It is very important that people who are in other countries and places learn how the indigenous people have,
over thousands of years, preserved the forest.
They hardly destroy anything, except what is necessary, not huge quantities.
So I would like other places on our planet
to understand that the natural resources we have is really important, so that we carry on.
for a long time, and that our children recognise what we have
I think that in the future, if we don’t look after the forest and all these natural resources
this will be a desert and the warming will, in a very short time, finish human life.
La Chorrera is a place where there is jungle, a township where various indigenous people live.
There is a lot of conservation. Most of the indigenous people look after the forests, and the reserve
There is hardly any pollution here. When people come here from other places, they feel a change
Pure air, and hardly any noise like there is in the town, of cars, industry, all these things.
A peaceful urban area
The jungle is very important to us, because we depend on it.
The land gives food, the palms and all the animals, and we live from it.
For me, it has been really important to have the WWF technical team.
Even though we live in the jungle, with so many riches, we don’t always value them
You don’t know the places where you can find elements for certain activities or crafts,
so I learnt more and learnt to give more value to the spaces.
My name is José Zafiama Piñeras. I am part of the technical team of the Uitoto people group.
The team’s duties are to develop field activities.
Before that, we have training workshops
on how to use maps and instruments like GPS to locate the use spaces that we have in our territory.
We look at the material or the instrument we are going to use to gather information
How far away they are, and what we find in these use spaces.
They are useful to show other people and tell them how much potential we have here in our territory.
What we live off, how well we treat it, how to look after it, how we are preserving it for the future of our children.
What stands out is the responsibility you have of being able to teach the young people, the children.
The idea is to share the knowledge, so that they can pass on to other children, or their children.
What we want is that we carry on being indigenous,
even if we change, that we always have in mind, that the resources we have around us,
we need to use them in a sustainable way.
For my children, the way I pass on the knowledge is when they accompany me to places.
They learn as you talk to them and as they try things out. They know, and as we go past, I tell them
“This tree can’t be chopped down, because it is not necessary. Only use what you need”
My dream for the whole of the Amazon is that we all benefit from a healthy environment, that the river flows its natural course,
that the forests are kept, and we preserve it in the same way that we have been doing, that our Grandparents did,
the knowledge they gave us, the way we look after the environment, without having to destroy it.
That the Amazon could be a place where there is peace, good air to breathe, tranquillity
for everyone who lives here and for those who come to visit the Amazon.
That they can feel that it is a place of peace and tranquillity