Inspirational Women of Our Time: Nemonte Nenquimo
In the lead up to International Women’s Day on 8 March, it’s important to recognize the great efforts and actions taken by women across the world who have achieved and made a difference. Being one of Time’s top 100 most influential people of 2020, Nemonte Nenquimo led the members of the Huaorani tribe into protecting the tribe's land.
Nemonte Nenquimo told Amazon Frontlines: “The government tried to sell our lands to the oil companies without our permission. Our rainforest is our life. We decide what happens in our lands. We will never sell our rainforest to the oil companies.” directly after the legal victory of the Huaorani tribe against the Ecuadorian government.
For years, there has been mass exploitation of the Huaorani’s land in the vast Ecuadorian rainforest. The Huaorani are an ancient tribe, and many of the members live in a traditional way, hunting and gathering from the land, depending on the rainforest to survive. The oil drilling on Huaorani land means the destruction of the land, which is not only an extreme threat to the environment overall, but a huge concern for the many lives who live and wish to continue to live in the rainforest.
Nemonte Nenquimo became the President of the Waorani Pastaza Organization, and took a stand against the Ecuadorian government and their plans to auction off parts of the rainforest and open up more resources to oil drilling companies. The Huaorani won the legal battle and the government ruled to suspend the auctioning of Huaorani land for oil drilling purposes.
Nenquimo stood up bravely in the face of greed and exploitation and said: “Our rainforest is not for sale.”