Nemonte Nenquimo
Nemonte Nenquimo is an Indigenous activist and member of the Waorani nation from the Amazonian Region of Ecuador. She is the first female president of the Waorani of Pastaza (CONCONAWEP) and co-founder of the Indigenous-led nonprofit organization Ceibo Alliance. In 2020, she was named in the Time 100 list of the 100 most influential people in the world, the only Indigenous woman on the list and the second Ecuadorian to ever be named in its history. Nenquimo was the plaintiff in a lawsuit against the Ecuadorian government, which culminated in a 2019 ruling that protects half a million acres of Waorani ancestral land in the Amazon rainforest from oil drilling.
Early life and career
Nenquimo was born in the community of Nemompare in 1985 in the Pastaza region of the Ecuadorian Amazon.[1][2] She is a member of the Waorani nation of hunter-harvesters.[3]
In 2015, Nenquimo co-founded Ceibo Alliance, an Indigenous-led nonprofit to protect Indigenous lands from resource extraction. She was elected the first female president of the Waorani organization of Pastaza province (CONCONAWEP) in 2018.[2][4][5][6]
2019 court ruling
As part of CONCONAWEP (Coordinating Council of the Waorani Nationality of Ecuador-Pastaza), Nenquimo co-filed a lawsuit with Ecuador’s human rights ombudsmen against the Ecuadorian government.[3][7] Nenquimo was the plaintiff in the lawsuit, whose 2019 ruling by a three-judge panel of the Pastaza Provincial Court protects half a million acres of the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador from oil drilling.[4][3][2] The verdict that the Ecuadorian government must engage in the free, prior and informed consent process according to the standards of international law and the Constitutional Court of Ecuador before auctioning land provides a legal precedent for other Indigenous nations to counteract resource extraction within Indigenous territory.[2][7]
A parade of hundreds of Waorani people celebrated the ruling in April 2019 in Puyo, the regional capital of the eastern province of Pastaza. Many traveled great distances to attend.[7]
Awards
In 2020, she was featured on the Time 100 list, the only Indigenous woman that year and among the first Amazonians ever to be named.[2] She was also on the list of the BBC's 100 Women announced on 23 November 2020.[8] In 2020, Nenquimo was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize.[9][10][11]
References
- ^ Zúñiga, Cecilia (September 24, 2020). "Ya basta de encender fuegos en la selva amazónica, dice la líder waorani Nemonte Nenquimo, una de las 100 personas más influyentes del mundo para la revista Time". El Universo.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d e Pinchetti, Sophie (April 26, 2019). "Waorani People Win Landmark Legal Victory Against Ecuadorian Government". Amazon Frontlines.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c Pinchetti, Sophie (September 23, 2020). "Indigenous Amazonian Leader Nemonte Nenquimo Is Named TIME 100 Most Influential People In The World". Amazon Frontlines.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b DiCaprio, Leonardo (September 22, 2020). "The 100 Most Influential People of 2020: Nemonte Nenquimo". TIME.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Specter, Emma (October 14, 2019). "These Indigenous Activists Are Fighting for the Future of a Ravaged Amazon". Vogue.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Nenquimo, Nemonte (October 20, 2020). "This is my message to the western world – your civilisation is killing life on Earth". The Guardian.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c Riederer, Rachel (May 15, 2019). "An Uncommon Victory for an Indigenous Tribe in the Amazon". The New Yorker.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "BBC 100 Women 2020: Who is on the list this year?". BBC News. 2020-11-23. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
- ^ "Nemonte Nenquimo". Goldman Environmental Prize. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
- ^ "The Goldman environmental prize winners 2020 – in pictures". The Guardian. November 30, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
- ^ Buschschlüter, Vanessa (November 30, 2020). "Nemonte Nenquimo: The indigenous leader named 'environmental hero'". BBC News. Retrieved December 6, 2020.