Transitions Towards Life in the Amazon
The Sacred Headwaters Alliance appears in the face of the economic and social crisis that the planet is going through. It is an alliance led by indigenous peoples and nationalities who share a common vision: to protect life, the ecological integrity, and the territories of a bioregion of 35 million hectares.
This initiative occurs through a bioregional plan that presents concrete, realistic, and feasible alternatives that guide the world towards a new paradigm: preserving land and water regeneratively, viably, and innovatively.
The onset of a new paradigm for life on the planet
In 2017, several Amazonian indigenous nationalities desperately called to protect around 35 million hectares, home to at least 30 peoples and tribes that coexist with the greatest biodiversity of flora and fauna worldwide.
To achieve that goal, they created an alliance: The Sacred Headwaters Alliance, which proposes a planning tool for the social and ecological transition called the Bioregional Plan.
What does the Bioregional Plan propose for 2030?
The plan has the universal vision of forming a just transition to a post-extractive era. It is the first comprehensive and holistic planning effort to address fundamental issues affecting the Amazon and the planet.
By 2030, the Amazonian Sacred Headwaters will be permanently protected and restored as a living bioregion inspired by the knowledge and practices of the indigenous peoples who guard the forests.
The communities will flourish within a prosperous and inclusive welfare economy. The region will contribute to reversing global warming and biodiversity loss, being an inspiring model for a just ecological transition.
Why is it important to protect the Sacred Headwaters?
The Sacred Headwaters comprise a valuable cultural and ecological area that stabilizes the global climate by absorbing the carbon emitted on the surface of the Earth and by regulating the hydrological cycle of precipitation in the form of rain.
To the ancestral peoples, the Amazon forest is sacred. It is the heart of the planet, where the water that spreads throughout the world through rivers and clouds is born. If the expansion of the extractive frontiers and industrial activities continue, then the Sacred Headwaters will stop beating, and life on the planet will become extinct.
What is the meaning of the Sacred Headwaters?
The spirituality of indigenous peoples and nationalities views the Sacred Headwaters as a living organism that unites humans, plants, and animals in harmony and familiarity. Yakumama (“mother water”) is the origin and continuity of life. Because of that, we make a global call for the recognition of the Amazon as a vital organ of the biosphere.
Transitions
To transform the reality of the Amazon and the planet, the Sacred Headwaters Alliance proposes:
Economy
The Amazon is the victim of accelerated extraction of wood, oil, and other minerals. Poverty and inequality force the native population to collaborate with the destruction of their territory. That is why it is urgent to transform the region's economy and generate opportunities for its populace.
Fires and Disasters
Ecuador and Peru possess more than 12% of the Amazon. However, the duty to preserve the biodiversity of our Amazon portions and the conservation of its indigenous languages should mobilize the two countries in case of a fire or other situation of risk in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil.
Redistributive Justice
The decline of prosperous and industrialized economies can relieve the Amazon by reducing the extraction of primary products. It is possible to succeed by reducing consumption, carbon emissions, and creating initiatives of redistributive justice for the entire population.
Wellbeing
As a result of climate change and deforestation, the Amazon rainforest is approaching a point of no return; meaning that green alternatives must rely on reducing production and consumption, discarding GDP as an indicator of well-being, and focusing on the quality of life of the population.
Fossil Fuels
80% of carbon dioxide emissions occur due to oil, coal, and gas. To avoid burning fuels, environmentalist Tzeporah Berman proposed a Treaty of Non-Proliferation of Fossil Fuel that would phase out fossil fuels and support: non-proliferation, global disarmament, and a just and peaceful transition.
Universal Basic Income
The UBI is a tax-financed income given to all residents of countries such as Alaska and the US without conditions or prerequisites. It has been shown beyond doubt that by not worrying about daily survival, the native population focuses on their progress and ventures into education and profitable ventures.
Governance
Who is involved in this alliance?
The biogeographic space shared by the Amazonian peoples of Ecuador and Peru corresponds to a single megadiverse natural environment, unified by the history of the indigenous communities that inhabit it, and presents an extraordinary intercultural diversity.
Historically, the indigenous peoples of Ecuador and Peru have coexisted in tranquility while preserving their territory. Successful models of the Amazon and the world to protect their lands, inspire the solutions in the Bioregional Plan.
This shared vision promotes bioregional and indigenous governance and management of this vast bioregion.
The Alliance has been consolidated thanks to the following organizations:
LOGOS
