An interview with Nemonte Nenquimo

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By , |2022-10-31T14:14:09+00:00June 23rd, 2022|Biocultural Diversity, Biodiversity, Community, Flourishing Diversity, Indigenous Peoples, Interviews|Comments Off on An interview with Nemonte Nenquimo

Nemonte Nenquimo is an Indigenous leader of the Waorani people in the Ecuadorean Amazon province of Pastaza, one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth. Nemonte gained global attention when she led a successful court action to block a proposal for oil exploration and drilling on 500,000 acres of Waorani land. Her tireless and courageous work to rally Indigenous Peoples in Ecuador to oppose oil exploitation on their territory and insist on proper consultation led to a landmark legal victory, a decision that was seen as setting a precedent for Indigenous rights in the region.

Nemonte was subsequently awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize for South and Central America, in 2020, and she was also named in Time’s magazine’s list of the world’s 100 most influential people in the same year.

Three years on, what is the legacy of this famous victory? We spoke to Nemonte about the continuing challenges facing the Waorani, and her work to bring their struggle out to the wider world; and we asked what people in rich, industrialised nations can do to support Indigenous Peoples to protect their land and help to ensure that biological and cultural diversity can flourish.