Without food sovereignty, these communities would have to migrate. To continue to live in their territory and defend it from the projects that have harmed them, the Awajun must be able to remain on their lands and use them to reinforce their knowledge, ancestral and current, to adapt to the changes imposed on them. As the world loses its diversity to extractive industries, strong Awajun communities are not only essential for the defense of the Amazon, but for the defense of the future."Our ancestors have lived here for centuries, but they never ran out of forest. Now, in civilization, it has totally changed. They have bought chainsaws and they remove wood, they have eliminated the fruits and driven the animals away," says Aldo Kasen Awanash, head of the Awajun community of Tutumberos.
Only 17 countries are officially considered "megadiverse", according to data from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). Among them is Peru. Two thirds of its territory is covered by the dense and fertile blanket of the Amazon rainforest. Brazil is the only country with more hectares of rainforest than Peru.
But Peru's varied and abundant nature has not been enough to stop the advance of human activities that threaten to irremediably alter the ecosystems of our planet. On the contrary, it has placed it at the mercy of these.
Comunidad Indígena Awajun, defensores de la biodiversidad
La Comunidad Indígena Awajun está asentada en un territorio identificado como zona prioritaria para la conservación de la biodiversidad del Perú y luchan porprotegerla.
Tierra.fimi-iiwf.org