Conservation and Care: Cofán Lessons for Stewarding Abundance in Amazonia

Accelerating deforestation and ecological degradation, linked to political and economic policies and agendas that endanger the health, well-being, and cultural survival of Indigenous people, present dire threats to the Amazonian biome and its inhabitants. Confronting these challenges necessitates a unified response by local and global partners. We argue for a more pluralistic approach that calls for an equitable footing between Indigenous knowledge and sustainability science. We present a case study of the Cofán community of Zábalo in the Ecuadorian Amazon, where collective efforts to tsampima coiraye (care for the forest) have resulted in dynamic institutions adapted to diverse challenges and opportunities. Tsampima coiraye exemplifies a form of caretaking that is distinct from and complementary to Western conservation and that provides important insights into understanding the context and meanings through which community governance fosters stewardship. We draw upon longitudinal ethnographic fieldwork and the emerging Cofán concept of puifama atesuye (Two-World Knowledge) as an epistemic framework for critical reflection and action based on the multiple knowledges available to Cofán people about caring for the rainforest. This approach highlights the Cofán’s rejection of scarcity-driven conservation in favor of fostering abundance and conviviality, reshaping interactions with their environment. We argue that Western conservation could benefit from embracing community-based knowledge that reflect deep collective histories, cultural values, and understandings. Recognizing these perspectives challenges assimilationist conservation discourses and underscores the importance of respecting Indigenous ways of interacting with the environment, which remain distinct and politically significant for the Cofán of Zábalo.