Land is Life stands in solidarity with the Batwa people who have been facing violence by US and German funded park guards in the DRC
Internationally funded park guards have been killing and terrorizing Indigenous Batwa living in the Kahuzi-Biega National Park, in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to a recent investigation conducted by Minority Rights Group International. The investigation took place between 2019 and 2021 and draws from interviews with 550 eyewitnesses of the violent attacks. The Batwa were already displaced from their territories in the 1970s with the establishment of the National Park. They but began returning to their ancestral lands in 2018, which was the beganthe violent attempts to re-expel them. Park guards and Congolese Army soldiers murdered at least 20 Batwa, group-raped at least 15 women, and forcibly displaced hundreds after burning down their villages. The park guards have been trained and supported with conservation funding from the United States, Germany, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and other international sponsors. Since 2019, the funders have been repeatedly informed of the violence against the Batwa. Despite knowing about these inhumane abuses, they have continued to support the National Park financially and materially. Land is Life stands in solidarity with the Batwa and demands the case to be investigated as a crime against humanity under international law. We call on the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, USAID, US Fish and Wildlife Service, KfW (Bank aus Verantwortung), Wildlife Conservation Society and other Kahuzi-Biega funders to immediately begin a process, with the full and effective participation of the Batwa people, that aims to: Provide remedy and reparations to the Batwa communities that have been evicted from the Kahuzi-Biega forest and have suffered human rights abuses and; Develop an action plan for restoring Batwa rights to their lands, territories and resources, prioritizing Batwa communities’ co-management of Kahuzi-Biega National Park, and supporting the Batwa in designing and implementing their own conservation initiatives within the Kahuzi-Biega forest. This tragedy demonstrates that the colonial ideology of conservation – where nature and people are viewed as opposites – persists, and continues to lead to human rights abuses. Fortress conservation is a glaring misconception as it is Indigenous peoples who have been guarding and taking care of their territories since time immemorial. Land is Life calls for Indigenous-led conservation which is guided by the traditional knowledge of the local communities, and where the human, economic, social, cultural and territorial rights of indigenous Peoples are recognized and respected.
Land is Life stands with the International Committee of Indigenous Peoples of Russia
While the war in Ukraine has been claiming lives and deteriorating all aspects of the well-being of the Ukrainian people for more than a month now, the human rights violations of Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia itself have not halted. As a result of the war’s impacts on the government, the ongoing land seizures, as well as the environmental and human rights violations against Indigenous Peoples within Russia, will be even more difficult to address. In Russia, Indigenous and non-Indigenous voices have been silenced since the outbreak of the war. However, Indigenous peoples living in exile have stood up and are raising their voices to condemn the immoral acts of Vladimir Putin. They have collectively decided to withdraw from all Russia-based organizations that have approved the actions of the Russian Government, and to establish a new, independent organization, the International Committee of Indigenous Peoples of Russia. Land is Life joins the International Committee of Indigenous Peoples of Russia in condemning the war and firmly stands in solidarity with the Ukrainians, Russians and all the Indigenous and non-Indigenous victims who suffer from the vile acts of Putin and his allies. Please find below an open statement of the International Committee of Indigenous Peoples of Russia. * * * Statement of the International Committee of Indigenous Peoples of Russia WE – the undersigned representatives of the Indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East living outside of Russia against our will—are outraged by the war President Putin has unleashed against Ukraine. At the moment, the entire population of Ukraine is in grave danger. Old people, women and children are dying. Cities and towns of an independent country are being destroyed because their inhabitants did not want to obey the will of a dictator and a tyrant. As representatives of Indigenous peoples, WE express solidarity with the people of Ukraine in their struggle for freedom and are extremely concerned about ensuring the rights of Indigenous peoples during the war on Ukrainian territory, including the Crimean Peninsula that remains illegally occupied by Russia. As representatives