Having lived for millennia in the forests of the ‘Amazonian Trapezoid’, today the Amacayacu National Park, indigenous communities there are now treated as an obstacle to conservation. Their rights have been systematically violated since the National Park was created in 1975. In April 2015 the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism signed an agreement to […]

The community of Lago do Mainá have lived with the forest and the river, nature for them is the most fundamental thing they have. However a military training base and increasing incursions by soldiers created tension between the community and the army. Through the use of social mapping the people of Lago do Mainá have […]

The indigenous people of Sungai Utik, a Dayak Iban community in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, have maintained a strong traditional connection to their forests despite continuous pressure from logging and palm oil companies intent on taking their land. Their forests remain intact and their traditional values are keeping their community together. If we want to keep […]

Wildfires may grab headlines but indigenous peoples and local communities who depend the Amazon face many different threats. Not only are their territories targeted for illegal extractive activities such as gold mining and deforestation but without clear land titles their situation remains legally precarious. But more than this – indigenous peoples and local communities offer […]

“Se não nós, quem vai proteger nossos territórios? Quem vai administrar nossos territórios? Jovens indígenas da Indonésia chamam seus irmãos que vivem nas cidades e terminaram seus estudos a voltarem para suas comunidades de origem. Eles chamam esse movimento de Homecoming [Volta para casa]. Os jovens estão elaborando novos modelos de desenvolvimento rural sustentável, criando […]

After the Highland Clearances in the 18th and 19th centuries, where communities were expelled from their lands in favour of sheep, legislation was brought in to give people secure tenancies, called crofts, to protect them from being cleared from the land again. In 2007 the Crofting Reform Act opened up the traditional crofting model to […]

Update: April 2021 The Dutch National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines announced on April 20, 2021 that they would accept a complaint against Pluspetrol, a multinational oil firm headquartered in an Amsterdam mailbox. The decision gives Indigenous communities in the oil fields of the Peruvian Amazon a path for seeking remediation from Pluspetrol for […]

Results of a new scientific study show that indigenous peoples using remote sensing technology can better survey their lands and reduce deforestation by half. Under the community-based forest monitoring program, called Rainforest Alert, indigenous scouts combine satellite imagery with foot patrols to verify evidence and equip community leaders with the information they need to take […]

In a rapidly dwindling community forest the people of Pandumaan & Sipituhuta have put up a strong fight to stop the growth of monoculture eucalyptus plantations. But the aggressive actions of the company & its close alignment with local politicians & the police have led this struggle down a dark path – protests, intimidation, arrests […]

Imagine communities and land-owners being paid by the government to protect their forests & natural resources? Costa Rica is the only tropical country in the world that has reversed the process of deforestation through a unique fuel tax law that impresses the importance of protecting the environment & helping develop communities.

Kalfein Michael Wuisan — ou Kale — é um jovem indígena minahasa de Wuwuk, Celebes Setentrional, Indonésia. Além de seu envol…G.

Erisvan é um liderança jovem e jornalista do povo Guajajara no Maranhão, Brasil. Atua no movimento indígena desde 2010, dentro de o…

Edivan Guajajara é da aldeia Zutiwa, Terra Indígena Arariboia-MA, um dos criadores da Mídia Índia, ativista indígena levando a fot…

Tirza Yanira Ixmucané Saloj Oroxom, Maya k’iche, nascida em Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. Ilustradora, muralista, artista plástica e r…

Jhonatan Yuditya Pratama é um jovem dayak kanayatn de 21 anos de Sungai Ambawang (Kalimantan Ocidental, Indonésia). Ele estuda n…s.

Carlos Enqueri é documentarista e mora na comunidade Waorani “Titepare”, na Amazônia equatoriana. Ele se dedica a difundi…

Yaily Castillo é originária da comarca Guna Yala, Panamá, licenciada em Saneamento e Ambiente pela Universidade Tecnológica do Pana…

Yarixa Torres é originária da comarca Guna Yala, na costa caribenha do Panamá. Nasceu e cresceu no Panamá e, atualmente, estuda Lic…

Alcibiades Rodriguez é facilitador, fotógrafo e cineasta aficionado que conta histórias com temas ambientais. É membro da ONG indí…

Lyudmila Vallarino é originária da comarca de Guna Yala, na costa caribenha do Panamá. Em 2021, está cursando seu último ano de Li…

Jose Hernandez Zapata nasceu em 1994 na comunidade de Carmelita, San Andrés, Petén, Guatemala, localizada dentro da Reserva da Biosfe…

Nazario Tiul Choc é da comunidade conhecida como Cooperativa Unión Maya Itzá (uma comunidade que foi repatriada do México para a Gu…

Nelson Danilo Flores Guzmán nasceu em Melchor de Mencos, departamento de Petén, e vive na Cooperativa Integral Agropecuária Técnica…

Welder Ramirez, 28 anos, tem nacionalidade guatemalteca e reside na comunidade chamada Cruce a La Colorada, na qual existe uma concess�…

Chris Elliman é um indígena da nação arecuna (Guiana). Com 32 anos de idade, ele atua há três anos como voluntário na Associaç�…

Luciane Saw Munduruku, mais conhecida entre seus amigos e parentes por Beka Munduruku, tem 18 anos e mora na aldeia Sawre Muybu da Terr…

Kokoyamaratxi Renan Suya é fotógrafo, cineasta e motion graphics do povo Kisedjê (Mato Grosso – Brasil). Em 2008, participou d…

Alexandro Guarani mora na aldeia indígena Rio Bonito, localizada em Ubatuba, São Paulo (Brasil). Desde os 12 anos, vem trabalhando no…

Jimmy Piaguaje é um cineasta indígena. Ele nasceu na comunidade de Siekoya Remolino. Jimmy adora enfrentar novos desafios e conhecer …

Cineasta emergente, pertencente ao vilarejo de Garifuna, com formação em temas de direitos dos povos indígenas e negros de Honduras,…

Noveni é dayak bahau, um povo indígena de Kalimantan Ocidental (Bornéu indonésio). Desde 2017, ela defende os direitos de comunidad…

Nixon Danny Andy Narvaez nació en la comunidad A’i Kofan de Sinangoe, territorio sagrado y ancestral ubicado en la Amazonía Ecuator…

Kuyu Saul Lopez es realizador audiovisual en Kuyujani Produccion Audiovisual. Licenciado en Comunicación Social, con especialidad Audi…a.

Elizabeth Swanson Andi is a member of the Santu Urku Kichwa community on the Napo River in the Ecuadorian Amazon. She is an indigenous …

Sickness regularly struck a family in the Dayak Iban community of Sungai Utik in West Kalimantan. After speaking to the local shaman the community made ‘bedara’ an offering and  pardoning ritual to divert the spirit path that ran beneath the family’s house that was making them sick.  Apai Gajah talks us through the different steps […]

For centuries, the Sapara people of the Ecuadorian Amazon made their clothes from the resistant and natural fabric that the forest grows for them. As people have become more used to commercial clothing, this tradition has been increasingly neglected. By stripping the bark from the tree and beating it to soften the fibres, they tame […]

Young indigenous leaders are mobilising, from Guatemala to Brazil. Youth members of the AMPB and COICA travelled to the village of Itapicuru of the Xakriaba people for a cultural exchange. They share stories and struggles, from religion to water, education to culture identifying similar themes despite the distance in geography.

Less and less Embera youth are using their native language. Embera language is crucial to their identity. Embera elders ask “Who are you if you do not speak Embera?’ Film by Norlando Meza, Genesis Barsallo and Christina Mezua Produced during the youth training workshop in Panama August 2018