Consumo problemático de alcohol, violencia de género y conservación de la biodiversidad

Biodiversity conservation often relegates social dimensions to a secondary level. However, its effectiveness depends directly on the living conditions, dignity, and decisions of the communities that inhabit and steward these territories. Between 2004 and 2025, WWF carried out a process to assess and respond to problematic alcohol consumption in four Kichwa and Shuar Indigenous communities in northern Ecuador’s Amazon, with the aim of strengthening community governance and inclusive conservation. Within the framework of the project “Consolidating Sustainable Living Landscapes in Ecuador – DGD”, funded by the Belgian cooperation, a participatory and intercultural methodology was applied, based on interviews, focus groups, and the training of community health promoters. The findings show that problematic alcohol consumption is predominantly male and is driven by gender norms, social pressures, and processes of cultural change, with differentiated impacts on women and girls, including increased caregiving burdens and exposure to violence, which limit their participation in environmental governance. The study concludes that addressing this issue through a gender, human rights, and intercultural lens strengthens the social fabric and is essential for effective biodiversity conservation with an approach centered on the care of cuerpos-territorios and One Health.

Biodiversity · Biodiversity conservation · Citizen journalism · Corporate governance · Focus group · Indigenous · Participatory action research · Environmental and Cultural Studies in Latin America and Beyond · Indigenous Health and Education · Social Sciences and Humanities

• Género y salud en la Amazonía ecuatoriana

  Open Access•Silvia Lorena Castellanos Rodríguez•Revista de ciencias sociales•2025

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