The Colombian environmental and peace activist has played a key role in establishing a protected area in the Amazon, providing small farmers with access to agricultural land and offering them an alternative to the war on drugs and violence, at great personal risk.

Jani Silva was born in the heart of the Amazon. From birth, she has lived a life interconnected with nature. However, living at the centre of one of the most prosperous jungles also means living at the epicentre of its dangers, including the violence of climate change and fractured armed groups forcing coca production.

During her adolescence, Jani often accompanied her mother to community spaces where social movements gathered. She became a valued member of the community, as she was one of the few people who could read and write well.

Throughout the meetings, she heard troubling stories of injustice in her community, which pushed her to become more involved. As she built relationships with various members, she became more involved. Like many defenders, her work began informally, but she quickly became the voice of the community, reporting human rights abuses and mediating interpersonal relationships, even placing herself in harm’s way to do so. Whether as a ‘rural inspector’ responding to calls for help in the most remote areas, her priority was always to ensure her community was safe.

In the late 1990s, the area in Putumayo where Jani Silva lived had become caught up in the socio-political struggles of Colombia’s war on drugs. There were coca growers, large-scale fumigation, and an increased military presence, forcing Jani’s community to take active steps towards protection. In their case, this took the form of
a Peasant Farmer’s Zone.

Jani led the way, ensuring that each community was consulted on the ideological and technical development of the Perla Amazónica Peasant Reserve Zone (ZRCPA), which was established at the end of 2000. Several accomplishments have resulted, including the protection of wild animals, the adoption of new hunting practices, and the dedication of each plot of cultivated land to conservation.

It was essentially a process of reimagining their relationship with nature and the ecosystem within their community. However, these changes were seen as being in direct opposition to the extractive behaviours of armed actors, and the ZRCPA and those involved began to receive threats.

Jani comments:  ‘Over the years, we’ve found ourselves caught in a battleground where control over land and resources is the goal. I have long opposed the incursions of mining and oil companies, as well as armed groups seeking to control our territories and drug trafficking routes in southwestern Colombia.”

She continues:  “The threats we face as an organisation defending our territory and environmental rights stem from the denunciations we make against pollution and exploitation in our territory.

We cannot deny the evident complicity between armed groups and oil companies through their subcontractors. These threats continue to be directed at peasant, Afro and Indigenous leaders who share the objective of defending their territory.”

After learning of an assassination plot against her, Silva was forced to leave her community in July 2021. She says: “Being away from my community has made everything harder. Challenging corporations and illicit actors is hard enough. Having to do that far from my community while consistently watching my back is emotionally draining. I miss the tranquillity, the fresh air, being surrounded by nature. I also miss my neighbours – people who are attached to the land, as I am. They have also been harassed and threatened.”

After decades of hard work and risk, she continues to protect her community and the land. However, what gives her the most hope are the young people in her community who are embracing different ways of living. Whether it’s integrating organic vegetable gardening or learning not to throw candy wrappers on the ground, it is the youth who will lead the way. While Jani needs to acknowledge the past and heal, she is looking forward to a better, brighter future.

Jani Silva was awarded the Hessian Peace Prize last September. The prize committee highlights: “Her commitment to social justice, environmental protection, and social cohesion in the Putumayo Amazon region over the past 40 years.  She has been exposed to death threats from armed militias for years, who are trying to kill her and her family”.

Jani Silva said that this recognition is the reward for many years of community work. “This award confirms that we are on the right path in defending human and environmental rights. It is also recognition for all the women of Putumayo and Colombia — indigenous, Afro-descendant, and peasant women — who fight every day for our communities.” (Jani Silva receives peace prize at the Hessian State Parliament (Germany) – (Photo: Stefan Krutsch).

Yadira Sánchez-Esparza & Pedro Santacruz