of Indigenous peoples, WE are outraged by statements of the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North (RAIPON) on March 1, 2022 and the statement of civil society leaders on March 2, 2022 in support of the decisions of President Putin. Such public statements can only be considered as direct support for the military aggression against the Ukrainian people, and their signatories are accomplices of the murderers of civilians in Ukraine. WE believe that the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North (RAIPON) has become an adjunct of the Russian Government domestically and internationally. Once a leader in the protection of Indigenous Peoples’ rights, it is today became an organization whose main purpose is to justify the actions of the Government and extractive companies that feed President Putin’s regime and destroy the traditional lands of indigenous peoples. WE believe that the leaders of RAIPON—Grigory Ledkov, Alexander Novyukhov, and Anna Otke who signed the letter should be also treated as war criminals, not merely accomplices of the war, because they voted for military action as members of the Russian Parliament. From now on, WE will consider any statements on any international platforms made by RAIPON and its representatives or by representatives of other organizations of Indigenous peoples which supported Vladimir Putin’s decisions regarding Ukraine as falsehood and propaganda as their main purpose is maintaining the prestige of the Russian authorities at the international level. WE call on any international organizations, nonprofit and intergovernmental, scientific, environmental, human rights and others, including institutes and branches of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and the Arctic Council to ignore the statements of RAIPON representatives and spokespeople of other organizations which supported Vladimir Putin’s decisions. Those statements are propaganda originating in the Russian political regime. We appeal to the international community to no longer consider RAIPON a legitimate representative of the Indigenous peoples of Russia. WE also declare that we are withdrawing from all Russia-based organizations and networks of Indigenous peoples of Russia in which we were previously members. We announce the creation of a new, independent organization—the International Committee of Indigenous Peoples of Russia. Tjan Zaotschnaja – Itelmen Dmitry Berezhkov – Kamchadal Pavel Sulyandziga – Udege Yana Tannagasheva – Shor Andrey Danilov – Saami Vladislav Tannagashev – Shor Irina Shafrannik – Selkup Please find the Russian version of the statement here.
Land is Life Celebrates the 38th Anniversary of COICA
Land is Life joins the 38th anniversary celebrations of COICA (Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin). COICA represents 511 Indigenous communities across 9 countries and is dedicated to making their voices heard in national, regional, and international spaces. COICA fights for the territorial rights and self-determination of Indigenous peoples across the Amazon basin and is committed to strengthening their unity and collaboration in the face of shared challenges. Land is Life and COICA have been working closely for the past years to improve the territorial and human rights of the peoples of the Amazon basin. One of our most recent collaborations has been the establishment of women-led communal banks, called “Seeds of Abundance”. Beisy Arana, an Uwottüja leader from Venezuela, and Regional Coordinator of the initiative, shares the key idea and outcomes of the pilot project: “The project was developed as a response to the economic challenges that many Indigenous women across the Amazon region have been facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The idea was to strengthen their entrepreneurship by enhancing their traditional skills and innovations from the perspective of Indigenous economy. The communal banks have built capacity in the local communities by facilitating saving as well as access to loans for the women entrepreneurs. Capacity building was also provided to the coordinating national organizations of AIDESEP in Peru, CIDOB in Bolivia, CONFENIAE in Ecuador, OPIAC in Colombia, and ORPIA in Venezuela. Collective decision-making has played a fundamental role throughout the whole process. Monthly meetings were organized among the national leaders and the regional working group. The success of the communal banks rests on the mutual trust and commitment of each member, as the women that founded the banks were already organized on the local and communal levels.” With the project, 10 communal banks, with 186 members, have been established across the five countries. “Seeds of Abundance” demonstrates that by establishing networks and collective ideas we are able to stand strong in front of common challenges. Learn more about the project by watching two video clips here and here. Land is Life congratulates COICA for their determined commitment in elevating Indigenous rights throughout their 38-years-long journey!
