|
The Amazon Rainforest is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. Forests like the Amazon are being destroyed at an alarming rate by extractive activities that violate the rights of Indigenous peoples and threaten their rainforest homelands, exacerbating an already devastating global climate crisis.
|
|
|
As a result of over-extraction, the Amazon rainforest is on the brink of turning from a carbon sink to a carbon source.
A recent study found that between 2001 and 2009, the region of the Amazon that lies in Brazil emitted more carbon than it captured.
|
|
|
Who Should Decide the Future of the Amazon?
|
|
|
Indigenous peoples have a symbiotic relationship with the forest that supports their existence - not just by living in it, but by living with it.
They are truly the defenders of the forest.
|
|
|
The First Female President of the Waorani
|
|
Nemonte Nenquimo is a prominent Indigenous leader and co-founder of the Ceibo Alliance from the Ecuadorian Amazon, who is fighting to protect her ancestral territory, culture, and way of life. In 2019, Nemonte led her people’s historic legal victory against the Ecuadorian government, protecting half-a-million acres of primary rainforest from oil drilling.
|
|
|
“The Earth does not expect you to save her, she expects you to respect her. And we, as Indigenous Peoples, expect the same.”
|
|
|
|
An Indigenous Leader on the Frontlines
of a Historic Victory
|
|
Alex Lucitante is a young Indigenous leader of the Kofan people who grew up in one of the most lush and biodiverse rainforests on earth, the Andean-Amazon foothills in Ecuador. But unlike his father and his grandfather, Alex never knew a time before the oil companies, miners and loggers. In 2018, Alex fought to protect ancestral Kofan territory from extractive gold mining. A monumental victory, Alex’s story is one of unity and respect.
|
|
|
“Mining threatened our territory, our rivers and the spiritual places which give us life. For the Kofan people, the river is not just water and stones.”
|
|
|
- Support the Waorani and A’i Kofan peoples right to decide the future of their territories in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Sign the petition and download the social media kit to help spread the word.
- Donate to support Indigenous land rights:
- Oppose the Brands and Banks Driving Forest Exploitation
- Banking on Climate Chaos 2021 | The most comprehensive report on fossil fuel bank financing.
- Divest in 3 Easy Steps from Future Earth x Aspiration
- Go to ran.org (bank report linked above) and see if your bank is listed as a fossil fuel investor
- If yes, find an ethical bank at:
- Make the switch!
- Then write a letter to your old bank and let them know why you dumped them.
- Daily decisions regarding what we do, what we consume, where we buy, how we choose to live, and the values that we hold and promote, affect this world we live in. Check out these Tools for Conscious Living and learn more about SDG #15.
- Call your lawmakers in DC & urge them to take bold #climateaction. It takes just 60 seconds and will make a difference! Call 202 951 7780
https://www.call4climatenow.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
