Gaia Amazonas

In Gaia Amazonas we have worked for more than twenty years to recover the social capacity for decisions, among Amazon indigenous people. Our struggle has been for the conservation of the biological and cultural diversity of the forest, and more recently to find schemes for adaptation to climate change, new paths for sustainable development, and sustainable finance schemes for the Amazon, based on compensation for environmental services.

We have worked constantly for the effective return of territory into the hands of indigenous people. This recognition of territorial rights has translated into the management of funds for health and education in indigenous territories.

Our efforts have targeted the recuperation of indigenous social capacity for decision-making. For this purpose we have promoted the Permanent Panel for Interinstitutional Coordination (MPCI), as a mechanism that facilitates moving forward in relations with the State, with the maloca as the starting point.

Our achievements and progress have been made possible thanks to one basic principle: We do not carry answers to the indigenous communities; they create their own answers, with our support.

We have nurtured indigenous research, with schemes where the indigenous people are not the object of studies but are the subjects responsible for their own research.

We have also carried out programs for the exchange of experiences between indigenous people across the world, and we will continue to do so.

Different organizations and persons have evaluated our work over the years. To follow is a list of external evaluations, which can be consulted in our Documentation Centre.