An Open Letter from Hueya Cahuiya Iteca, Waorani leader from the Ecuadorian Amazon
Land is Life’s close partner, Hueya Cahuiya Iteca, a Waorani woman from Yasuní, Ecuadorian Amazon wrote an open letter to the governments of the states of the Amazon region, where she demands the territorial rights of Peoples Living in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact (PIACI). Land is Life stands with Hueya in her fight for defending the ancestral territories of the Indigenous peoples of the Amazon. Please find the letter and its English translation below. Mi nombre es Hueya Cahuiya Iteca, soy una mujer del pueblo Waorani de la Amazonía Ecuatoriana. Mis padres nacieron en el Yasuní, yo también nací allá. A los siete meses de vida, debido a las presiones de la obra misionera evangélica del Instituto Lingüístico de Verano y al avance de la frontera extractiva petrolera tuvimos que dejar nuestra selva. Para el pueblo Waorani el contacto con el mundo occidental ha significado una trágica pérdida de vidas y de nuestro territorio ancestral. Algunos grupos y familias conocidos como Tagaeri y Taromenane rechazaron el contacto, promovido por los misioneros, y se adentraron en la selva. Hasta hoy en día esos grupos siguen huyendo de la colonización y viven en un territorio mucho más reducido respecto a lo que habían heredado de nuestros ancestros. La selva amazónica sufre las constantes presiones del avance de la frontera extractiva, la colonización de tierras y la construcción de carreteras. Siento a los grupos Tagaeri y Taromenane como a mis hermanos, con ellos compartimos los ancestros y los bosques, y es por eso que estoy trabajando para salvaguardar sus derechos como pueblos indígenas en aislamiento voluntario. Soy vocera del Yasuní y de todos los seres que habitan en nuestro bosque. Somos herederos y dueños ancestrales de esa selva. Queremos que el mundo entienda eso y que nos respeten, que respeten a los pueblos aislados y a todos los pueblos indígenas que protegemos esos territorios. No queremos más violencia. Es la casa del gran pueblo Waorani, Tagaeri y Taromenane, y exigimos respeto a nuestros derechos y al principio de No Contacto para los grupos que permanecen aislados en la selva. Mi nombre significa “guardiana de la cascada”. Somos los guardianes de la Amazonía, porque es nuestra vida, es la conexión con los ancestros que ahí siguen viviendo y que aseguran la vida para las futuras generaciones de todo el planeta. Los Pueblos Aislados no tienen voz en este mundo. Desde hace más de diez años junto a Land is Life me pronuncio en nombre de ellos, denunciando las vulneraciones a sus derechos y las amenazas que sufren su territorio y sus vidas. Pido a los aliados de la Amazonía su solidaridad con mis hermanos aislados y exijo a los gobiernos que garanticen sus territorios, su vida e integridad. My name is Hueya Cahuiya Iteca, I am a Waorani woman from the Ecuadorian Amazon. My parents were born in Yasuní, I was also born there. When I was seven months old, we had to leave our jungle, due to the pressures of the evangelical missionary work of the Summer Institute of Linguistics and the advance of the oil extractive frontier. For the Waorani people, contact with the Western world has meant a tragic loss of life and our ancestral territory. Some groups and families known as the Tagaeri and Taromenane rejected the contact promoted by the missionaries, and stayed in their territories. To this day, these groups continue to flee colonization and live in a much smaller territory than what they had inherited from our ancestors. The Amazon jungle suffers from constant pressure from the advance of the extractive frontier, the colonization of land and the construction of highways. The Tagaeri and Taromenane feel like brothers to me. With them we share our ancestors and forests, and that is why I am working to safeguard their rights as Peoples Living in Voluntary Isolation. I am the spokesperson for Yasuní and for all the beings that inhabit our forest. We are the inheritors and ancestral owners of that forest. We want the world to understand that and respect us, to respect the Peoples Living in Voluntary Isolation and all the Indigenous peoples who protect these territories. We do not want more violence. It is the home of the great Waorani, Tagaeri and Taromenane people and we demand respect for our rights and the principle of No Contact for the groups that remain isolated in the jungle. My name means “guardian of the waterfall”. We are the guardians of the Amazon because it is our life, it is the connection with the ancestors who continue to live there and who ensure life for future generations across the planet. Peoples Living in Voluntary Isolation have no voice in this world. For more than ten years, together with Land is Life, I have spoken out on their behalf, denouncing the violations of their rights and the threats suffered by their territory and their lives. I ask the allies of the Amazon for their solidarity with my brothers living in isolation and demand that the governments guarantee their territories, lives and integrity.
