Indigenous alliance wins €1 million for protecting Amazon forests

Alianza Ceibo, an Indigenous-led alliance protecting more than two million hectares of Amazon rainforest, has won the €1 million 2026 Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity. The award recognises work that combines defending ancestral lands with improving daily life in forest communities.

Based in Ecuador, the organisation brings together the A’i Kofan, Siekopai, Siona and Waorani peoples. Its work spans Ecuador, Peru and Colombia, and its governing body has equal representation of women and men.

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, which announced the award on 23 September, highlighted concrete results. The alliance has helped secure legal ownership of ancestral territory for the Siekopai people and the cancellation of 52 illegal mining concessions in A’i Kofan territory.

Alongside those legal victories, it has installed 1,164 rainwater filtration systems, giving more than 6,500 people affected by oil contamination access to safe drinking water. It has also installed 200 solar power systems, bringing electricity to more than 200 families as well as schools and other community facilities.

The prize could help the alliance expand forest protection, community-led education and leadership training, including opportunities for young Indigenous people. It also hopes the recognition will attract longer-term funding, easing the uncertainty of annual fundraising and helping communities sustain their work.