Fundación Alianza Cuencas Sagradas (Amazon Sacred Headwaters Alliance – ASHA)

The Amazon Sacred Headwaters Alliance (ASHA), transitioning to Fundación Alianza Cuencas Sagradas, is an Indigenous-led alliance working across Ecuador and northern Peru to protect the Amazon Sacred Headwaters bioregion. In 2025, the Alliance comprised 28 member organisations—25 Indigenous Peoples’ organisations and 3 civil-society organisations—and worked toward protecting 35 million hectares of rainforest while advancing the rights and wellbeing of 30 Indigenous nations. Its mandate is rooted in Indigenous self-determination, territorial integrity, conservation and ecological regeneration. Its main activities include strengthening Indigenous territorial governance and land-rights processes; legal and technical support for territorial defence; youth leadership and technical training through the Living School of the Amazon (EVA); food sovereignty, regenerative bioeconomy and restoration initiatives; health-emergency coordination and humanitarian support; institutional strengthening and re-granting to Indigenous organisations; regional and global advocacy; communications; and the development of Indigenous-governed financing mechanisms. In 2025, ASHA supported six Autonomous Territorial Governments in Peru, provided more than 70 institutional-strengthening/technical-assistance grants and 20 emergency-response grants, and coordinated health actions reaching 37 remote communities.