First modification:
The Sinangoe Guard had the objective of protecting the territory considered sacred by the indigenous people from any external threat such as invasion by fishermen or hunters, but for the case that made them winners, it was in defense of the illegal mining deployed in the territory. . This is the fourth time that Ecuador has been awarded this award after Luis Macas received it, in 1994, Pablo Fajardo Mendoza and Luis Yanza, in 2008 and Nemonte Nenquimo, in 2020.
This year Ecuador remains the only Latin American country to receive the Goldman Environmental Prize after Alexandra Narváez and Alex Lucitante, two indigenous people from the Andean country, were awarded the prize known as the Nobel Prize for the Environment, for having won a court battle to protect gold mining within its territory.
And it was thanks to the leadership and determination of Lucitante and Narváez, both from the A’i Cofán indigenous people of Sinangoe in the Amazon, that the Ecuadorian Justice ruled in favor of the request that sought to annul 52 illegal gold mining concessions, which they were granted without the consent of the Cofán community, located near the Andes, on the outskirts of the Cayambe-Coca National Park.
When the indigenous leaders, today winners of the award, became aware of the mining operations, they sought to unite the community and immediately began to make proposals to defend their territory from alien hands.
“The legal success of the community protects some 32,000 hectares of pristine and biodiverse rainforest in the headwaters of Ecuador’s Aguarico River, which is sacred to the Cofan,” the jury’s ruling reads.
The management of the two leaders became very important for the indigenous people because the Cofán and Chingual rivers are tributaries of the Aguarico and are the livelihood of more than 56 families, that is, some 230 people, who find in the water the food function, of irrigation for their plants and crops they work with, as well as for their enjoyment and spiritual connection.
Alexandra Narvaez
She was the first woman to join the Sinangoe Indigenous Guard and is recognized for being a spokesperson for the community in which she lives. A 32-year-old mother of two daughters, the leader Alexandra Narváez assures that “despite so many problems, having to leave my daughters alone at home to be able to go out to the marches and walk the territory, we can raise our voices and say that we are going to take care of our territory, we are defenders of our territory, defenders of life”.
Narváez considers that this is a full-time activity and has affirmed that although he does not have a direct remuneration for the work, “we do it from the heart because we want to take care of our territory.”
Alexandra Narváez has earned recognition from her community for being the first woman to join the Sinangoe Indigenous Guard, for presiding over the Association of Indigenous Women of Sinangoe Shamec’co, and for being a spokesperson for the community. (4/8)
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Alex Lucinante
At 29 years old, father of three children and empirical in knowledge of ancestral medicine, for Alex Lucinante the heritage of the oldest people in the community is the most important thing.
He considers that the Constitutional Court has given them “a very sharp machete from the State itself” and with that profit in their favor they will continue fighting to protect their lands against illegal activities.
“This recognition is a boost of strength for the Sinangoe community, which receives this award as an inspiration for all the indigenous nationalities of Ecuador that have accompanied the Sinangoe struggle,” said Lucinante upon being notified of the award.
Alex Lucitante points out that the Goldman Prize “is a boost of strength for the Sinangoe community, which receives this award as an inspiration for all the indigenous nationalities of Ecuador that have accompanied the Sinangoe struggle.” (6/8)
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— MongabayLatam (@MongabayLatam) May 25, 2022
How was the environmental recovery strategy?
It all started with the monitoring of the community in the area that was intervened by mining. With the help of organizations that trusted in the cause and with the necessary technology for this process, the Sinangoe Indigenous Guard deployed tours, as well as the development of foot and boat patrols to denounce illegal activities such as logging, fishing and mining. .
It was then, in 2018, that the indigenous community sued the State for violating their rights and granting mining concessions without the prior consent of the Cofán.
The historic ruling in favor of the indigenous people ended the opportunities for gold mining in the territory, considered sacred and ancestral by Sinangoe, which is located at the foot of the Aguarico River, very close to the Amazon River.
In accordance with the unanimous decision of Lucinante and Narváez, the economic prize will be immediately directed to the A’i Cofán community of Sinangoe through a civil society organization made up of communities of four indigenous nationalities from the Ecuadorian Amazon.
A vice-presential candidate in Colombia also won the Goldman in 2018
In 2018, the current candidate for the vice presidency of Colombia, Francia Márquez, was also awarded the Goldman Prize due to her initiative to stop “illegal gold mining on her ancestral land.”
Márquez denounced activities against the environment related to mercury in the fishing river of his community and managed to save the lives of many people who had water sources as their most precious asset.
With EFE and local media
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