Seventh Al-Moumin Distinguished Lecture on Environmental Peacebuilding – Patricia Gualinga

Nov 30, 2021 | Environmental Peacebuilding Association, American University, Environmental Law Institute, and UN Environment Programme

Patricia Gualinga is an Indigenous rights activist and environmental defender. She currently serves as International Relations Director for the Kichwa First People of Sarayaku in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Ms. Gualinga has been instrumental in shaping global awareness of and policy responses to environmental violence, extractive resources, and ecosystem conflict. An eloquent spokesperson for Indigenous-led solutions to climate change, she is a thought leader advancing such ideas as keeping oil in the ground, the “Living Forest” (Selva Viviente) conservation concept, and “Plentiful Living” (Buen Vivir). For years, Ms. Gualinga has campaigned for participatory environmental governance and community-based activism, working against human rights violations caused by the illegal appropriation of land for extractive purposes without prior and informed consent. Her leadership and systemic approach have directly resulted in groundbreaking victories in defense of ancestral territories. Through her work, Ms. Gualinga has highlighted the connections between corporate activity, environmental governance, and multi-scalar conflict. She has advocated in a wide range of decision-making platforms, including multinational companies, the Ecuadorian Congress, and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Ms. Gualinga has been a spokesperson for Mujeres Amazónicas Defensoras de la Selva (the Amazonian Women Defenders of the Jungle), a women-led environmental defenders’ collective.On 22 April 2021, the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean (known as the Escazú Agreement) entered into force. The Escazú Agreement reinforces and expands principles normalized in the 1992 Rio Declaration and 1998 Aarhus Convention. Most notably, it is the world’s first legally binding treaty explicitly guaranteeing protections for environmental defenders. The adoption of this norm in the Agreement is due in large part to the consistent campaigning, public education, and legal battles fought by environmental defenders – among them, Ms. Gualinga.