Waorani communities map their forest and win a court case to keep oil out
Waorani leader Nemonte Nenquimo helped unite communities, map their territory and win a 2019 court ruling that protected about half a million acres of Amazon forest from an oil auction.
The small thing
After Ecuador announced new oil concessions in 2018, she travelled between Waorani villages holding assemblies and talking with leaders about what the plans meant for their land.
The problem
Decades of oil extraction, logging and road building have damaged Ecuador's Amazon and polluted rivers. In 2018 the government announced an auction of 16 oil blocks covering about seven million acres, one almost entirely overlapping Waorani territory.
Why Nemonte started
According to the Goldman Prize, the Waorani had already lost much of their ancestral land and the auction plans were made without their free, prior and informed consent. She co-founded the Ceibo Alliance in 2015 to resist planned concessions.
What they did
Nenquimo organised region-wide assemblies, helped lead a community mapping project charting more than 500,000 acres across 16 communities, and helped run a petition and an investor-focused campaign called 'Our Rainforest is Not for Sale'. She also supported rainwater harvesting, solar panels and a women-led cacao business to reduce reliance on oil companies.
As lead plaintiff, she took the Ecuadorian government to court for failing to properly consult the Waorani.
What changed
In April 2019 a court ruled that the Waorani had not been properly consulted, and an appeals court upheld the ruling in July 2019, protecting about half a million acres from the auction, as reported by SBS News and the Goldman Prize. The Goldman Prize describes the case as a legal precedent for Indigenous rights in Ecuador. The government had maintained that it had consulted properly.
What they learned
In her 2024 memoir she stresses the role of Waorani women, writing that women are the voices of the forest.
“This victory is for my ancestors. It's for our forest and future generations. And it's for the whole world.”Nemonte Nenquimo, as quoted by SBS News
Copy this idea
Practical guidance written by our editors from the sources below. Adapt it to your place, and check local rules and safety first.
- Problem addressed
- Land or forest decisions made without the consent of the communities who live there.
- What to do
- Document community land use through participatory mapping, hold assemblies, and assert consultation rights.
- Materials and resources
- GPS devices or phones, paper maps, meeting space, legal support.
- Approximate cost
- Moderate
- Skills
- Facilitation, mapping, legal knowledge.
- Time
- Months to years.
- People needed
- Whole communities, supported by trusted allies.
- Difficulty
- Hard
- Risks and limitations
- Defenders may face pressure or threats; community maps can contain sensitive information, so control who sees them.
- How to adapt it
- Follow your community's own decision-making processes.
- Lessons learned
- Maps made by the people who use the land are strong evidence.
Why it matters
One ruling does not end pressure for oil drilling in the Amazon, and Ecuador's economy still relies on oil. But the case showed that Indigenous communities can use their own maps, evidence and consent rights to keep decisions about their land in their hands.
What didn't work
The government argued it had consulted properly and appealed the first ruling. Pressure for oil development in Ecuador continues.
Editor's note
She co-published a memoir, We Will Be Jaguars, in 2024 and remains an active advocate. Coordinates are for the provincial capital, not her village.
Sources: how do we know?
Evidence level: Documented. Supported by reliable published sources such as UN agencies, award bodies and reputable journalism. Not yet independently re-verified by our editors. What the person says and what independent sources establish are attributed separately in the text.
- award body
Nemonte Nenquimo – 2020 Goldman Environmental Prize, South & Central America — Goldman Environmental Prize, 2020Supports: Ceibo Alliance 2015; 2018 auction; assemblies, mapping 500,000+ acres across 16 communities; petition; solar and cacao projects; lead plaintiff; April and July 2019 rulings. - reputable journalism
Ecuador court rules govt cannot sell Amazon rainforest land to oil companies — SBS News, 13 July 2019Supports: July 2019 appeal ruling upheld April decision; half a million acres; government's position; Nenquimo quote. - reputable journalism
When Women Are Warriors — Jonathan Hahn, Sierra (Sierra Club), 21 November 2024Supports: 2024 memoir co-written with Mitch Anderson; Ceibo Alliance; her writing on women as voices of the forest; current status.