"Our nationalities are asking all of the presidents of the world to listen to us and take action – to realize the amount of biodiversity and life that still exists there."

– Sandra Tukup, CONFENIAE

Today, at the United Nations COP25 Climate Conference in Madrid, a delegation representing 25 indigenous groups and nationalities from Ecuador and Peru united to bring a critical issue to the global stage: protection of a vital biome of the Amazon from oil drilling and industrial development.

The imperiled region – known as the Amazon Sacred Headwaters – is one of the birthplaces of the Amazon River. Spanning 30 million hectares in Ecuador and Peru, it is home to nearly half a million indigenous people from 20 nationalities (including peoples in voluntary isolation) and among the most biodiverse places on Earth. And yet, it's vulnerable to industrial exploitation with irreversible global implications.

A new report was released at the conference today entitled The Amazon Sacred Headwaters: Indigenous Rainforest "Territories for Life" Under Threat.

This report is a wake-up call and shines a light on an opportunity that Ecuador, Peru, and the world must seize. It carries a message straight from the people whose cultures and ways of life are connected to the future of the Amazon Sacred Headwaters.