Voices that Challenge

Liz Chicaje Churay

A Leader Among the Bora
Liz Chicaje Churay, 38, is a leader of the Indigenous Bora community of Loreto, Peru, president of an agricultural cooperative, and former president of the Federation of Indigenous Communities of the Ampiyacu River. She first became an activist in her community at the age of 16, when she started to attend meetings about defending ancestral Bora territory from illegal logging and other incursions. That same year, she became a mother for the first time. During the campaign to protect the Yaguas, she often carried her young daughter with her, while spending long periods apart from the rest of her family as she traveled throughout the region.   

In January of 2018, as a result of the efforts of Liz Chicaje Churay and her partners, the Peruvian government created Yaguas National Park. Comparable in size to Yellowstone National Park, the new park protects more than two million acres of Amazon rainforest in the northeastern region of Loreto. Its creation is a key step in conserving the country’s biodiversity—safeguarding thousands of rare and unique wildlife species and conserving carbon-rich peatlands—and protecting Indigenous peoples.

Source: https://www.goldmanprize.org/prize-recipients/current-recipients/

 

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