headwaters Inititiave a the political proposal from CONFENIAE to protect their territories, based on the collective rights of indigenous peoples from the Amazon, has been a core aspect in the initial success of the activities planned. 

- Having an achuar indigenous leader working within CONFENIAE, as the Ecuador Coordinator to expand awareness about the potential for such an initiative to build an alliance among the indigenous nationalities of the Napo-Marañon-Pastaza river basins in Ecuador and in Peru, has also been crucial.

- Numerous presentations and discussions about the Initiative have been conducted at indigenous assemblies in Ecuador’s Amazon region.  In addition, the Initiative was also presented at the Achuar congress in Ecuador, at the Pan Amazon Forum in Tarapoto, at the bi-national Achuar Congress in Peru, and in all cases preliminary response to the Initiative has been very positive.