Women defenders of rivers, indigenous communities protecting their territories, and examples of sustainable economies have shown that, in the face of extractivism and environmental degradation, alternatives that put life at the center already exist in the Amazon. These experiences were shared during the second webinar, “Water, Life, and Territory from the Perspective of the Church with an Amazonian Face,” held as part of the lead-up to the 12th Pan-Amazonian Social Forum (FOSPA).
The voices of Amazonian women, Indigenous leaders, and pastoral workers came together in the second preparatory webinar leading up to the 12th Pan-Amazonian Social Forum (FOSPA), a space for dialogue and reflection on the defense of water, socio-environmental justice, and alternatives emerging from the territories themselves.
The event was organized by the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (REPAM), the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA), the Amazonian Network for Bilingual Intercultural Education (REIBA), the Latin American and Caribbean Confederation of Religious (CLAR), the Amazonian University Program (PUAM), and the Pan-Amazonian Jesuit Service (SJPAM).
Through various experiences, the webinar highlighted that defending the Amazon involves not only denouncing the threats facing the biome but also recognizing, strengthening, and coordinating the alternatives that communities are already building to care for life, their territories, and our Common Home.
Women Who Give Voice to the Rivers
Sister Patricia Blasco, a member of the Missionary Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, presented the “Women and Water” calendar project, inspired by REPAM’s campaign “Water, Life, Rights, and the Future of the Amazon.”
“It is an advocacy tool. It is a school of awareness and, at the same time, an act of resistance. It is a way of telling the world that rivers have a voice and that women are part of that voice,” she explained.
The calendar features images, stories, and testimonies related to twelve Amazonian rivers in different countries, including the Marañón, Napo, Orinoco, Puyo, and Beni. Its protagonists are women who, although they rarely occupy spaces of public visibility, play a fundamental role in sustaining the lives of their communities.
“These are the invisible women whom many systems fail to value, yet who are indispensable to our Amazon,” noted the nun.
During her remarks, she recalled that, for many Amazonian peoples, water is not simply a natural resource, but a living reality deeply linked to spirituality, identity, and communal existence.
She also emphasized that women are often among the first to feel the consequences of river pollution, mining, deforestation, and dam construction, due to their daily role in caring for water, food, families, and their territories.
“True advocacy begins when a woman dares to tell her story. When a community shares its reality. When a photograph brings a struggle to light,” she affirmed.
She added: “We are builders of alternatives. We are caretakers of water. We are defenders of the territory. We are sowers of hope.”
Economies for Life from Madre de Dios
From the Peruvian Amazon, Juan Carlos Navarro, secretary general of Caritas Madre de Dios and a member of REPAM’s Center for Socio-Environmental Justice and Good Living, presented various initiatives aimed at building economic models compatible with the care of ecosystems and the lives of communities.
Navarro warned of the advance of deforestation and extractive activities that threaten Amazonian territories, citing extensive agriculture, monoculture, and mining as among the main causes.
In light of this situation, he highlighted initiatives inspired by the integral ecology proposed by Pope Francis in the encyclical *Laudato si’*, recalling that the cry of the earth is deeply linked to the cry of the poor.
Among the initiatives promoted in Madre de Dios, he mentioned agroforestry systems, bio-gardens, fish farming, community-based rural tourism, the revitalization of traditional crafts, and the revival of ancestral crops.
She also highlighted the exchanges of seeds and knowledge carried out by indigenous and rural communities—spaces that allow for the recovery of traditional knowledge, the strengthening of food sovereignty, and the creation of economic alternatives without destroying ecosystems.
These initiatives demonstrate that it is possible to build economies that generate well-being and income for families without replicating exploitative models that endanger the Amazon’s forests, rivers, and cultures.
Indigenous Women Facing Threats to Their Territory
Indigenous leader Nadia Pacaya Grifa, of the Amahuaca people and head of the Indigenous Council of the Lower Madre de Dios Region, shared the reality communities face in the face of the advance of illegal mining, indiscriminate logging, land invasions, and river pollution.
“The constant threats we face put us at risk,” she stated.
Pacaya described how mining has profoundly transformed the communities’ environment: “Before, this river was very clear, and we could catch regular fish there, but not anymore—now it’s polluted.”
She also warned of the social consequences of extractive economies, particularly among younger generations. “They no longer want to work on the farm; now they only want to mine, because mining provides them with a little more income,” she explained.
In light of this reality, she highlighted the growing organization and leadership of Indigenous women, who serve as forest monitors, mercury pollution watchdogs, and human rights defenders.
“We live off the water, off our territory. We are the owners of our territory, and we don’t want it to be further polluted,” she stated.
Her testimony demonstrated that Amazonian women are not merely victims of socio-environmental impacts, but rather protagonists in processes of resistance, community organization, and territorial defense.
Socio-environmental justice and good living: alternatives that already exist
Viviana Wilches, a member of REPAM’s Center for Socio-Environmental Justice and Good Living, called for moving beyond the notion that societies must choose between protecting nature and achieving economic development.
“A false dichotomy has taken hold, suggesting that we must choose between protecting nature and creating jobs or income, between conserving territories and overcoming poverty,” she noted.
She explained that socio-environmental justice seeks a fair distribution of environmental benefits and burdens, the effective participation of communities in decisions regarding their territories, respect for the rights of peoples and nature, as well as accountability for environmental damage.
Within this framework, the concept of “good living” also emerges, understood as a way of life based on harmony with nature, community solidarity, and a balance among economic, social, cultural, and environmental dimensions.
Wilches also presented Saber REPAM, a platform designed to identify, systematize, and highlight Amazonian experiences that promote socio-environmental justice and “good living.”
“We don’t have to start from scratch. We need to recognize the territorial practices that already exist and build upon these shared foundations,” she stated.
The experiences shared during the webinar illustrated precisely this vision: communities recovering seeds, women defending rivers, indigenous peoples monitoring their territories, and productive projects seeking to generate income without destroying the forest.
These initiatives demonstrate that, in the face of extractive models threatening the Pan-Amazon region, alternative paths are not only possible but are already being forged from within the territories.
A Church with an Amazonian Face Heading Toward FOSPA
The webinar is part of the process of preparation and coordination among church organizations leading up to the 12th Pan-Amazonian Social Forum, a space where peoples, communities, and organizations from Amazonian countries will share their struggles, proposals, and alternatives for the defense of life and territories.
At the close of the meeting, Ximena Lombana, executive secretary of REPAM and moderator of the webinar, invited participants to continue engaging in this preparatory process.
The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, July 29, and will be dedicated to exploring in depth the extractive threats affecting the Pan-Amazon region, as well as the experiences of resistance, territorial defense, and care for our Common Home emerging from the communities themselves.
On this journey toward the 12th FOSPA, the shared experiences reaffirm a conviction that arises from the territories themselves: the Amazon is not merely a threatened space that needs to be defended; it is also a territory that teaches us new ways of relating to water, nature, the economy, and community life.