At the 12th Pan-Amazonian Social Forum (FOSPA), held in Puyo, Ecuador, from August 16 to 21, 2026, conservation kayaker and founder of the Yaku Churi Holistic Kayak School shared his experience at the event and highlighted the need to move beyond large gatherings to concrete actions to protect the Amazon.
From Tena, in Ecuador’s Napo province, Diego Robles has turned kayaking into much more than just a sport. His expeditions along the Amazon’s rivers have allowed him to experience firsthand territories that remain unspoiled and, at the same time, to observe the impacts of pollution, mining, oil spills, dams, and other forms of pressure on ecosystems.
His participation in the 12th Pan-Amazonian Social Forum (FOSPA) provided an opportunity to meet, for the first time, with representatives and communities from different countries in the Amazon region. For Robles, one of the main values of FOSPA was precisely this coming together of the voices of those who face the region’s challenges on a daily basis.
“The most important thing is that the people on the ground are heard.”
An Amazon That Shares the Same Challenges
During the Forum, Robles had an experience that encapsulated the cross-border nature of Amazonian issues. Due to a mix-up, he ended up participating in a session with communities from Brazil. Although they did not speak the same language, he was able to quickly grasp the content of their remarks because the issues were the same ones he faces in his own territory.
“I’m understanding something that isn’t in my language, but it’s describing my reality,” he recalls.
For the kayaker, this experience demonstrated that rivers, forests, and communities know no political borders. The waters that flow through the Ecuadorian Amazon continue their journey to other territories until they reach the Atlantic. For this reason, he considers it essential to strengthen coordination among Amazonian peoples and develop common responses.
“It’s interesting to see how everything interconnects at this FOSPA, primarily to join forces,” he says.
However, Robles also warns of the risk that such gatherings will multiply without leading to concrete change.
“We can’t just sit around waiting for more of these events to happen. In the end, it’s nature that continues to suffer.”
From his perspective, the challenge following FOSPA is to bring the momentum and lessons learned from the gathering back to the territories, strengthening the communities’ capacities, their leadership, and their advocacy efforts.
Kayaking as a Path to Transformation
Robles’s story is deeply intertwined with the Amazonian rivers. For years, he dedicated himself to adventure kayaking and expeditions, eventually reaching a high competitive level in Ecuador. However, his constant contact with the rivers also transformed his understanding of the sport.
“If you don’t have rivers, you can’t kayak,” he points out.
This realization led him to question a sporting practice focused solely on competition and personal recognition. From that process emerged the Yaku Churi Holistic Kayaking School, an initiative that seeks to integrate sport, education, leadership, and conservation.
“Kayaking became a personal process, a personal transformation,” he explains.
The initiative is rooted in a conviction: defending the Amazon also requires transforming people. That is why Yaku churi seeks to train conservation leaders and provide concrete tools so that communities can develop sustainable alternatives.
The project combines kayaking with initiatives in sustainable carpentry, crafts, ecotourism, and the strengthening of productive activities linked to local knowledge.
“It’s not just about saying, ‘You have to fight against mining.’ You also have to ask yourself, ‘What can I do?’” explains Robles.
In this way, the sport becomes a gateway to getting to know the territory, strengthening bonds, and fostering a different relationship with nature.
“We don’t neglect the social aspect or the environmental aspect”
For Robles, the concept of holistic kayaking involves maintaining the sporting dimension while integrating it with social and environmental awareness.
“It’s fine to compete and be athletes, but we don’t neglect the social aspect—we don’t neglect the environmental aspect,” he maintains.
Her initiative has gained recognition within the kayaking world. In 2024, it was nominated among internationally prominent organizations, making it to the top ten finalists and, according to Robles, being the only one in South America with a concept of this kind.
Beyond the accolades, her hope is that the experience can be replicated in other regions, always respecting the unique characteristics and traditional knowledge of each community.
Her dream is for the sport to become a tool for transformation in various Amazonian vicariates and communities: wherever there is a sport that is meaningful to the local population, it could become a cornerstone for promoting leadership, education, conservation, and community organization.
Rivers as a Barometer of the Environmental Crisis
Robles’s concern stems from a specific source: rivers.
As a kayaker, he has directly experienced the decline in water flow, pollution, and the transformation of waterways he once navigated freely.
He speaks of oil spills, mining, dams, and pollution generated by cities themselves. But his perspective goes beyond extractivism. The environmental crisis, he asserts, is also linked to the way societies relate to nature.
“Seeing rivers with no flow, honestly, scares me,” he confesses.
His concern extends to the páramos and the snow-capped peaks of the Andes, which are essential for the generation and regulation of the water that feeds the Amazonian systems.
“Seeing a páramo catch fire is dangerous, because it shouldn’t. It should be completely wet,” he points out.
For him, these signs show that the Amazon crisis cannot be understood in isolation. There is a deep connection between the Andean ecosystems, the páramos, the rivers, and the vast Amazon basin.
Education as a Seed of Hope
Faced with this scenario, Robles identifies a concrete source of hope: education starting in early childhood.
“I’m not talking about education in the sense of diplomas,” he clarifies. His proposal calls for an education that fosters an understanding that human beings are part of nature and that, therefore, their well-being also depends on the health of ecosystems.
“Children are the hope of humanity,” he affirms.
At Yakuchuri, this perspective translates into training and support programs for children and youth. Along this path, he has also found points of connection with initiatives of the Church in the Amazon.
Robles particularly highlights the work of Lucy Urbina, who is involved in training programs for children and in initiatives coordinated with the Apostolic Vicariate of Napo, Caritas Ecuador, and the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (REPAM).
A Church That Walks Among the People
Although Robles does not define himself as a religious person, he recognizes the value of the Church’s support in the Amazonian territories and believes that its presence can contribute to processes of social and environmental transformation.
In his view, the Church is called to strengthen its presence on the ground and to more resolutely support the leaders and communities who defend life and their territories.
In particular, he values the Pan-Amazonian collaboration between REPAM and CEAMA and believes this network can continue to grow in its capacity for support and advocacy.
His proposal is not limited to an institutional perspective. He envisions a collaboration that would allow initiatives like Yaku churi to be brought to other Amazonian territories, adapting them to the realities of each community and using sports as a tool for connection, education, and conservation.
A “Revolution” for the Amazon and Life
The FOSPA experience also led Robles to envision more far-reaching solutions. During his meeting with Brazilian participants, he became aware of the need to strengthen an Amazonian alliance capable of transcending national borders.
His proposal may seem bold: moving toward pan-Amazonian mechanisms with the capacity to influence government decisions that affect the vast Amazon basin.
“We need to create something at the Amazonian level,” he argues.
More than a political structure in the traditional sense, his reflection expresses the need for the Amazon to be understood as an interconnected territory and for the countries that share it to assume common responsibilities in the face of environmental challenges.
“A revolution for the Amazon. A revolution for life,” he summarizes.
For Robles, this transformation begins with individuals, continues within communities, and has the potential to become a regional force.
His experience with FOSPA thus extends an invitation that connects the territory with action: to listen to those who live in the Amazon, to amplify their voices, to educate new generations, and to turn concern for nature into concrete actions.
On the rivers of Napo, the kayak becomes both a metaphor and a tool: moving against the current, getting to know the territory, caring for its waters, and training those who will continue to navigate it.
“We are seeds,” says Diego Robles. And in that conviction, he finds one of his main reasons for continuing to paddle through the Amazon.