Polycultured agrarian systems in Ecuadorian Amazonia (also called chakras or swollen gardens) are characterised by a market-oriented crop for the generation of monetary income, for example, cocoa, other agricultural products (e.g., banana and cassava), and livestock for family farm consumption. Moreover, a chakra is an outstanding example of agroforestry production, in which ecological, social and economic elements co-evolve from a set of close and strong connections. In this context, the conservation and transformation of their biological subsystems can be understood as the result of complex interactions between anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic factors. In turn, such interactions are essential to provide food and monetary income to the indigenous community. Relevant agency capabilities exist that could cause an agroforestry system to take a different path of co-evolution, that is, towards greater or lesser sustainability associated with different levels of complexity. In conclusion, chakras have key ecological features that can mitigate the impact of human population growth in Amazonia. Additionally, chakras have their own processes of social self-regulation which enhance the possibilities of adaptation of Kichwa communities to changing environmental conditions, being essential elements in local food sovereignty, equitable gender relations and the respect of ancestral wisdom.

The struggles for decolonisation involve problems of coloniality of knowledge that persist in postcolonial states and shape their national educational programmes. In Ecuador, the request to decolonise education has been part of the agenda of Indigenous organisations for decades, and has successfully led to the formulation of programmes of intercultural bilingual education. In its radical acception, intercultural education theoretically aims to represent and revitalise knowledges and languages that have been for long under processes of invisibility and erasure. Moreover, the offer of culturally pertinent education would shorten the epistemic distance that plays a role in the access and retention of Indigenous students, especially in higher education. In line with these principles, this study analyses the situation of higher education programmes in the Amazonia region, with a focus on the Universidad Estatal Amazonica (UEA), who claims to integrate ancestral knowledges in its study programmes. The research aims to see how the study contents and pedagogical approaches respect the pluriversal worlds of the Amazonian region. Using official reports, observations and interviews, the study reveals, on the one hand, a persistence of approaches that deny the validity of intercultural education, and on the other hand, a growing presence of decolonial spaces claimed by the students as a reaction to the coloniality of knowledge within the UEA.

En el contexto actual del territorio, el desarrollo local sostenible es el aprovechamiento eficaz y equilibrado de los recursos disponibles conducentes al bienestar económico, humano, cultural y medioambiental. A partir de esta definición se establecen las bases para la elaboración de una estrategia de desarrollo local sostenible en comunidades rurales. Se partió de un diagnóstico del estado de conservación de la vertiente oriental de los Andes centrales, corredor ecológico Llanganates Sangay en el valle del Anzu. Se estableció la presencia y la diversidad de mastofauna con el empleo de trampas-cámara, huellas, encuestas y entrevistas a pobladores. Se realizaron encuestas en seis comunidades rurales; con métodos multivariados e inferencia estadística se determinó la tipología socioeconómica comunitaria. Mediante taller de trabajo con la Universidad Estatal Amazónica se determinaron criterios para lograr la sostenibilidad ecológica. Se registraron 35 especies de macro mamíferos, de 8 órdenes y 20 familias, 10 están amenazadas. Destacaron especies bandera como oso andino, tapir andino y amazónico, puma y chorongo. Las comunidades rurales expresaron dependencia entre 55 y 61,47% de los recursos locales; manifestaron relación cultural con la conservación y conocimiento de especies susceptibles de agregación de valor. Una agenda para impulsar el desarrollo sostenible debe contar con la colaboración entre las comunidades y la universidad, el monitoreo frecuente desde zonas adyacentes a los parques nacionales Llanganates y Sangay, hasta zonas boscosas parcialmente protegidas, que conecten el hábitat disponible con las comunidades,en relación con la conservación de los ecosistemas sub andinos y tropicales, para fortalecer las iniciativas locales.

With rapid ecological assessments, we diagnose the conservation status of large mammals in the localities Rio Encanto, San Jacinto Las Palmas, Sacha Llanganates, Cabeceras del Anzu, Boayaku, and Flor de Bosque, located within the Llanganates Sangay Ecological Corridor (CELS) and the upper subbasin of the Anzu River, in the eastern foothills of the tropical Andes, sub-Andean and tropical ecosystems in one of the most biologically diverse regions of Ecuador. Camera traps, 5 km linear transect walks, and interviews with local inhabitants recorded 35 species of macro mammals, in 8 Orders and 21 Families, including the Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus), Andean tapir (Tapirus pinchaque), Amazonian tapir (Tapirus terrestris), puma (Puma concolor), and chorongo monkey (Lagothrix lagotricha), mammals considered as flagship species, highly endangered. The continuity of natural habitat along the subbasins of the Encanto, Topo, Zuñag, Tigre, and Anzu rivers, as well as the mountain ranges toward the highlands, provide favorable conditions for the flow of individuals, from adjacent areas of the Llanganates and Sangay National Parks to partially protected forest areas, such as the private reserves of Fundation Ecominga, Sumak Kawsay in Situ, community reserves of Boayaku and Flor de Bosque. The protection of the area is a priority.

The chapter addresses institutional perspectives on intercultural education within public universities operating in Indigenous territories in the Amazon region. It briefly mentions the Ikiam Regional Amazon University, the revived Intercultural University Amawtay Wasi for Peoples and Indigenous Nations, and focuses on the experience of the Universidad Estatal Amazónica (UEA). The analysis is based on the regional enrollment data, especially those provided by the reports from UEA academic information systems and Senescyt-Unesco on mainstreaming equality. The chapter explores perspectives on access and the importance of higher public education for students in the region, with a focus on interculturality.

The chapter introduces the main themes of the book and the theoretical framework, influenced by a decolonial orientation that seeks to support arguments in favour of the recovery of indigenous languages and knowledge, which centuries of white and Eurocentric political and cultural hegemony have led to erasure. If Ecuador is a country where a plurality of populations coexists, these must have equal citizenship, which is also achieved through policies of epistemic justice, starting with the recognition of their cultures and knowledge. The cultural aspect of political rights is normatively recognized by the Constitution and by reforms in public education; to this end, Ecuador, like other countries, has implemented an intercultural education policy. However, this term is widely used with various interpretations, from mere functionalist to radical ones. Therefore, the chapter analyses the relationship between different types of interculturality and the epistemic and political rights of the Indigenous populations and nationalities recognized by the state.