The Living Forest: A Proposal for Indigenous-Led Conservation and Climate Change Mitigation

In honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2025, the Department of Anthropology is hosting an invited talk with Tulio Viteri, the Director of International Relations for the Indigenous Kichwa community of Sarayaku in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Mr. Viteri will give a presentation on the Living Forest Proposal, a grassroots initiative for Indigenous-led conservation and climate change mitigation.

In 2012, Sarayaku declared the entirety of their rainforest territory as Kawsak Sacha–Selva Viviente (The Living Forest, in Kichwa and Spanish respectively). The declaration was a formal act of collective governance which institutionalized Sarayaku’s commitment to revalorize ancestral notions of nature and enact a pioneering model of environmental protection based on traditonal knowledge. 

In 2018, Sarayaku launched a proposal for Indigenous-led territorial protection and conservation entitled “Kawsak Sacha–The Living Forest, A Living and Conscious Being: The Subject of Rights.” With this new proposal, Sarayaku began a campaign to translate the principles of the Living Forest into national law and international environmental and climate policy. 

Sarayaku leaders and activists have been deeply engaged in spreading their proposal to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous audiences. In 2015, the Living Forest Proposal was presented internationally by Sarayaku delegates in Paris at the UN Climate Change COP21, and to the President of France, François Hollande. Since then Sarayaku representatives have been promoting the initiative to audiences all over the world, including the Pope and the Dalai Lama. Their political campaign deploys a diverse range of strategies to institutionalize the Living Forest as a framework for territorial governance, conservation, and climate change mitigation at regional, national, and international scales. 

Speaker Bio 

Tulio Viteri has travelled abroad extensively as the Director of International Relations for the community of Sarayaku. Most recently, he has given lectures on the Living Forest Proposal at the 2024 UN Science Summit and the 2025 UN Climate Week, both in New York City.

Invited Talk Sponsors

Department of Anthropology, The Willson Center, Office of Sustainability, Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute, Center for Integrative Conservation Research, Department of Sociology, School of Public and International Affairs, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, Department of Romance Languages, Department of International Affairs, Dean Rusk International Law Center, Office of Global Engagement, Center for the Study of Global Issues, Department of Entertainment and Media Studies, The Gable Foundation, Department of Geography, and the Native American Student Association 

Main Organizer 

Louisiana Lightsey, PhD Candidate, Department of Anthropology 

Questions? louisiana@uga.edu