IWD26 Episode 3 of 7: Nemonte Nenquimo

She didn’t simply defend the rainforest. She defended the future. And the world continues to breathe because of that choice.

Imagine living on land your people have stewarded for thousands of years, only to see it suddenly mapped, priced, and put up for sale. Home and history reduced to an asset on someone else’s balance sheet. Oil companies move in. Decisions are taken without consent. And the world, at a distance, calls it inevitable.

But inevitability only holds when no one is prepared to question it.

Nemonte Nenquimo did.

She listened; first to her elders, then to her community. She brought people together across generations and anchored their response in shared values, collective courage, and strategic action. What followed was not symbolic resistance, but decisive leadership.

As a Waorani leader from the Ecuadorian Amazon, Nenquimo helped lead a community campaign and legal case that protected more than 500,000 acres of rainforest from oil extraction. The ruling fundamentally reshaped how Indigenous consent is understood in Ecuador.

This was not a moment.

It was not a slogan.

And it was certainly not easy.

It was sustained, disciplined work rooted in responsibility rather than recognition. And the impact of that work extends far beyond one community, reminding us that leadership, at its best, safeguards futures we may never personally see.

 

This is not only Indigenous resistance. This is global survival.

It would be easy to frame this as courage alone. But the deeper truth lies in what this victory protected and why that matters to all of us.

Rainforests stabilise our climate (World Resources Institute), regulate global water systems (WWF), and store vast amounts of carbon (PLOS Climate). They sustain extraordinary biodiversity

and hold forms of knowledge and potential that no laboratory, however advanced, can recreate (Rainforest Trust).

When Indigenous communities defend these forests, they are not safeguarding something remote or niche. They are protecting shared foundations: climate stability, environmental resilience, and the conditions that make a liveable future possible.

Nemonte Nenquimo’s leadership is a reminder of how interconnected our futures truly are. Her community acted with clarity and responsibility preserving something the entire planet depends on, often without ever acknowledging where that protection comes from.

 

Give to Gain in its clearest form

Nenquimo offered something powerful: courage, unity, strategy, and a refusal to accept a damaged future as the only option.

And what society gained was extraordinary:

• More than 500,000 acres of rainforest protected (Goldman Environmental Prize)
• A landmark legal precedent for Indigenous consent (Amazon Frontlines)
• A model for community-led environmental defence (Oxfam)
• Proof that organised collective action can stand up to powerful interests (Time Magazine)

And there is a quieter gain that matters just as much: perspective.

Her story challenges the belief that progress must always mean extraction or expansion. She invites us to imagine progress as protection, care, and responsibility for what is irreplaceable.

 

The unfinished work: protection is everyone’s responsibility

Indigenous communities should never be expected to carry this responsibility alone. They safeguard systems the entire world depends on, often at profound personal cost, frequently without recognition, and too often because others with power and choice have failed to act.

As we look ahead to IWD 2026, Nenquimo’s leadership asks each of us to pay attention.

What harms do we quietly accept as “just how things are”?

What systems continue simply because nobody challenges them?

Where do we have influence that could prevent damage before it happens?

Protection is active, requiring effort and attention. And it matters everywhere, not only in rainforests.

 

A challenge for IWD 2026: protect what matters before it is lost

Nenquimo did not wait for the world to agree that her home was important. She acted because she understood its value long before anyone else recognised it.

So here is your reflection for the week: What is the “rainforest” in your world?

What is the thing, relationship, principle or community that needs a guardian rather than a manager?

Because the biggest gains often come from the people who protect the future long before the future is guaranteed.

Join us: IWD Webinar at ARU

As a Visiting Professor at Anglia Ruskin University, I’ll be hosting an IWD webinar on:

Tuesday 3 March 2026 | 13:00–14:00 (UK) with Keynote: Claire Kennedy (PPL) and Prof Gary Packham.

Register for free here

Together, we’ll unpack:

1. the history and what it asks of us today,
2. the realities women are navigating now, and
3. how a “Give To Gain” mindset can shape a better future practically, not performatively.