Reflections from the Indigenous Women’s March in Ecuador
This past week, Land is Life’s global network of grassroots partners recognized International Women’s Day. Rallies and events were held worldwide calling for increased gender equality and women’s rights. One significant march took place in the town of Puyo, Ecuador, where Indigenous women from across the Amazon region gathered to demand their individual, collective, and territorial rights. In this letter, Majo Andrade Cerda, a Kichwa woman and Land is Life’s Latin America Program Assistant, shares her thoughts from the march. * * * At 4 am on March 8th, we came together with Sapara, Kofan, Waorani, Kichwa, Shuar, Achuar, Andwa, and Shiwiar women for a ceremony of wayusa and chukula, ancestral drinks that we nourish ourselves with daily. At 5 am we started our symbolic walk, carrying torches illustrating that the fire that moves our resistance burns with the same passion as our lives. Delegations from the entire Amazon gradually arrived in the city of Puyo. Sisters from the north and south joined to remind us that none of us are alone. Recognizing faces from past encounters filled our spirits with fervor, it was a good sign to meet again. We knew that we are alive and stand strong in this fight. It was also energizing to mew new companions. The power of these young women adds to the process of resistance that will last as long as it takes to gain respect for women’s rights and collective rights. We marched on the streets because our existence is our resistance. The Indigenous women of the Amazon live in constant threat because of the extractive industries that only see our territory as a resource and not as the all-encompassing being as we know it. We are fighting to abolish this false idea held by the states and corporations that the only purpose of our bodies and nature is to be exploited. Our fight follows the path paved by our mothers and grandmothers in their search for freedom. In the 1990s, they were present in the Indigenous uprising. They played an essential role in the process and the development of the resistance. They sowed the seed, and now it is us, the new generation, the caretakers of the seed, who honor their lives and work with more marches and more voices. That is why Indigenous women from the Amazon were marching on March 8th; to demand our individual, collective, and territorial rights that allow us to live a full life in our communities.
Celebrating Indigenous Voices on International Women’s Day
Today, on the 8th of March, Land is Life joins the celebrations of International Women’s Day – a day dedicated to the recognition of women’s and girls’ rights and achievements. Among many Indigenous peoples, women have traditionally played central and respected roles as custodians of their lands and cultures. However, the loss of collective ownership of natural resources, top-down policies, and depletion of ecosystems, have led to the erosion of their rights. Social structures imposed by colonial and dominant cultures have placed Indigenous women in the margins of the margins, where they face discrimination both for being women and for being Indigenous. Lack of access to land and other resources, under-representation in decision-making processes, and violence are obstacles that many Indigenous women face in their lives. Yet they persist. As caretakers of land and water, knowledge-holders, healers, and transmitters of culture, Indigenous women have organized at local, national and international levels to address the common issues that they face. Many times, it is Indigenous women who stand at the frontlines of the struggles to protect their territories, cultures, and lives. With them lie many of the solutions to our contemporary problems – if they are given spaces to be genuinely listened to. At Land is Life, we find that supporting Indigenous women is the most effective way to support Indigenous communities – it is one of the guiding principles of our daily work. Land is Life advocates for: Indigenous women’s representation and capacity in decision-making at local, national, and international levels Inclusive governance of natural resources: The traditional knowledge of Indigenous women should be guiding the governance and protection of natural resources. Socio-economic development and self-determination: Indigenous women should have the means to develop their livelihoods and well-being in ways that support their desires and needs. Please find below a collection of thoughts from Indigenous rights defenders who are leaders of Land is Life’s mission.
