Progress, partnerships, and a collective voice from Rio Branco, Brazil
From May 19 to 23, 2025, a distinguished delegation from the Ecuadorian Amazon actively participated in the 15th Annual Meeting of the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force (GCFTF), held in the city of Rio Branco, State of Acre, Brazil. The delegation was made up of prefects, vice-prefects, and technical delegates from the Provincial Decentralized Autonomous Governments of Pastaza, Morona Santiago, Zamora Chinchipe, and Orellana, as well as from the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon (CONFENIAE); and from Naturaleza y Cultura Internacional, the coordinating institution of the GCFTF in Ecuador and technical partner of the provincial GADs and organizations of peoples and nationalities, within the framework of the Amazon Platform for Forests, Climate, and Human Well-being, with technical and financial support from Naturaleza y Cultura Internacional. Below is a translated version of a recent news article published by Nature and Culture International (with permission). The original post is available here.
What is the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force?
The GCFTF is an international alliance that brings together subnational governments (such as states, provinces, and municipalities) from regions with tropical forests. Its goal is to protect forests and reduce emissions caused by deforestation, while supporting the sustainable development of local communities. They promote cooperation between governments, indigenous organizations, and national and international actors to create policies that benefit both the climate and the people living in these territories.
One of the most significant milestones of the event was the incorporation of the province of Orellana as a full member of the GCFTF, a decision adopted unanimously by the subnational governments that make up this global network. This consolidates the position of Ecuador—and the Amazon Platform—as a regional benchmark in climate and territorial co-governance from the Amazon.
During the meeting, the Ecuadorian delegation presented substantial progress in the implementation of mechanisms for territorial governance, forest conservation, and the promotion of sustainable livelihoods. Highlights included the management and governance models promoted by indigenous peoples and nationalities, the consolidation of Conservation and Sustainable Use Areas (ACUS) and Territories of Life, and the development of the Amazon Regional Fund as an innovative mechanism for direct, participatory, and contextualized financing.
In the spaces for political, technical, and international cooperation dialogue, the delegates promoted coordination between subnational governments, indigenous peoples, and strategic allies, reaffirming the value of ancestral knowledge and collective rights in the fight against climate change. They also actively contributed to the development of the proposal known as the new forest economy, based on four pillars: restoration of degraded lands, strengthening of the bioeconomy, maintenance of natural infrastructure, and sustainable intensification of existing economic activities. This vision seeks to catalyze investments that generate decent jobs, reduce deforestation, and improve the well-being of local and indigenous communities through flexible, inclusive financial instruments adapted to each territorial context.
A key moment of the event was the signing of the “Declaration of the Governors of the Andean Amazon Region” by the governors of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, who reaffirmed their commitment to forest conservation and sustainable development in the Andean-Amazon region. In this declaration, they agreed to consolidate an Andean-Amazon Alliance to implement the commitments established in the San Francisco, Rio Branco, and Cancun Declarations, reached by the GCF in previous meetings. This alliance will seek to build a common agenda to address climate change, deforestation, and rural transformation, promoting a Regional Action Plan with a local focus but with regional and global impact.
With this strategic participation, Ecuador is consolidating its position as a benchmark for subnational conservation initiatives ahead of COP30, which will take place in Belém do Pará, Brazil.
Institutional acknowledgments
We are grateful for the active participation of the provincial governments and indigenous organizations that make up the Amazon Platform for Forests, Climate, and Human Well-being, and for the financial support of the World Land Trust, NORAD-NICFI, Andes Amazon Fund, and Re:wild.
About the Amazon Platform for Forests, Climate, and Human Well-being
The Amazon Platform for Forests, Climate, and Human Well-being is a regional collaborative governance initiative between subnational governments and the peoples and nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon.
This innovative proposal coordinates efforts to conserve and manage more than 5 million hectares of Ecuador’s largest continuous forest, at the provincial and landscape scale, and to promote sustainable livelihoods.
Learn more here
More information:
Nora Sánchez Luzardo
Communications Coordinator for Latin America