Ecuadorian Amazon Forest at Risk | V Social Foundation

Your Forest. Your Legacy.

The Amazon’s biodiversity sustains life — and needs protection.

While local communities nurture and protect the land, industrial forces close in — lured by the promise of gold, hidden minerals, and the timber towering above. The forest, alive with centuries of biodiversity and Indigenous wisdom, risks being flattened for profit. Once deforested, the delicate balance collapses — soil washes away, wildlife disappears, waterways are poisoned, and ancestral knowledge is lost.

Ecuador: Where the Battle for Biodiversity Is Being Fought

A forest at the frontline

Ecuador is one of the most biodiverse — and threatened — countries on Earth. In the northeast, the Napo Province marks the gateway to the Amazon, where the rainforest meets ancestral Kichwa territory.

This region hosts primary forests, wetlands, regenerating lands, and agroforestry—home to 500+ bird species and over 300 tree species.

But it’s also frontline. Illegal mining, deforestation, and roads are closing in — even near protected areas.

Right here, in this tension, lies Sacha Samay Sinchi — 35 hectares of rainforest now being defended and restored by a Kichwa women-led project.

Why this Forest matters

A Gold Rush Threatens the Forest

Gold mining in the Amazon destroys big parts of the forest. Deforestation takes away the home to thousands of animals, birds, and plants. The machines and digging tear down trees, while chemicals like mercury poison the rivers, making it hard for fish and other wildlife to survive. Losing its biodiversity, the whole ecosystem becomes weaker. The threat of gold mining becomes bigger in the Napo region of the Ecuadorian Amazon, and hence, makes our action be more urgent:

In the Napo Region of the Ecuadorian Amazon, a mix of events causes additional urgency to act in defense of nature over mining interests. Since 2022, gold prices have surged by more than 80%, fueling a mining boom in Napo Province. One year later, in 2023, concessions were reopened, and new permits for mining, given out by the Ecuadorian government, now overlap with protected forests and Indigenous territories. On top of this, a big portion of mining in the region takes place illegally, often involving heavy machinery and toxic mercury extraction—putting ecosystems, rivers, and local communities at grave risk.

Together we can stop this

Your contribution helps stop the expansion of gold mining by supporting an alternative model of co-living with the Amazon—where trees, plants, birds, mammals, fish, and people can thrive together, defending the forest frontlines while enabling local communities to shape their lives in harmony with nature.

How we do this

We bought the 350.000 m² forest land so no mining company can take it.

We joined forces with 24 indigenous guardians who know and care for the forest.

We enrich the forest by planting trees and protecting wildlife, making it stronger and more diverse.

We transform the land a protected nature reserve, so the law helps keep it safe.

We give the guardians tools and support to watch over and protect the forest.

We build nature-friendly jobs (like tourism and agroforestry) so the community can care for the forest forever.

Chose your contribution to Safeguarding the Amazon

Buying forest land at risk is only the first step. Illegal mining is coming. The real challenge begins now — keeping the forest safe.

To prevent invasions and ensure the Amazon thrives, we need well-equipped community guardians, patrolling, trained in land rights, forest monitoring, and legal defense. We also work to strengthen the forest’s resilience against climate change, and partner with scientists to study its ecological value and raise awareness among public and private institutions about why this area must remain protected.

Your support gives us the tools and power to defend this rainforest — step by step. Back the forest. Become a guardian.

Discover what’s at stake

from vibrant orchids to playful capuchin monkeys

Your donation at work

Breaking it down to 10 Euros of support, 3,5 Euro help us to secure land and 6,5 Euro allow us to protect what's in there.

Explore the wildlife you protect

Ecuador: Where the Battle for Biodiversity Is Being Fought

A forest at the frontline

This region hosts primary forests, wetlands, regenerating lands, and agroforestry—home to 500+ bird species and over 300 tree species.

But it’s also frontline. Illegal mining, deforestation, and roads are closing in — even near protected areas.

Right here, in this tension, lies Sacha Samay Sinchi — 35 hectares of rainforest now being defended and restored by a Kichwa women-led project.

Why this Forest matters

Extreme Biodiversity

A sign of balance, now under threat.

VSF_BLOG_09.25_CANVA_Amazon Rainforest, river, aerial

Water Security

This land hosts springs that flow into the Amazon’s lifeblood.

Food and Medicine

Fruit, herbs, and native crops grow here, securing sovereignty.

Dignified Future

The forest sustains a local economy of tourism, education, and harvests — not extraction.

Ancestral Wisdom

It’s not just biodiversity — it’s memory, language, and belonging.

A Science Lab

Research on carbon and biodiversity marks this forest as vital for Amazon conservation.