Río Napo Dossier
The Río Napo
The Río Napo is one of the principal tributaries of the Amazon River, originating in the Ecuadorian Andes and flowing eastward into Peru. It is home to Kichwa communities and supports fisheries, transportation networks, and forest-based livelihoods. This river forms the geographic and cultural foundation for the work documented below.
This page documents the social and ecological impacts of gold mining with particular attention to the Jatun Yaku mining operations — via the following distinct sections: News updates, film, research, and community organizations.
News Updates
Ecuador Imposes Mining Restrictions:
BNamericas
For more on the mining restrictions updates look into the Rio Times article.
Illegal Mining:
Evelyn Tapia
Defenders of the Rio Napo:
Gabriela Barzallo
Resistance:
Short films from the Rio Napo:
Research
Matt Finer
Community Organizations:
We highlight community organizations in the Rio Napo basin that are working diligently to revitalize culture and defend territory in the basin.
Yaku Churi
Yaku Churi – Meaning “children of the river” (in Kichwa), is a free kayak school for Kichwa Indigenous and mestizo youth from the banks of the Upper Rio Napo, also known as the Jatun Yaku (Big Water). The program aims to provide an academy to train in whitewater kayaking, raft guiding, sustainable carpentry, and conservation in an embodied after school program.
Ecuadorian Rivers Institute
Years of exploring and documenting whitewater rivers in the Ecuadorian Andes and observing the significant and growing threats to watershed quality led to the formation of the Ecuadorian Rivers Institute in August, 2002. We advocate for protected river designations, the Jondachi-Hollin-Misahualli-Napo free-flowing protected ecological corridor, and improvements to environmental legislation and watershed management/policy.
Bruce Farnsworth
Ishpingo Foundation
Improving the social, economical and environmental living conditions of the Amazon local populations, reforesting the rainforest as well as preserving biodiversity through the development of projects based on agroforestry.
