It is common belief that the Amazon is inhabited by tarantulas, anacondas and jaguars. As a matter of facts, it is. Nevertheless, its diversity is not only animal-based, it is also human-based. It is inhabited by people who, for millennia, have been watching over its balance: the indigenous people.

Scientific research has shown that the lands with the highest diversity in the world are inhabited by indigenous peoples. With a self-limiting approach and in harmony with their environment, the original peoples have regulated the Amazonian rainforest, collecting and hunting for their family needs, thus preserving the richest ecosystems in the world. They are an integral part of ecosystems, which require hunters to curb the proliferation of certain species, or gatherers to scatter their seeds.

However, these guardians of the Amazon are disappearing at an accelerated pace, and the largest jungle in the world is dying. Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana, in all these countries our “lungs” are shrinking. Multinationals extract gold, cobalt, wood. Hundreds of thousands of hectares are burned to raise cattle. Monoculture is wiping out the biodiversity. And so on.

We refuse to assist passively to the removal of our lungs without reacting. A new initiative, “The Guardians of the Amazon”, was born in 2024. Founded by inhabitants of the Amazon, it is mixed-race, including representatives from the modern world but also indigenous leaders. This NGO offers concrete solutions to curb the loss of our oxygen tank, broken down into two fundamental axes: economy and culture.