In this webinar, Ramiro Batzin, the co-chair of International Indigenous Forum about Biodiversity (FIIB), discussed the work the organization has been developing, highlighted the most relevant goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Framework to Indigenous Peoples and pointed the objectives of COP 16. Edith Bastisdas, from the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity, reviewed relevant international instruments linked to Indigenous Peoples rights before touching on the context of the CBD, and pointing suggestions to strengthen the Indigenous Peoples participation.
Meet Eunice Chepkemoi, an Ogiek woman from Kenya and an Indigenous Woman Fellow in our Indigenous Women’s Program. In this video, Eunice shares insights on her fellowship and her project on empowerment of Ogiek women on renewable energy as means of combating the climate change crisis.
Following a training session in the Guna Yala territory in Panama, Nerieth Isabel Becerra Jacanamejoy, of the Inga People of Colombia, talks about her fellowship as part of Land is Life’s Indigenous Women’s Program.
Taguide Picanerai, Ayoreo people, highlights that the current situation of the PIACI in the Chaco region is complex. 20 years ago, the Ayoreo people were forced to flee their territory due to deforestation and adopt a sedentary lifestyle. He reveals that the government of Paraguay does not officially recognize the existence of Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact. Taguide urgently calls for the recognition and protection of his brothers’ and sisters’ rights.
Alicia Cahuiya, Waorani people, Leader and Coordinator of the Women Program at CONAIE. Alicia has spent years fighting against oil, mining, and logging companies encroaching on the Yasuní, home to the Waorani people and the Tagaeri and Taromenane peoples, who live in voluntary isolation. Her fight is crucial to preserving their land and way of life. In the video, Alicia highlights the challenges that put the culture and well-being of the PIACI at risk and makes an urgent call to protect and respect the lives of these #IndigenousPeoples so that they can live freely and in peace.
Julio Cusurichi Palacios, Shipibo People, member of the Board of Directors of AIDESEP, responsible for the PIACI program. Julio has been working tirelessly to protect Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact (PIACI) in the Peruvian Amazon. In this video, Julio highlights the severe threats and challenges jeopardizing the survival of PIACI and calls for an end to ongoing violations and the urgent recognition of PIACI’s territorial rights
In this chapter, Dr. Ogada talks about the effects of corruption on big conservation, the crisis narrative that states that all African wildlife is in danger because of black Africans, and the danger of the UN’s thirty proposal for Indigenous Peoples.
In Chapter 2, Dr. Ogada discusses the rise of the big conservation organizations and their relationship with international finance and European royalty
Dr. Mordecai Ogada is a conservation writer, who has been involved in conservation policy and practice for the last 18 years in Kenya and other parts of Africa, mainly related to human-wildlife conflict mitigation, and carnivore conservation. Dr. Ogada has been examining the policy problems and prejudices that underlie the challenges experienced in wildlife conservation, particularly in the global South. These issues form the central theme of ‘The Big Conservation Lie’ a book focused on Kenya he co-authored with John Mbaria. In Chapter 1, he discusses the connections between colonialism, conservation and the power of money.
Prior consent is not a mere administrative process but a substantive right of Indigenous Peoples, says David Suárez, Land is Life’s FPIC Program Coordinator. Consultation and prior consent protect the self-determination of Indigenous Peoples, and it involves any element that may affect their cultures and ways of living.
Land is Life calls on the crucial role Indigenous Peoples play in preserving biodiversity.
Since 2016, Indigenous Peoples have had a greater presence in debates on climate change within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. David Suárez, Land is Life’s FPIC Program Coordinator, debates on important topics in the context of COP 28 in Dubai, for Indigenous Peoples to participate in as a decision-making space.
Alicia Cahuiya is a Waorani woman and leader, living in the Yasuní National Park in Ecuador. She talks about the impacts of the oil industry on Yasuní, her family, her people, and her culture. She speaks about the struggle of Waorani women to save this preciousness of biodiversity, which is their home and also the home of future generations of the Waorani People.
Ramiro Ávila, former judge of the Constitutional Court of Ecuador, explains the meaning of the victory of the Yes in the Yasuni Consultation in 2023, and about what can be expected moving forward.
This video explores the eight main threats to the Indigenous Peoples Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact in South America linked to the exporter agro-extractive development model in South America. It demands that the States of Latin America and the international community take urgent measures to guarantee their life and rights.
From September 7 to 11 2021, the Second Indigenous Peoples Women’s March took place in Brasilia, Brazil. This peaceful march seeked to raise awareness of the protection of their lands and fight for their equal inclusion in the economic, political, and social realms. These videos are a message of Land is Life’s support to this mobilization. See the Portuguese version
From the Philippines, Kenya, Cameroon, and Argentina, Indigenous Peoples’ leaders unite their voices and send a message of support to the Indigenous women who continue protesting in Brazil. Although they are all from different countries, they are united by the same purpose: the defense of their territories and self-determination.
