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The forest is our teacher. It's time to respect it

1,831,534 views |

Nemonte Nenquimo |

Countdown Summit

• October 2021

For thousands of years, the Amazon rainforest has provided food, water and spiritual connection for its Indigenous inhabitants and the world. But the endless extraction of its natural resources by oil companies and others is destroying the lives of those who live there, says Waorani leader Nemonte Nenquimo, and threatening the overall stability of Earth's biosphere. In this powerful talk, she reminds us of the destruction that continues to happen to the world's largest tropical rainforest -- and demands respect for Mother Nature. "The forest is our teacher," she says. (Filmed in Ecuador by director Tom Laffay and associate producer Emily Wright, in collaboration with Amazon Frontlines. In Spanish with subtitles.)

For thousands of years, the Amazon rainforest has provided food, water and spiritual connection for its Indigenous inhabitants and the world. But the endless extraction of its natural resources by oil companies and others is destroying the lives of those who live there, says Waorani leader Nemonte Nenquimo, and threatening the overall stability of Earth's biosphere. In this powerful talk, she reminds us of the destruction that continues to happen to the world's largest tropical rainforest -- and demands respect for Mother Nature. "The forest is our teacher," she says. (Filmed in Ecuador by director Tom Laffay and associate producer Emily Wright, in collaboration with Amazon Frontlines. In Spanish with subtitles.)

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Donate to Amazon Frontlines, a nonprofit cofounded by Nemonte Nenquimo to seed a global effort to drive resources to the frontlines of Indigenous action in the Amazon.

Sign the letter to Ecuador's Supreme Court, written by Nemonte Nenquimo and other Indigenous peoples to demand respect for their right to decide the future of their ancestral territories.

Share Nemonte Nenquimo's talk with the presidents of five major Amazonian countries to make sure they hear her wisdom and heed her call to action.

About the speaker

Nemonte Nenquimo

Nemonte Nenquimo

Indigenous leader

See speaker profile

Nemonte Nenquimo is an Indigenous leader of the Waorani peoples, legendary hunter-harvesters of the south-central Ecuadorian Amazon. She is a founder of the Ceibo Alliance and Amazon Frontlines and a board member of Nia Tero.

Learn more

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Donate to Amazon Frontlines, a nonprofit cofounded by Nemonte Nenquimo to seed a global effort to drive resources to the frontlines of Indigenous action in the Amazon.

Sign the letter to Ecuador's Supreme Court, written by Nemonte Nenquimo and other Indigenous peoples to demand respect for their right to decide the future of their ancestral territories.

Share Nemonte Nenquimo's talk with the presidents of five major Amazonian countries to make sure they hear her wisdom and heed her call to action.