Land use change in tropical places with variable topography followed an elevation-sensitive pattern during the last 3 decades of the 20th century. Deforestation, driven by farmers, was concentrated in accessible, lowland settings, while sustainability initiatives, promoted by natural scientists, occurred in remote, upland settings. This lowland deforestation–upland sustainability pattern persists, but the drivers of sustainability initiatives have recently changed with the emergence of organizations of rain-forest–dwelling indigenous peoples that promote upland sustainability. This article describes and, by means of a case study, explains this shift in sustainability dynamics. Indigenous groups have gained more control over the lands they inhabit, and their populations have increased. With these changes, indigenous peoples' organizations have assumed pivotal roles in upland sustainability initiatives. The history of indigenous control over sustainability efforts where the Andes meet the Amazon in southeastern Ecuador, an area inhabited by the Shuar, illustrates this pattern of change.

中文翻译：

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山区土著驱动的可持续性倡议：厄瓜多尔热带安第斯山脉的舒尔

在 20 世纪的最后 3 个十年中，具有多变地形的热带地区的土地利用变化遵循海拔敏感模式。由农民推动的森林砍伐集中在可及的低地环境中，而由自然科学家推动的可持续性举措则发生在偏远的高地环境中。这种低地森林砍伐 - 高地可持续性模式持续存在，但随着促进高地可持续性的雨林居住土著人民组织的出现，可持续性举措的驱动力最近发生了变化。本文通过案例研究描述并解释了可持续性动态的这种转变。土著群体对他们居住的土地获得了更多的控制权，他们的人口也有所增加。随着这些变化，土著人民的 组织在高地可持续性倡议中发挥了关键作用。在安第斯山脉与厄瓜多尔东南部（舒尔人居住的地区）的亚马逊河交汇处，土著控制可持续发展努力的历史说明了这种变化模式。