Organización Waorani de Pastaza (OWAP)

The Waorani Organization of Pastaza (OWAP) unites 30 Indigenous communities of the Waorani territory of Pastaza in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

Under the leadership of internationally recognised Waorani activist Nemonte Nenquimo, in 2018 OWAP stepped into action following the Ecuadorian government’s announcement to auction a new oil concession covering more than 200,000 hectares of Waorani territory. OWAP’s global campaign and legal battle resulted in a historic legal victory against the Ecuadorian government, protecting ancestral territory and setting an important legal precedent in the region.

Today, OWAP and its majority female leadership work to advance the rights of the Waorani people, strengthen community resiliency, and protect more than 230,000 hectares of Amazon rainforest threatened by deforestation and resource extraction.

The organization works directly with Waorani communities to:

• Revitalise ancestral cultures and empower young leaders through a novel intercultural education program.
• Advance and uphold Indigenous rights to protect forests through litigation and grassroots organizing.
• Build a sustainable, non-extractive future in the Amazon by strengthening local governance systems, promoting food sovereignty, and supporting women-led economic alternatives to resource extraction.