Land is Life stands in solidarity with the Lepcha Indigenous people in India
Land is Life stands in solidarity with the Lepcha Indigenous people who are fighting for the last free-flowing stretch of the Teesta River in Sikkim, Northeast India, threatened by massive dam construction. Teesta is a cross-border river originating in the eastern Himalayas and flowing through the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal into Bangladesh. Over the past few decades, the river has been dammed with multiple hydropower plants, such as the 510 MW Teesta V Hydroelectric project. Loss of fish habitats, increasing erosion and landslides, lack of water for irrigation as well as depletion of plant, insect and bird species, are examples of the effects caused by hydropower construction that has altered almost the entire river system. Since 2007, the Indigenous Lepcha have been revisiting the planned 520 MW Teesta IV Hydroelectric Project that is now threatening the last 11 km stretch of free flow of the river in their ancestral land of Dzongu. The Dzongu is a biodiverse butterfly and bird hotspot with fragile ecosystems. The Lepcha fear the loss of their sacred river, the surrounding ecosystems, and the cultural heritage and livelihoods tied to them. To join forces in protecting their river, the Lepcha established the Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT), an organization devoted to fighting hydropower construction and to forming sustainable alternatives to dams. In addition to organizing various protests, petitions, and a 915-day hunger strike, ACT focuses on developing sustainable livelihoods, such as agroecology and eco-tourism, as alternatives to industrial unsustainable development projects. ACT has also appealed to the government to declare the last free-flowing stretch of the river as a river sanctuary. Even though Dzongu has been officially declared as Indigenous territory by the Government of Sikkim, the Indian Government and the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation keep pursuing the project without the consent of the affected people. A land acquisition notification was recently issued in Dzongu, to build a tunnel under several villages, which would lead to people losing their ancestral lands and increase the risk of landslides. Land is Life stands in solidarity with the Lepcha people and echoes the demands on the Indian Government to withdraw the Teesta IV Hydroelectric Project. Free, Prior and Informed Consent processes should be put in place immediately. Instead of taming the last free-flowing stretch of the Teesta River, the cultural and ecological values should be elevated by the establishment of a river sanctuary. The Lepcha should be the ones deciding on how to develop their ancestral lands and waters.
Land is Life Calls for Dropping the Charges against Bestang, Kim and Khim
Land is Life stands in solidarity with our Asia Program Director and Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) Secretary General Bestang Sarah Dekdeken, and journalists Kimberlie Quitasol and Khim Russel Abalos who have been falsely accused of cyber libel. They were sued by a former police chief who accused them of blaming him for the dismantling of a memorial to Macli-ing Dulang, Pedro Dungoc, and Lumbaya Gayudan, three Indigenous Kalinga leaders who successfully campaigned against the Chico Dam project in the 1970s. The monument was built by the Cordillera Peoples Alliance in 2017 and removed forcibly in 2020. Bestang was able to post bail and the trial is ongoing. The case is an example of the Philippine State’s systematic political persecution targeting Indigenous Rights Defenders. It is an attempt to silence criticism against state-perpetrated human rights violations and abuses, where the law is being weaponized against the people. The case is aimed at sowing fear among communities, activists, and critics. Land is Life joins the calls on the Philippine Government to urgently drop the trumped-up charges against Bestang, Kim and Khim. We firmly stand in solidarity with Philippine activists who are continuously being subjected to judicial harassment for defending human rights.
Partner Highlight: Dignité Pygmée Supports Indigenous Pygmy Communities by Empowering Women
Founded in 2004 to support the livelihoods and rights of Pygmy communities, DIPY is one of the few organizations established and run by Pygmies themselves. Pygmies are Indigenous peoples inhabiting the Congo basin whose culture and livelihoods are deeply tied to the forests. Since periods of colonialism, Pygmies have been considered illegal occupants on their ancestral lands. Still today, they are extremely marginalized within the society. For example, authorities failed to appropriately investigate the massacre of 66 Pygmies that took place a year ago. Pygmies do not have the means to participate in decision-making processes over their lands as in the establishment of almost all protected areas in the DRC. Their forest-dependent culture is threatened by increasing loggings and a rapidly modernizing culture. Deforestation has already led to a loss of livelihoods and growing poverty. It was only in 2021 when DRC’s legislature passed legislation designed to ensure its Indigenous peoples the same basic rights as other Congolese citizens (this law remains in congress and has not been signed or enforced by the federal government). DIPY works to secure the customary land and resource rights of Pygmy communities. The dignity of Pygmy women is at the core of DIPY’s work. As women play a key role in the Pygmy society, their empowerment supports the well-being of the communities as a whole. Therefore, after