In 2003, Indigenous organizations petitioned the Peruvian government to create Yavarí Mirim, an Indigenous reserve on the Amazon border with Brazil and Colombia, spanning 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres),…
ISIOLO, Kenya — A hot wind sweeps across the rocky brush of Camp Simpirre in northern Kenya’s Isiolo county. Baboons cross the pathway to the dinner hall; vervet monkeys patter…
JAKARTA — The Indonesian Supreme Court has upheld a government decision to curb the expansion of a multibillion-dollar oil palm plantation project in the country’s easternmost region of Papua. In…
Journalist Alex Cuadros’s latest book, “When We Sold God’s Eye: Diamonds, Murder, and a Clash of Worlds in the Amazon” tells the story of how an Indigenous group in Brazil was forced to reckon with Western culture.
Indigenous peoples and local communities scored perhaps the most tangible progress as the 16th United Nations, or COP16 concluded after three days of final negotiations in Rome on Feb. 28,…
A recent study in Ecological Solutions and Evidence shows just how complicated and challenging it is to achieve carbon sequestration goals through forest management — but not impossible. The research…
From the Tibetan plateau to the African Sahel, pastoralism is one of humanity’s oldest ways of life. Moving livestock across vast landscapes in rhythm with seasonal change and environmental conditions,…
The Kimberley, the northernmost region of Australia’s largest jurisdiction, Western Australia, is remote and difficult to access due to its rugged terrain. With a permanent population of just 40,000 in…
Officials in Suriname are considering legislation that would finally establish territorial rights for Indigenous and Tribal communities. But not everyone is happy with the language of the bill, and some…
On the fifth day after the burial of their chief, Seru Moce, 66, and other clan members gathered for a meeting to decide what portion of the sea to protect…
In the Yanomami Indigenous Land, the largest in Brazil, leaders believe in their youths’ skills to maintain their ancestors’ legacy and safeguard the future of a sprawling territory covering almost the size of Portugal.
The first time 52-year-old Juliana Balweg-Baawa switched on the light in her home, she jumped for joy. “My children can study at night!” Balweg-Baawa, a native of Mataragan village in…
MEKAR RAYA, Indonesia — Yulius Yogi kneels under the forest canopy here on the island of Borneo, surveying land he plans to reclaim for his Dayak Simpan Indigenous community. “Our…
JAKARTA — The Indonesian government and civil society have signed a joint statement, marking a shared commitment to fast-track agrarian reform in the country. The joint statement was signed by…
The construction of the Balbina hydroelectric dam in the Brazilian Amazon led to the loss of seven endemic fish species in the Uatumã River, researchers have found.
This analysis was conceived by its author as a trilogy of commentaries in the wake of Decision 16/2 from the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Convention…
Randy Borman was never meant to be Cofán. And yet, from the moment he was born in 1955, deep in the Ecuadorian Amazon, he belonged to them. His parents, American…
Peatlands around the globe hold more carbon than all the world’s forests, and yet new research reveals a much lower proportion are protected compared to other ecosystems. Just 17% of…
In some Amazon rivers in Brazil, cases of diseases related to inadequate basic sanitation, such as malaria and acute diarrhea, have been increasing amid climate change and population growth.
LUBUMBASHI — When night falls in the Batwa village of Lukwangulo, only the local chief’s house is illuminated. In this village in the southeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s…
“Since Goma fell, I've lived in fear. I don't dare leave my house.” These are the words of Justin Shamutwa Masumbuko, general coordinator of the Indigenous rights NGO ADELIPO-Congo. For…
KAMPAR, Indonesia — The information from Radio Komunitas Lintas Subayang 107.7 FM reaches the remote corners of the Sumatran forest from a small broadcasting house in a market. “Accessing telecoms…
JAKARTA — Indonesia’s president has drafted the military to lead the reclamation of illegally occupied forest areas throughout the country, while the Ministry of Forestry has partnered with it to…
Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, is home to more than 20 million people and has been in the news many times due to climate-related issues such as heat waves, urban flooding…
PORTO ALEGRE — On the set of I’m Still Here (2024), the acclaimed Brazilian film by Walter Salles Jr., supporting actress Angela Ribeiro was approached by a woman with red…
For Indigenous peoples and local communities across Central and South America, financial opportunities from voluntary carbon markets come with both benefits and risks. Working with the Rainforest Foundation Norway and…
The return of the floating structures shows the resilience of illegal gold mining in the Amazon, which destroys the riverbeds and contaminates the water with mercury.
In December 2024, Ecuador completed a debt-for-nature swap to support Amazon conservation through the creation of the Amazon Biocorridor. While this provides economic relief, Amazonian leaders contend they were not…
Honey-hunters in northern Mozambique rely on honeyguide birds to locate three-quarters of their harvest each year, a new study says, underscoring the economic value these wild birds play in the…
Ayuuk leader Arnoldo Nicolás Romero, a municipal commissioner of the Buena Vista ejido in San Juan Guichicovi, a town and municipality in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, was found dead…
LELILEF SAWAI, Indonesia — Hernemus Takuling’s life in this coastal village has changed ever since construction began on the Weda Bay Industrial Park, which borders Lelilef Sawai, home to around…
The last time Ecuador held elections, in 2023, the country’s national assembly had been dissolved and then-President Guillermo Lasso had faced potential impeachment for a corruption scandal involving embezzlement of…
