Indigenous rights under threat
Indigenous people and communities aim to live in harmony with and protect the land, air, and water. They make up only 5% of the global population but care for 80% of Earth’s biodiversity. Even though they have successfully cared for the land and emit very little, they will be the first to bear the brunt of climate and ecological breakdown.
Indigenous communities have the experience and knowledge we need to prevent climate and ecological collapse. Inspite of this, indigenous communities continue to be ignored and mistreated by governments and big business.
Read a round-up of the headlines below:
“Biden Administration attourneys were in court this week to defend a mining project that will obliterate one of the most sacred Apache religious sites in the American Southwest.
In oral arguments Tuesday, the U.S. Forest Service said it was nearing completion of an environmental impact study that will transfer land east of Phoenix to two of the world’s largest mining companies for the purpose of building one of the largest copper mines on the planet. The massive project will hinge on the destruction of Chi’chil Biłdagoteel, a plateau otherwise known as Oak Flat, that is sacred to many Native American tribes, particularly the San Carlos Apache, who consider the area among their most holy of sites.”
The Intercept, Biden Advances Mine That Will Destroy Sacred Native Site
“Indigenous peoples are among the first to face the direct consequences of climate change, due to their dependence upon, and close relationship, with the environment and its resources. Climate change exacerbates the difficulties already faced by indigenous communities including political and economic marginalization, loss of land and resources, human rights violations, discrimination and unemployment. Examples include:
Indigenous peoples in Africa’s Kalahari Desert are forced to live around government drilled bores for water and depend on government support for their survival due to rising temperatures, dune expansion and increased wind speeds which have resulted in a loss of vegetation, and negatively impacted traditional cattle and goat farming practices.
In the high altitude regions of the Himalayas, glacial melts affecting hundreds of millions of rural dwellers who depend on the seasonal flow of water is resulting in more water in the short term, but less in the long run as glaciers and snow cover shrink.
In the Amazon, the effects of climate change include deforestation and forest fragmentation and consequently, more carbon is released into the atmosphere exacerbating and creating further changes. Droughts in 2005 resulted in fires in the western Amazon region and this is likely to occur again as rainforest is replaced by savannas thus, having a huge affect of the livelihoods of the indigenous peoples in the region.
Indigenous peoples in the Arctic region depend on hunting for polar bears, walrus, seals and caribou, herding reindeer, fishing and gathering not only for food to support the local economy, but also as the basis for their cultural and social identity. Some of the concerns facing indigenous peoples in the region include the change in species and availability of traditional food sources, perceived reduction in weather predictions and the safety of traveling in changing ice and weather conditions, posing serious challenges to human health and food security.
In Finland, Norway and Sweden, rain and mild weather during the winter season often prevents reindeer from accessing lichen, which is a vital food source. This has caused massive loss of reindeers, which are vital to the culture, subsistence and economy of Saami communities. Reindeer herders are being forced to feed their herds with fodder, which is expensive and not economically viable in the long term.
The potential threat of climate change to indigenous peoples’ very existence combined with various legal and institutional barriers, which affect their ability to cope with and adapt to climate change, makes climate change an issue of human rights and inequality to indigenous peoples.”
The United Nations, The effects of Climate Change on Indigenous Peoples
“When villagers refused to let a timber exporter log on their land in a remote Amazon rainforest area of Brazil’s Mato Grosso state, the hit men were sent in.
When police finally arrived 24 hours later, slowed by poor communication in the region, they said they found the bodies of nine men, all shot or stabbed to death, many bearing signs of torture.
The slaughter of Brazilian environmental activists and land defenders has been unrelenting for years, with new research from the watchdog group Global Witness showing that 57 people in the country were killed last year in confrontations with ranchers, loggers, miners and poachers.”
Los Angeles Times, It's been a deadly season for environmental activists and land defenders in Brazil
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