a six-month feasibility study on the “non-timber forest product” (NTFP) value chain, DIPY and Land is Life joined forces to launch a pilot initiative entitled Economic Empowerment of Pygmy Women in 2019. The initiative promotes the traditional role of Pygmy women in their food systems through the gathering and selling of NTFPs. This means that by receiving a fair income from their sustainably gathered products, the Pygmy communities have better means to fight poverty and maintain their forest-based economy through their own strategies. The initiative trains Pygmy women to develop their own economic and social systems of benefit sharing, trade, and sustainable use of resources. With the pilot initiative, three women-led cooperatives have been established in three Pygmy communities – Inongo, Bolingo, and Ikita – in the province of Mai-Ndombe, western DRC. The cooperatives aim at improving the financial and material autonomy of Pygmy women by supporting them in aggregating and selling their traditional goods, such as honey, handicrafts, fish, mushrooms, nuts, edible insects, fruits and berries, at larger scales. The cooperatives are associated with canteens where communities can buy basic manufactured goods at low prices or through traditional barter. The initiative has supported the communities in renting a space for the storage and sales of the products in Kinshasa as well as in building their own wooden river boat to facilitate the transportation of goods to the markets. Literacy and accounting training has been organized to build the capacity of the women to manage their cooperatives efficiently. So far, 1,812 Pygmy women have directly benefited from the initiative, and other indirect beneficiaries in the Mai-Ndombe province count up to 474,325 people. Besides economic empowerment, the program also encourages the Pygmies to preserve their traditional knowledge and practices that have for centuries maintained a large part of the Congo Basin’s biodiversity. The initiative is also increasing the motivation and commitment of other forest-dependent communities to protect forests for their proven added value vis-à-vis slash-and-burn agriculture. It thus contributes to reducing deforestation and, consequently, the negative effects of climate change. DIPY’s initiative has the potential to be replicated across other Pygmy communities in the DRC. The long-term goal is to elevate the capacity and representation of the Pygmies at all levels of decision-making so that they will be able to maintain their role as the “guardians of the forest”.
Land is Life condemns Shell’s mining plans along South Africa’s Wild Coast
Since the end of apartheid in 1994 there has been a renewed assault on the livelihoods, cultural practices, and heritage of the Indigenous inhabitants of the Wild Coast, South Africa. This has taken the form of repeated attempts to strip-mine the coastline – building a highway through the region that will facilitate mining and urban spread, and most recently, plans by energy giant, Shell, to prospect for oil and gas deposits off the coast. In each of these initiatives, the government has ridden roughshod over the constitutionally guaranteed rights of Indigenous peoples, to play a meaningful role when decisions are made about how their lands are managed, developed, or exploited. Instead of protecting the rights of affected communities, South Africa’s political leaders have sided with local and foreign oil and mining interests to impose development plans that risk destroying local livelihoods. In 2021, oil giant Shell embarked on an aggressive spin campaign to convince the world it was going green. In its “net-zero emissions” strategy Shell promised to reduce its fossil fuels production, increase carbon capture and storage, and transition to renewable energy production. The company even issued a statement to the COP26 climate summit to pressure governments to implement more ambitious policies. A day after the beginning of COP26, Shell announced it would commence oil exploration in the pristine waters of the Wild Coast of South Africa, a region particularly rich in biodiversity. In practical terms, this means that 48 guns, dragged by a large vessel, would send powerful blasts into the ocean floor every 10 seconds, 24 hours a day, for five months. Scientists have warned that the blasts are so loud that they can completely devastate the sensitive marine ecosystem that the coastal communities depend on for their livelihoods. Even though Shell claims it has followed all the rules set down by the government, the local communities temporarily won a court order that interdicts Shell from continuing with its seismic survey. The main review application will still be heard. These coastal communities are already feeling the impact of climate change through frequent severe storms that destroy food and increased livestock diseases over the recent years. South Africa is a leading polluter in the continent and should be focusing on cutting down its carbon emissions. The government should not sacrifice Indigenous livelihoods for short-term profits that only a small group of businesses will benefit from. The Indigenous communities not only depend on the marine ecosystem for their livelihoods but also for its cultural value – for them, the ocean is sacred. Land is Life stands in solidarity with the Indigenous communities and calls upon Shell to withdraw its operations from the Wild Coast. The Indigenous peoples’ right to a safe and healthy environment, stated in the South African Constitution, as well as the internationally declared rights to self-determination and Free, Prior and Informed Consent should be upheld.