In March of this year, the province of Zamora Chinchipe, Ecuador, developed an inclusive model for the conservation and sustainable management of its forests, the second REDD+ Jurisdictional Plan in Ecuador after Pastaza. Both provinces are key members of the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force (GCFTF). The following press release was published on June 30, 2025, by Nature and Culture International, coordinating partner of the GCFTF, and is translated and reproduced with permission from the author. The full article is available here: Plan Sembrando Vida en Zamora Chinchipe
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Plan Sembrando Vida in Zamora Chinchipe
June 30, 2025
AN INCLUSIVE MODEL FOR THE CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF OUR FORESTS AND THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE FROM THE SOUTHERN ECUADORIAN AMAZON
On March 6, 2025, through registration letter PdIREDD+Ecu-2025-001, Ecuador’s Ministry of Environment, Water, and Ecological Transition (MAATE) approved and formalized the REDD+ Measures and Actions Implementation Plan for the province of Zamora Chinchipe, named by the province itself as “Plan Sembrando Vida” (Plan for Sowing Life). With this milestone, Zamora Chinchipe becomes the second province in the country to have a jurisdictional REDD+ Plan (Pastaza has had its jurisdictional REDD+ Plan since 2021).
This process was notable for its participatory and intercultural approach, with the active participation of nearly 1,000 representatives from public institutions, indigenous peoples and nationalities, organized civil society, universities, and producer associations. Thanks to this collective effort, a shared vision of sustainable development focused on forest conservation was consolidated. The actors involved expressed their dreams and commitments to future generations, betting on a prosperous territory through good conservation and production practices.
Some facts about the Zamora Chinchipe REDD+ PoA or Plan Sembrando Vida (Sowing Life Plan):
Conservation with Social Justice
The “Sembrando Vida” (Sowing Life) Plan in Zamora Chinchipe, Ecuador, represents a pioneering experience in the implementation of REDD+ strategies that integrate gender equality, interculturality, communication, and environmental education as cross-cutting approaches. Its objective: to halt deforestation, restore ecosystems, and build a sustainable and inclusive new forest economy, leaving no one behind.
Through the active participation of local communities, especially rural and indigenous women, the plan promotes sustainable solutions with positive environmental and social impacts.
This plan becomes an official tool of the province when it is integrated into the province’s Land Use and Development Plan. It is further strengthened by its coordination with the Amazon Platform for Forests, Climate, and Human Well-being and the collaboration of various partners and donors operating in the territory, who provide technical assistance, resources, and expertise to enhance the scope and impact of the Sembrando Vida plan.
Learn more about the Amazon Platform here.
The PDI as a participatory planning tool
The PDI is a coordinating instrument that, based on the identification of actors and their relationship with forests, analyzes and proposes alternatives for sustainable forest management, production, conservation, and stewardship within the territory. In this way, it allows for the design and implementation of measures based on the different causes and agents of deforestation and degradation. These actions must be defined, prioritized, and executed collaboratively to effectively contribute to reducing deforestation, promoting conservation, and restoring forests.
Landscape of the Conservation and Sustainable Use Areas of Biodiversity in Zamora Chinchipe
The “Sowing Life” Plan is designed as a technical and political instrument that will be integrated into the Provincial Development and Land Use Plan (PDOT), consolidating a vision of development based on sustainability and inclusion.
TERRITORIAL DEVELOPMENT PROCESS AND ACTIVE PARTICIPATION
The plan was developed by the Provincial Decentralized Autonomous Government of Zamora Chinchipe with technical and financial support from Naturaleza y Cultura Internacional, gathering input from various stakeholders involved in its development.
Participatory construction workshops of the Sembrando Vida Plan
Municipal and parish governments, the Provincial Roundtable for Climate, Forests, and Human Well-being, indigenous peoples and nationalities, organized civil society, universities, and producer associations also actively participated.
STRATEGIC COMPONENTS OF THE “SEMBRANDO VIDA” PLAN
The PDI is structured around four key strategic areas:
1. Institutional Policies and Management for REDD+
Governance is fundamental. Work will be done to develop and implement provincial and municipal ordinances and parish resolutions that align REDD+ actions with national and provincial public policy, ensuring a coherent legal framework that enables climate action at the local level.
2. Transition to Sustainable Production Systems
The goal is to transition to deforestation-free agricultural production based on diversified practices that respect ecosystems.
Santa Ana-La Florida, Palanda (Zamora Chinchipe): ancestral origin and
oldest evidence of cocoa use 5,500 years ago
Cases such as the origin of the domestication of native cocoa demonstrate the productive potential of the territory and its capacity to generate value from local gardens and knowledge.
3. Sustainable Forest Management
Communities depend on the forest for their livelihoods and recognize that conserving it is key to improving their quality of life. The plan promotes sustainable management models that respect traditional uses and generate livelihoods compatible with conservation.
4. Conservation and Restoration
Active conservation is essential. The plan prioritizes actions in the four Conservation and Sustainable Use Areas (ACUS) of Zamora Chinchipe, as territorial nuclei from which a new vision of local development is projected. The ecological restoration of degraded areas is also key to strengthening the resilience of the territory.
Map of Conservation and Sustainable Use Areas for
Biodiversity in Zamora Chinchipe
Inclusion and leadership from territorial diversity
Amazonian women face multiple barriers: limited access to land, reduced economic opportunities, and an overload of unpaid domestic work. Faced with this reality, the REDD+ Sembrando Vida Plan has developed a Gender Action Plan that prioritizes their leadership, economic autonomy, and participation in environmental governance. This approach recognizes that there can be no climate justice without gender justice.
First meeting of rural women from the province of Zamora Chinchipe
Equity, youth, and rural innovation
Although the gender approach is cross-cutting, the PDI also prioritizes other historically marginalized groups such as rural and indigenous youth. Their active inclusion is promoted through technical training, access to resources, and participation in governance processes, such as those related to climate, forests, and human well-being.
The PDI also supports community entrepreneurship based on agroecological practices, sustainable tourism, and value chains for non-timber forest products.
Shuar woman, producer of organic, deforestation-free cocoa
Monitoring with a gender perspective
In the context of the 71 years of political life in the province of Zamora Chinchipe, the current prefect, Karla Reátegui, stands out as the first woman to hold this position. Under her leadership, the incorporation of a gender perspective and the strengthening of work with rural women have been promoted with determination.
In this context, the provincial plan includes a robust monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) system that incorporates social, economic, and environmental indicators. This system makes it possible to evaluate progress, identify challenges, and adjust strategies in a timely and participatory manner. In addition, data is disaggregated by sex and age, thus ensuring an equitable and representative measurement of the impact on different population groups.
Karla Reategui, Prefect of the Provincia of Zamora Chinchipe
Alignment with global commitments
This initiative is part of key international commitments such as:
- Agenda 2030 – SDGs 5, 13, and 15
- Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (Goals 22 and 23)
- Escazú Agreement on environmental rights
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Belém do Pará Convention
At the national level, it responds to policies such as the National Gender Equality Agenda and the National REDD+ Plan.
A model from the Amazon for the world
Zamora Chinchipe demonstrates that it is possible to integrate forest conservation, rural development, ancestral knowledge, and local participation into a single territorial planning process.
“Sembrando Vida” is more than a plan: it is a living model of just and resilient transition that can be adapted and replicated by other territories in the Amazon and beyond to build a new forest economy that includes all people and respects planetary boundaries.
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Author: International Cooperation Office of the Provincial Government of Zamora Chinchipe in collaboration with Nature and Culture International.
More information:
Nora Sánchez Luzardo
Communications Coordinator for Latin America