Overview
Rivers, lakes, wetlands, and other freshwater habitats support incredible biodiversity. We rely heavily on these ecosystems, and the water they carry, for our lives and livelihoods. They shape cultures and connect communities. Yet, freshwater ecosystems around the world are in peril.
The Nushino-Curaray-Villano Community Fluvial Reserve is an initiative led by Waorani and Kichwa indigenous nations. Comprised of three major rivers, 12 secondary rivers, 295 streams, and 9 oxbow lakes, the Nushino-Curaray-Villano Community Fluvial Reserve contains more than 1,800 kilometers of free-flowing rivers and 26,000 hectares of wetlands in an area of 371,000 hectares of primary and secondary tropical rainforest.
Protection of free-flowing rivers in the Nushino-Curaray-Villano Fluvial Reserve in Ecuador
In Ecuador, 68% of the watersheds contain rivers whose connectivity has been altered. 83% of the rivers do not have protection. And 54% of rivers are used as some type of administrative boundary, including protected area boundaries
A protection scheme for the Nushino-Curaray-Villano fluvial scape allows local indigenous communities to manage and protect the river system and freshwater biodiversity. It is also an opportunity to protect a critical free-flowing river in the Ecuadorian Amazon region and maintain river connectivity in the Amazon Basin.
In fact, the Community Fluvial Reserve is adjacent to Yasuní National Park and the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve, creating a potential protection corridor for nearly two-thirds of the Ecuador´s Curaray River basin. The Community Fluvial Reserve protects 200 species of fish and safeguards key habitats for vulnerable megafauna, like the giant river otter and migratory catfishes. Protecting this region will also secure its future against threats of alteration such as construction of hydropower dams and roads, deforestation, mining, oil production, and unsustainable commercial fishing.
Community-based initiative
There are 80 indigenous communities in this fluvial system that represent more than 4,000 people committed to promoting freshwater conservation actions and strategies.
Effective conservation solutions are based on strong partnerships. Such partnerships have been established between NAWE and PAKKIRU, the organizations representing the Waorani and Kichwa communities respectively. These partnerships are built on a foundation of respect, equity, open dialogue, integrity, and mutual responsibility. A local technical team from both nations is leading the socialization of the initiative within each community. A Free Prior and Informed Consent process was developed, honoring the indigenous rights to make decisions about their lands and resources. This marked a historic moment in Ecuador, as it was the first time a protection scheme for a collective territory took into account the consent of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLC).
In February 2023, both indigenous nations officially declared the Fluvial Reserve as a “Conservation and Sustainable Community Management Area”, a legal figure of conservation in Ecuador.
A path forward
The Nushino-Curaray-Villano Community Fluvial Reserve is the first community-based protection scheme of a free-flowing river in the Amazon. Its implementation has the potential to set a precedent for replicating and scaling up the model in other regions in the Andean Amazon Basin. Currently, we, NAWE and PAKKIRU, are working with our communities to IMPLEMENT a management plan, defining key strategies focused on conservation actions, strengthening community governance, improving livelihoods and increasing the capacities of OUR organization. Next steps include:
• Define, prioritize, and implement conservation, governance, and livelihood strategies for the long term.
• Coordinate strategies and actions with different stakeholders.
• Include the community fluvial reserve conservation mechanism in land use planning and create social and environmental safeguards for future infrastructure projects.
• Develop a community-based monitoring system for freshwater resources.
• Define and implement a sustainable financing strategy and unlock new funding for freshwater protection for the Ecuadorian Amazon Region.
• Influence current protection policies in the region and create momentum for a broader conservation strategy in the Amazon Basin and beyond.
Management Plan Programs
- for Knowledge Management and Strengthening of Good Governance of Biocultural Territories
This program encompasses work in the management of ancestral knowledge and language, promotes intercultural research and the transfer of this knowledge in an intergenerational manner. It also supports the strengthening of territorial governance structures
2. for the Defense of Biocultural Territories
This program focuses on strengthening territorial control and surveillance to monitor and watch over territorial and environmental threats. It also promotes the implementation of environmental sanitation works, the provision of basic services such as safe water , and waste management
3.for Conservation and Sustainable Management of Natural Resources
This program promotes the conservation and sustainable management of the rainforest and water resources of the Fluvial Reserve. This program will focus on participatory monitoring of water and aquatic biodiversity
4. For Productive Development, Food Security and Food Sovereignty.
This program promotes the development of sustainable livelihoods for community members by strengthening technical, administrative, and financial capacities and providing inputs and equipment. For example: includes strategies for improving traditional production systems (chackras, kewene, aja)
5.sustainability proposal
A long-term financial sustainability proposal is being designed to manage the programs and projects of the Fluvial Reserve Management Plan. Possible sources of funding for this strategy have been mapped. It promotes the generation of synergies between national stakeholders to reach available funding sources. This will allow articulation with other conservation figures in Ecuador such as Water Protection Areas (APH) and Protected Forests. One of the most promising opportunities to leverage funds for this management plan is the formation of consortiums and alliances to apply for international bids and proposals. The main goal is to develop and consolidate a fund for the Fluvial Reserve in the near future.
