MOCOA, Colombia — A bonfire crackles in the center of an Indigenous open-air pavilion atop a hill in the Putumayo jungle, adding warmth to the already sweltering Amazonian heat. The sound of homemade jingle bells fills the air as the essential aromas of local plants are sprayed around. This is part of an Indigenous ritual to connect with nature. “The heat of the fire connects us with the earth,” says Sandra Chasoy, a 41-year-old Indigenous Inga woman. She’s accompanied by María Dolores Sigindioy Dincoy, 57, an Inga elder, who tears up as she says: “Water is life … Without water, we are nothing.” Indigenous communities like Chasoy’s and Sigindioy Dincoy’s have safeguarded the Colombian Amazon for millennia, grounded in an ancestral belief system that holds nature as living and sacred, with its own rights. Indigenous communities have long understood the delicate balance and connection between humans and nature, with their traditional knowledge and nature-based practices proving to be among the most effective strategies for conserving the Amazon Rainforest. For centuries, Indigenous communities have lived in harmony with the forest, using sustainable farming methods, fire management techniques, and deep ecological understanding to preserve biodiversity. Indigenous know-how about safeguarding nature is wildly necessary, as about 20% of the Amazon Rainforest has already been lost in the past 50 years. Yet, historically, Indigenous nature protection efforts have been overlooked or undermined, despite being proven to be a cornerstone of successful environmental management. Growing interest in Indigenous knowledge Almost half of the Amazon’s intact…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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