NATURE IS CALLING HOW YOUR SUPPORT OF NATURE AND CULTURE INTERNATIONAL IS SAVING THE PLANET
NATURE’S GREATEST GUARDIANS According to Shuar tradition, before you take from nature, you need to ask permission. The spirit of Arutam once said, “If you don’t respect the forest, the forest could take your life.” The Shuar are an indigenous people of the Amazon region of Ecuador and Peru. Similar to many indigenous groups, their religion and belief system is based on respect for nature and for their ancestral lands.
“We’ve always cared for the forest. As Shuar, we understand that nature, Kampuntin, is alive. And for centuries, we’ve shown that conservation is important.”
Around the world, indigenous people have lived in harmony with nature for generations, living off the land and its resources while maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem itself. Traditional knowledge and practices have been so successful that, although indigenous lands account for less than 22% of the world’s land area, their traditional territories are home to approximately 80% of the world’s biodiversity.
Washington Tiwi, Shuar Kiim Community
Today, these groups are the last defense for many endangered ecosystems against increasing threats like logging, cattle ranching, and mining. Indigenous people are nature’s greatest guardians.
Shuar member Galo Wajai.
This idea is at the heart of Nature and Culture International’s conservation model, and has guided us since our start in the early 1990s. We protect the world’s most diverse ecosystems with the people who live in them. Thanks to caring people like you, Nature and Culture has worked with more than 30 indigenous groups, including the Shuar, who are deeply committed to the protection of their land. We provide extensive technical and legal support, and empower groups to use and preserve the natural resources around them that enrich their lives. By supporting indigenous people, you are protecting our planet’s wild places and the people who guard them.