Change scenarios in Amazonian <em>Kichwa</em> rural communities, Anzu valley, Ecuador

Abstract

This paper evaluates change scenarios in rural communities of the Kichwa Amazonian territory in the Anzu River Valley, Ecuador, in six communities, from Tzawata, at Northeast to Veinticuatro de Mayo at Southwest; at low, medium and high levels of the Anzu river valley. The communities settled since the end of the nineteenth century, came from the Napo province. Study area includes a portion of Kichwa original territory, fragmented by settler possessions, a process that also characterizes the territorial system of which the communities studied are part. The diversity of actors in this territory maintains a growing trend as the colonization process advances, also, the recognition of ancestral rights and community ownership of land, becomes more difficult. The decentralized autonomous local governments don't have competence in the legalization of lands and territories, but they do have competence in the investment for development. The study detected local governments don't include all the communities studied in their area of influence. On the other hand, already in this scenario it is detected that the knowledge of the use of local species is weakened in the communities, as well as their use. The irruption of legal and illegal mining and the persistent threat of oil exploitation create constant conflicts in the Kichwa nation. Strategic foresight, as the basis for the development of the territorial system and its application in the communities studied, necessarily recognizes the forms of indigenous and mestizo community social organization, their identity and ancestral values, times and rhythms of life.