Amo El Rio: Art as a driver of river conservation in the Peruvian Amazon

Posted on 31 May 2023

The river is the habitat and starting point for constructing the identity of Amazonian youth and their ancestors. It provides them with water, food and is the essential means of transportation in the Amazon. It is the place where they can recover their knowledge and connect with the water and the land that surrounds them.

Unfortunately, Amazonian rivers are threatened by pollution, indiscriminate fishing, degradation of river ecosystems, among other challenges. Therefore, the Amazon needs us to work together for its sustainability.

"As an Amazonian population, by promoting dialogue through art and creativity, we can reach new generations, different actors, and diversify the options for change. All actions count," said Luis Alberto Vásquez, director of the Decentralized Department of Culture of San Martin (DDC San Martin).

Thus, in 2020 WWF Peru created the “Amo El Rio” initiative, with the aim of inspiring and encouraging young people in the main Amazonian cities to become the main guardians of their rivers.

"Amo El Rio" addresses a crucial need for young people: to generate spaces for connection and co-creation in which they are creators and drivers of climate action messages and leaders in the protection of the Amazon and its freshwater ecosystems.

Based on the idea that art is a key channel for education and environmental conservation to go hand in hand, between 2021 and 2022, two cultural movements were developed in the cities of Iquitos and Pucallpa, bringing together entire communities and seeking to generate spaces for dialogue and search for solutions to the problems of the river.

In 2023, the cultural movement "Habita el Rio" was held in the city of Tarapoto (San Martin region), bringing together works by 26 local artists, represented by 9 paintings, 3 drawings, 7 photographs, 1 poem, 2 collages, 4 videos and 1 song. This initiative allowed the community to reflect on the challenges of river conservation, under a view of coexistence between humans and the Amazon.

"It is important to listen and give voice to the river. This cultural movement is an invitation to dialogue and collective action for the Amazon. We hope that more young people will be inspired to tell stories and raise awareness about the river through art," said Marcia Cruz, Associate Communications Officer for WWF Peru.

In total, more than 150 citizens of Tarapoto visited the art exhibition and participated in ceramics workshops, talks, guided tours and other activities related to river conservation. In addition, support was provided by the Ministry of Culture, through the San Martin Decentralized Directorate of Culture, and the Provincial Municipality of San Martin.

The cultural movement "Habita el Rio" shows, once again, that the youth of the Peruvian Amazon are interested and committed to the conservation of nature, they are the generation willing to adopt more sustainable practices. And art is a channel to demonstrate this love and passion for nature.

"We are in time to reconsider, change and opt for more sustainable practices that take better advantage of the resources that our rivers provide us without harming biodiversity," said Carlos Peralta Torres, Tarapoto artist whose work shows the contrast between a living river and bad human practices on it.

If you would like to learn more about the Amo El Rio initiative, visit: https://amoelrio.pe/