Organizers: Sarayaku, Amazon Watch
Sarayaku has developed an initiative that bridges our cosmovision and traditions with a practical proposal for a new definition of community managed forests. Kawsak Sacha, or Living Forest, is a proposal for living together with the natural world that grows out of the millennial knowledge of the Indigenous Peoples who inhabit the Amazonian rainforest, one that is also buttressed by recent scientific studies.
The event will lay out our Kawsak Sacha proposal for a new definition of territory and community managed forests that expands the idea of 'forest' to include the living beings and spirits that co-inhabit our territory, and seek permanent protection that bans resource extraction. We have been developing this initiative through community process of our 2,000 people that applies to our 135,000 hectares of primary rainforest in Ecuador's Amazon. We seek to reach political leaders, and institutions like IUCN and UN bodies that can add to the debate and further strengthen and help advocate for our proposal.We will also tell our story and show footage of the Kawsaymanda Kanwa, the Canoe of Life that we collectively built, hand carved, and transported from the heart of our territory to Paris and will be on display at the Indigenous Pavilion.
Panelists:
- Jose Gualinga, Kawsak Sacha Initiative
- Patricia Gualinga, International Representative
- Eriberto Gualinga, Filmmaker
Moderator: Leila Salazar, Executive DIrector, Amazon Watch
Location: Indigenous Peoples Pavilion (Auditorium)
Contact: Kevin Koenig, kevin@amazonwatch.org
Languages: English/Spanish