Liz Chicaje was born in 1982 into the indigenous community of Boras de Pucaurquillo in the
Pebas District of Peru's Loreto Region. She belongs to the Newat (sparrowhawk) clan. When she was a child, she was brought up in the forest where she learnt to appreciate the importance of nature and the wild animals. As she grew older, the native communities living in the area were increasingly threatened by
illegal logging and mining. After deciding to take on the task of fighting for the well-being of these communities, she developed her leadership skills and in 2013 sought to become mayor of the Pebas district. Although she did not win, she became more familiar with the problems of the people in the district. Thanks to her work, in 2014 she was elected president of FECONA, a federation of native Ampiyacu communities, providing an opportunity for collaboration with other native federations in the area. In 2017, the
Ministry of Environment of Peru invited her to participate in the work of the
COP 23. She presented her proposals on the Yaguas National Park at the
United Nations Climate Change Conference in
Bonn, Germany. ==References==