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Indigenous territories in the Ecuadorian Amazon can maintain forest conditions as effectively as formally protected areas, a new study has found.
Researchers used satellite observations from 2010 to 2021 to compare Indigenous territories, community-managed protected forests and government-managed protected forests.
Indigenous territories without formal conservation agreements had a high proportion of locations showing positive long-term vegetation greenness trends.
The study says conservation policy should recognise Indigenous stewardship and community participation alongside formal protected areas.
Indigenous territories in the Ecuadorian Amazon can maintain forest conditions as effectively as formally protected areas, even without formal conservation agreements, a new study has found.
The findings, published in the journal Biological Conservation, highlight the role of Indigenous communities in forest conservation and challenge the idea that effective protection depends only on government-managed protected areas or formal conservation contracts.
The Ecuadorian Amazon is among the world’s most important regions for biodiversity and cultural heritage. It is home to many Indigenous communities whose lives, traditions and livelihoods are closely connected to the forest.
But the region continues to face pressure from deforestation, logging, mining, oil extraction and climate-related disturbances.
Ecuador has established several forms of forest protection and governance in response to these pressures. They include government-managed protected forests, community-managed protected forests and Indigenous peoples’ territories, which are recognised as ancestral community lands.
All three systems seek to reduce the loss and degradation of natural forests, but their comparative effectiveness in maintaining forest condition has remained uncertain.
Researchers used satellite observations from 2010 to 2021 to assess forest condition under the three governance systems.
Rather than looking only at sudden forest-cover loss, the study examined longer-term changes in vegetation greenness using the Enhanced Vegetation Index. It also assessed deforestation tendencies and changes in net primary productivity.
These indicators helped researchers evaluate whether forests were degrading or improving, and how resistant and resilient they were to climatic disturbances, particularly the strong El Niño-Southern Oscillation event of 2015-16.
The results were notable.
Indigenous territories without formal conservation contracts showed forest-condition patterns comparable with other governance regimes and had a greater proportion of locations showing positive long-term vegetation greenness trends, according to the study.
Community-managed protected forests also performed well in some measures, including resilience to drought.
In contrast, government-protected forests in northern Ecuador showed the highest rates of long-term vegetation decline. The study said this was likely linked to pressures from oil development, roads and population growth.
The findings suggest that effective forest conservation does not necessarily depend only on formal government protection.
The study highlights the importance of community participation and Indigenous stewardship in maintaining tropical forests. Indigenous territories and community-managed areas can support conservation because local communities often have deep knowledge of forest ecosystems and long-standing relationships with their landscapes.
The researchers said conservation policy should recognise local participation and Indigenous knowledge alongside formal protected areas. Combining these approaches could help maintain healthier and more resilient forests while responding to increasing pressures from deforestation and climate change.
