"We are Amazonia"

At the beginning, they gave us a general context about the Amazon, providing specific data about this region so important for our planet, both in terms of geography and more general figures. Among others, that the Amazon occupies 4% of the world's territory, in addition to hoarding 20% ​​of global drinking water. In addition, they used the famous phrase "The Amazon is the lung of the planet", delving deeper into the reason for this sentence, and the environmental implications - climate, landscape, biodiversity... - that this has, in more of the functions that the Amazon performs in the maintenance and sustainability of the planet -absorbs CO₂, completes the water cycle and regulates the global temperature-.

Second, they shifted the focus of the conversation from the general and environmental context of the region to the human communities that inhabit it. They told us that, although we lead a consumerist lifestyle - typical of the Western community - in which we see nature as a source of raw material to grow society and civilization, in the Amazon the life has been - for millions of years - and continues to be, very different from ours. The indigenous peoples, who mostly inhabit the Amazon basin, lead a lifestyle completely merged with the natural environment, which allows them to live in harmony with the ecosystem and, consequently, in a sustainable way. However, our western and consumerist lifestyle means that indigenous peoples, through no fault of their own, indiscriminately suffer the consequences of our disconnection with nature, resulting in very serious impacts that more than considerably affect their lifestyle. Among others, deforestation and the consequent destruction of the habitat, the increase in temperatures and changes in the climate and the increase in magnitude and frequency of natural risks such as fires derived from human activity - mainly from the urbanization and the burning of fossil fuels - in addition to the consequent disappearance of biodiversity.

To end the talk, and having delved deeper into the implications that our lifestyle has in the Amazon region, they wanted to convey to us the proposal that all these indigenous towns have to deal with this terrible threat: The so-called "Vision of the good to live". This refers to understanding that our life is not just ours, but that we live in relationship - and, therefore, we must try to make it also in harmony - both with the rest of the people and with the environment that surrounds us, our planet Consequently, they proposed a lifestyle that boils down to being good when I am good, when YOU are good and when NATURE is good, trying to leave behind our vision that we are the center of the universe and the fact that nothing that can happen around us affects us.

Article made by the Sustainability Committee of the 2nd year of High School in the subject Sustainable Development Objectives: Pol Pons, Irina Elizalde, Martina Gonzalez, Víctor Barbany, Alex Gubert, Silvestre Comella, Lara Gil, Blanca Esteve and Mariona Faig.