‘Leave the gold in the ground’: Ecuador’s forest guardians mobilise against illegal mining in Amazon

The Indigenous guards of Sinangoe observe mining on the banks of the sacred Aguarico river in their ancestral territory. They have won landmark cases in the courts to halt formal mining concessions but wildcat miners are a different problem. Photograph: Jerónimo Zúñiga/Amazon Frontlines

With short amulet-covered spears made of blackened chonta palm, GIS mapping phones, walkie-talkies and wearing black and green uniforms, the A’i Cofán seem to merge into the jungle as they march silently down a path through their land.

Calling themselves the Indigenous guard, the 27-strong group patrols a territory of 243 sq miles (630 sq km), stretching from more than 2,500 metres above sea level in the Andean foothills down into the Amazon rainforest.