Defending the Forest Defenders
Indigenous leaders and rising youth representatives from communities across six countries give statements on how 2020 has impacted them; from how the pandemic has threatened their lives and wealth of traditional knowledge to the effects of forest fires exasperated by weakening legal land rights.
Their communities are on the front lines, the forest defenders, fighting against climate change and protecting against pandemics. What can be done to protect these communities so they can protect nature? Listen to their strategies on how we can defend the defenders.
Militza Flaco, Youth Leader for the Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests (AMPB) from Panama gives a statement on how the pandemic has impacted her community and how Indigenous youth are taking up the fight for nature.
Levi Sucre Romero, Indigenous leader and coordinator Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests (AMPB), gives a statement on the risks of COVID-19 on Indigenous peoples in Costa Rica. He calls for action and more attention on the rights of Indigenous Peoples and to stop the development of forest lands.
Walela Txai, Indigenous Youth Leader of the Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil (APIB) and a member of the Paiter Suruí People in Rondonia, gives a statement on criminalization and violation against Indigenous and environmental activists in Brazil.
Peruvian Shipibo leader, Jhomar Wicler Maynas Inuma, gives his statement on the threats that environmental activists face and the importance of building strategic alliances.
Jhomar is part of the Coordinator of the Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin – COICA
Dinamam Tuxá, legal advisor and coordinator of the Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil (APIB), gives a statement on the continued attacks on Indigenous Peoples in Brazil in their fight against climate change, fires that destroy their homes, and invaders who take their land.
"Raise your Swords - We are the guardians of the forest" - Kalfein Wuisan, Indigenous Youth Leader of Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara (AMAN), gives a statement on the importance of traditional knowledge and the rise in criminalization of Indigenous peoples in Kalimantan.
Rukka Sombolinggi, Secretary-General of Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara (AMAN), gives a statement on how the COVID-19 pandemic has exasperated existing threats to land rights and heightened conflicts and criminalization of Indigenous peoples in Indonesia. Detailing resilience tactics, she shares hope which is now crucial in the fight against the new omnibus bill.
Tuntiak Katan, Indigenous leader and vice coordinator for the Coordinator of the Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA), gives a statement on the resistance of Indigenous peoples and the importance of traditional knowledge being recognized in the scientific literature for successful solutions against climate change and protecting against pandemics.