Mirian Cisneros, Ena Santi, Patricia Gualinga and Nina Gualinga are some of the women leaders of the Kichwa community of Sarayaku in the Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest, who are opposing continued oil extraction, and setting forth a vital proposal for the healthy and just future they envision for their community and the forest that they live in relationship with. The women shared their communities’ Kawsak Sacha, ‘Living Forest’ proposal at the International Rights of Nature Tribunal in Paris, France during the United Nations 2015 climate negotiations. This article shares background and analysis from Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director of the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network, regarding the Living Forest proposal, Rights of Nature and the importance of Indigenous women’s leadership in these movements for deep systemic change in law, policy, and ways of living with the Earth. Photo credit: Emily Arasim/WECAN International
