In Ecuador’s Amazon, planting a tree can mean much more than restoring a patch of forest. For Indigenous women such as Flor Juanga, a Shuar community representative from Sucumbíos Province, trees are tied to food, wildlife, family, culture and the future of the community. Juanga says women in her community grow fruit and food crops while planting forest and native trees that provide shelter and food for birds, insects and other animals. They are also growing crops such as cacao and coffee, creating a way to support their families while reducing pressure to clear more forest. Her story forms part of wider conservation and sustainable-production efforts supported through Ecuador’s PROAmazonía programme and its Life Plans, which have sought to put Indigenous communities at the centre of decisions about their territories. In this model, protecting nature is not separated from earning a living or preserving a way of life.
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