Events

About the Event

Please join us for a conversation with Shuar leader Juan Carlos Jintiach, which will examine the roles that Indigenous people are playing in climate advocacy and multilateral climate negotiations. Jintiach is currently Executive Secretary of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities (GATC), an organization that advocates for Indigenous peoples and local communities across the Amazon, the Congo Basin, Indonesia, and Mesoamerica. He was short-listed for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 and was featured in the inaugural list of the world’s 100 foremost environmentalists of 2024 by The Independent. 

In his community of Ichuurku, Napo Province, Ecuador, he has also led micro-entrepreneurship projects and is currently spearheading a business collective that supports the cultivation of Guayusa tea and cacao, while fighting the imminent threat of mining in the region. The talk will be held in conversation with Dr. Deborah Delgado Pugley, Cogut Visiting Professor of Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

About the Speakers

Juan Carlos Jintiach, a leader from the Shuar people in the Ecuadorian Amazon, currently serves as the Executive Secretary of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities. His life's work revolves around the fierce defence of indigenous rights and territories, spanning from confronting oil companies and mining operations to representing indigenous voices on the global stage in the fight against climate change. Born into a lineage of Amazonian leaders, Juan Carlos's journey includes active participation in indigenous movements, like the historic collective effort against "Bloque 24"; and serving in key roles such as Co-Chair and Focal Point for the Indigenous Caucus of the UNFCCC. Now leading the Global Alliance, he unites indigenous peoples and local communities across continents, with the view of ensuring their rights to self-determination and ownership over their sacred territories. Despite his prominent public role, he is committed to his community in the Napo province in Ecuador. Facing imminent mining threats in his own territory, Juan Carlos remains steadfast in his commitment to safeguarding indigenous lands. Alongside his wife and four children, he embodies resilience, strength, and an unwavering dedication to the collective rights of his peoples.

Deborah Delgado Pugley, is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú and a Visiting Scholar at KU Leuven. She is also a Research Associate for the Andes Amazon Program at the Field Museum in Chicago. Her scholarly work primarily investigates environmental and climate policies in the tropics.  With her extensive fieldwork across the Amazon regions of Bolivia, Peru, and Brazil, Delgado-Pugley has spearheaded research initiatives focused on climate change, Indigenous Peoples movements, human rights, natural resource management, conservation, and gender. 

Co-SponsorsClimates Solution LabNative American and Indigenous Studies InitiativeInstitute at Brown for Environment and Society