This video shows the process of the Kichwa Indigenous People of Sarayaku of the Ecuadorian Amazon developing their Free, Prior, Informed, Consent (FPIC) protocol to strengthen the protection and security of their territories.
In March 2019, Land is Life convened over a dozen Indigenous Peoples’ leaders from across Sub-Saharan African to discuss the security of Indigenous Peoples. As a result, the Indigenous-led Security Fund was launched to respond quickly to urgent needs of those experiencing threats as a result of their daily work.
This video explores the critical situation of Indigenous Peoples in Bolivia affected by the fires in 2019, their displacement, and the consequences on nature.
This video claims for territorial demarcation, informing about the situation of Indigenous Peoples and nature in Brazil in 2019.
In recognition of 2018 International Women’s Day, Land is Life celebrates in this video the Indigenous Peoples women of the Amazon who stand on the frontlines in the struggle to protect their lands from oil, mining, and other destructive development.
The Indigenous People of Sarayaku, in the Ecuadorian Amazon, presented the Kawsak Sacha Living Forest declaration before the president of Ecuador in Quito on July 26, 2018. This declaration is a radically new form of conservation that places Indigenous Peoples self-determination at the center of the effort to conserve their ancestral territory. The rainforest and their territory is considered a living space, a Sacred Territory and a Patrimony of the Biodiversity and Culture of the Kichwa People in Ecuador. The declaration claims for their territories as “a zone free from oil and mining”.
The Kichwa community of Sarayaku developed their plan to manage their lands, territories, and resources. This press conference announces the declaration of support signed by partners from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines and Venezuela, along with the traditional council of Sarayaku.
In October 2018, Land is Life and over a dozen grassroots Indigenous Peoples’ organizations from across the region met in Colombia to discuss growing threats faced by Indigenous Peoples throughout the Amazon. In this meeting, they also exchanged Indigenous-led approaches to safety and security
This video invites you to join Land is Life in its efforts. It explains who we are, and highlights the main topics we aim to address according to the voices of our leaders and collaborators.
From October 2nd to 4th 2017, Land is Life worked with allies at the Ogiek People’s Development Program to hold a three-day workshop, dialogue, and training in Arusha, Tanzania to educate and share experiences on FPIC from different countries throughout the region. In addition, a group of Indigenous-Led Grantmaking recipients from the Region gathered to share experiences and discuss how Land is Life could better support its partners.
This video highlights the oil exploitation life-threatening to the Tagaeri and the Taromenani, Indigenous Peoples in voluntary isolation, guardians of the biodiversity at the Yasuní National Park.
Enkishon Indigenous Initiative is a Indigenous women’s organization based in Kajiado, Kenya, working to support Indigenous Peoples’ communities in the region. They submitted their report for the Indigenous-led Grant, which supported Maasai people by: (1) providing sanitary towels to school girls so they can feel comfortable in school, (2) enhancing livelihoods by providing cows to a women’s group, and (3) promoting cultural activities to preserve Indigenous Peoples cultures and traditions. This project is an example of how Indigenous-led Grantmaking is enabling Indigenous Peoples to uphold their right to self-determination by supporting small, but critically important initiatives.
In June 2017 Land is Life completed a two-day workshop on free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) to share experiences using the legal mechanism to promote participation and consultation of Indigenous Peoples over proposed development projects on their lands and territories. The workshop was co-organized by CONFENIAE, the largest coalition of Indigenous Peoples nations in the Amazon, and was attended by over 70 people including leaders of the Shuar Arutam, Achuar, Shiwiar, Waorani, Pueblo Kichwa Sarayaku, Pueblo Kichwa Rukullakta, Shuar de Pastaza, Mujeres Sapara peoples along with two members of the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Lourdes Tibán Guala and Brian Keane. The goal of this ongoing work is to create unity among Indigenous Peoples’ communities on how best to apply FPIC to ensure their land rights and self-determination.
Gloria Ushigua, President of the Sápara Women’s Association of Ecuador (Ashiñwaka) speaks about her work to protect her territory in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
This video highlights Land is Life’s mission, our goals, and the issues we aim to address according to the voices of our leaders and collaborators.
This series of videos was produced by Conversations with the Earth (CWE) in partnership with Land is Life from 2011 to 2014, listening closely to traditional custodians of the world’s biocultural diversity to share their unique stories and raise global awareness and inform global and local responses to multiple environmental challenges.
