Liz Chicaje, líder de la comunidad indígena Boras de Paucarquillo, Loreto

Liz Chicaje Churay (born 1982) is an indigenous Peruvian leader who has contributed significantly to the protection of rainforests and rivers in the Loreto area of northeastern Peru, safeguarding the rights of the

Yagua people Yagua are an indigenous people in Colombia and northeastern Peru, numbering approximately 6,000. Currently, they live near the Amazon, Napo, Putumayo and Yavari rivers and their tributaries. As of 2005, some Yagua have migrated northward to ...

. Thanks to her efforts, the Yaguas National Park was established in 2018. In January 2019 in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

, she was awarded the Franco-German prize for human rights by the French and German ambassadors.

Biography

Liz Chicaje was born in 1982 into the indigenous community of Boras de Pucaurquillo in the

Pebas District Pebas District is one of four districts of the province Mariscal Ramón Castilla in Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the S ...

of Peru's Loreto Region. She belongs to the Newat (sparrowhawk) clan. When she was a child, she was brought up in the forest where she learnt to appreciate the importance of nature and the wild animals. As she grew older, the native communities living in the area were increasingly threatened by

illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corruption, corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, o ...

and mining. After deciding to take on the task of fighting for the well-being of these communities, she developed her leadership skills and in 2013 sought to become mayor of the Pebas district. Although she did not win, she became more familiar with the problems of the people in the district. Thanks to her work, in 2014 she was elected president of FECONA, a federation of native Ampiyacu communities, providing an opportunity for collaboration with other native federations in the area. She worked towards the preservation of the area surrounded by the Napo, Putumayo and

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

rivers neighbouring Colombia and Brazil. As a member of the Committee for the Categorization of the Yaguas Reserved Zone, she worked towards the development of the Yaguas National Park in which the native communities could be integrated and protected. In 2017, the Ministry of Environment of Peru invited her to participate in the work of the COP 23. She presented her proposals on the Yaguas National Park at the

United Nations Climate Change Conference The United Nations Climate Change Conferences are yearly conferences held in the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). They serve as the formal meeting of the UNFCCC parties (Conference of the Parties, ...

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

, Germany. Thanks to her efforts, the Yaguas National Park was established in 2018. In January 2019 in

, she was awarded the Franco-German prize for human rights by the French and German ambassadors. Chicaje was awarded the

Goldman Environmental Prize The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists, one from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. ...

in 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chicaje, Liz 1982 births Living people People from Loreto Region Women human rights activists Peruvian ecologists Peruvian environmentalists Peruvian women environmentalists Goldman Environmental Prize awardees