Ph.D. student’s nonprofit seeks to protect Amazonian biodiversity and culture

While working alongside indigenous communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon, Ethan Duvall had a realization: most people wanted to preserve the rich natural ecosystems they had inherited from generations before - yet, without sustainable income opportunities, many are left with few options beyond destructive industries like illegal gold mining and oil extraction.

As a Ph.D. candidate in ecology and evolutionary biology, Duvall's research examines the importance of intact animal communities for maintaining ecosystem functioning, especially nutrient cycling. This work has taken him to the Ecuadorian Amazon - one of the most biodiverse places on earth, and also one of the most threatened. Between 2008 and 2016, the region lost over 650,000 hectares of pristine rainforest, and recent research identified a 50% decline in bird abundance within seemingly intact rainforest.

"A lot of the issues that the Ecuadorian Amazon faces are rooted in economic realities. Beyond my research, I became very interested in identifying and supporting sustainable income opportunities for communities on the frontlines of ecological destruction," he said. "I realized that in the absence of support for biodiversity-friendly livelihoods, extractive industries like oil and mining are often the only ones filling the void."

Duvall is a member of the first cohort of Semlitz Family Sustainability Fellows. Established in 2024, the Semlitz Fellowship is a partnership between the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability and the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business. The program brings together Ph.D. student and early postdoctoral scholars in sustainability fields with MBA students, with the goal of bridging the gap between sustainability science and the business skills needed to finance innovations.

Since 2021, Duvall has been working in the Amazon, developing relationships and deepening his understanding about the root causes of biodiversity loss. In early 2024, he founded a nonprofit organization, the Amazon Research and Conservation Collaborative (ARCC), in concert with Ecuadorian colleagues and indigenous partners, for the purpose of protecting both biodiversity and native cultures.

"The Semlitz Fellowship came at the perfect time, giving me the space to explore economic opportunities that support regional sustainability, while also serving as a springboard for our nonprofit," he said. "Our work centers around both biodiversity and cultural conservation, recognizing that each must be achieved for long-term sustainability outcomes."

For example, Duvall and his team have been working closely with their Indigenous Waorani partners to increase sales of artisanal goods-including bags, hammocks and jewelry-crafted using traditional techniques and native materials. While most communities lack the resources to access markets beyond their local area, ARCC is actively bridging this gap by connecting these products with U.S. retailers, helping to expand income opportunities that support basic community needs.

"We're offering U.S. retailers these beautiful, ethically-made products with an amazing story behind them, and we're giving these artisans opportunities to support themselves while protecting the forest rather than destroying it," Duvall said. "We just put through an inventory that's triple or quadruple their normal sales. We want this to be a legitimate, sustainable thing they can do, ecologically and economically."

Krisy Gashler is a writer for Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability.