Nemonte Nenquimo is an indigenous activist and member – and the first female President – of the Waorani people of Pastaza in the Ecuadorian Amazon. She and other members of the Waorani took the Ecuadorian government to court over its plans to sell their territory to oil companies. Their 2019 victory saved 500,000 acres of rainforest and created a vital legal precedent for indigenous rights, a stunning victory that was reported on around the world. We talk to her about her inspiring leadership story, real climate action and the hope for next generations.
The Waorani Way of Life
Despite being one of the smallest countries in South America, Ecuador is one of the ten most biodiverse places on the planet, with the eastern third of the country covered by the Amazon Rainforest, where more than 70,000 species of insects and more than 62 types of trees can be found in just one acre of rainforest. Within this environment live the Waorani people, traditional hunter gatherers, who live in small clan settlements. They were only contacted by American missionaries in 1958, and they number about 5,000 people today. Since the 1960s, their territory has been shrinking, thanks to invasive oil exploration, logging and road building, with 80 per cent of the Waorani population now living on one-tenth of its ancestral lands.
For Nemonte, the jungle is home. “I grew up in the jungle without feeling poverty, without feeling sick,” she says. “[I was] healthy, content, very happy. I ate what was in the jungle, I ran freely, I bathed at any time. I walked with my parents in the jungle to gather fruit.” Her father and his family have lived in the jungle for many years without contact from the outside world, and for Nemonte it was only when she first visited a city – Ecuador’s capital Quito – that she saw poverty for the first time. That is why she began to fight for her territory. “The forest does not give us poverty, it gives us wisdom, spiritual connection, a healthy life, freedom and harmony with our knowledge and values.”
“Climate change is caused by humans on this planet. The jungle does not expect us to save it, it just expects us to respect it. We, the indigenous peoples, expect the same thing.”
That freedom has long been under threat, as the Waorani see the increasing impact of climate change and harmful human activity first-hand. “[Climate change] will directly affect the indigenous peoples and then it will affect the planet, Nemonte says. “Indigenous peoples like [the] Waorani lived for thousands of years with Mother Earth. Respecting her, not destroying her.” Her father sees the impacts of climate change, she tells us, he sees the roads that are being built, the oil companies that poison the rivers and kill the animals and cause diseases that never made the Waorani sick before.
Road to Leadership
The slow destruction of her home led Nemonte to work to defend her people and their territory, ultimately taking on a great responsibility as the first female elected leader of the Waorani community of Pastaza.
“Before the conquest and before civilization, it was the Waorani women who made the decisions,” Nemonte says. But now, after contact with schools and education, she tells us that the men make decisions and the women stay at home. This is something she is also fighting against. However, Nemonte stresses that “there are still many women in my community who are assuming the role of making ourselves heard and deciding in the communities”. Cooperation is key to real change Nemonte states, men need to listen to women and women to listen to men, “the two forces sharing ideas.”
Direct Action
“Once I was invited to a [climate change] march in the United States”, Nemonte says. There was just a march, but no action, nothing to accompany the march.” Nemonte says that in the jungle they carry out real work to stop the destruction and to stop climate change. This real work includes her role in the creation of The Ceibo Alliance, an indigenous-led Ecuadorian non-profit organization comprised of members of the Kofan, Siona, Secoya and Waorani peoples.
Moved by the testimonies of Indigenous peoples affected by oil contamination in Ecuador - especially the stories of their women – reflecting on how the destruction of their environment had impacted their lives, - Nemonte knew that action was needed to save her people from a similar fate. “We began to work on a project for solar panels, construction of a system for the collection of water from the rain and our own mapping [of territory]”, Nemonte says. “It was not the victory of a single person,” but a process of three years of fighting.
Ultimately, the Waorani launched a legal challenge to the Ecuadorian government’s decision to auction off new oil concessions, including in an area called Block 22. “We learned that Block 22 was in our territory, in the Waorani community of Pastaza, within sixteen communities”, Nemonte explains. The government produced impact studies that showed there was a lot of oil in this area, so it became clear to the Waorani people that the government wanted to exploit the area’s natural resources. They quickly organized themselves to fight for their territory, Nemonte says. “That is why we invited the Amazon Frontlines team who are our allies,” in this fight. The Waorani people declared that their territory was not for sale, and ultimately their battle was won as an Ecuador court blocked the sale of the land for oil concessions.
Nemonte sees that victory as an extension of how her ancestors have defended their land for thousands of years. Similar to their work, she says, “we are defending it for future generations.” “Being a mother, everything I do is an example for my daughter,” which is why she continues to fight for her daughter’s future.
The Next Generation
Nemonte feels a great responsibility to act against climate change and urges us to instill that responsibility in this generation and the next. Those of us who can stop climate change, should do so, Nemonte stresses. “We are not going to leave any inheritance for our grandchildren … we will not be talking about future generations, if we continue destroying [the planet].” Education is central to this fight she says, and education from within the government’s school system is not enough, as it does not educate on the importance of protecting the land. Currently, Nemonte’s organization is working with Pastaza communities on the design and development of an educational curriculum in line with Waorani culture, language and values. It is important that children are being raised to protect and not destroy, in order to protect the planet for future generations.
A Brighter Future
Despite everything, Nemonte is hopeful for the future. “As an indigenous woman I feel hope, but if capitalism does not have the same hope, if it does not have that vision as we as [a] community have,” she says she has less hope. Nemonte places her hope in those people who are working against the impact of climate change, not in leaders or politicians, but in people and societies. By working together, “we can make and build something very beautiful in this world for future generations.”