Women of an 'untouchable' caste in village India are rebelling against a life of cleaning human ordure, poverty and relentless discrimination, writes Amy Braunschweiger. Among them is Lalibai, who inherited her 'job' at the age of 12 - but has just helped to organise a protest march of 10,000 women across 18 states.
India: Women free themselves from a life of cleaning human excrement Amy Braunschweiger HRW | 3rd September 2014 Activism India Indigenous Peoples Waste Society lalibai-cut.jpg Lalibai. Photo: …
Community leaders from Colombia, the Philippines and Uganda have been in London challenging attendees of the Mines and Money Conference. HANNIBAL RHOADES, TATIANA GARAVITO and SEBASTIAN ORDONEZ report.
Environmental and human rights defenders challenge 'Mines and Money' Conference Hannibal Rhoades | 12th December 2017 Activism Mining Indigenous Peoples Human Rights Investment …
Anthropology, the study of humankind, should be the first of all the sciences our children encounter, writes Marc Brightman, with its singular capacity to inspire the imagination, broaden the mind and open the heart. Moves to downgrade it in the education system by those who know the price of everything, and the value of nothing, must be fought off.
Anthropology is so important, all children should learn it Marc Brightman | 10th March 2015 Activism Education Indigenous Peoples Society hamer-people-cut.jpg Spot the anthropologist? Hamer people in …
As ever more companies and governments pledge to 'go green' and protect forests, the world's tribal peoples should be among the main beneficiaries, writes Amy Dickens. Yet the reverse is the case. All too often the promises are purest greenwash, used to conceal the human and environmental tragedy of land-grabbing for plantations, mines, logging and even 'conservation'.
Indigenous peoples bear the brunt of global greenwash Amy Dickens | 23rd September 2015 Activism Indigenous Peoples Africa Cameroon Philippines Paraguay Farming Finance Corporations Conservation …
Supported by state and national governments, palm oil plantations are advancing over the rainforest hills of Sabah, Malaysia, writes Sophie Chao. In their way: the indigenous Murut of Bigor, whose culture, livelihood and very lives are under threat as forests and farms fall to chainsaws and bulldozers, enriching loggers and distant investors beyond the dreams of avarice.
Malaysia: the Murut struggle against palm oil, for land and life Sophie Chao | 12th December 2016 Activism Malaysia Palm Oil Corporations Farming Indigenous Peoples Human Rights bigor …
Peru's government is actively undermining indigenous peoples' efforts to protect their forests - by refusing to title 20 million hectares of their lands and turning a blind eye to illegal logging. At the same time it's handing out vast concessions for oil, gas, mining and timber exploitation, expanding palm oil production and planning 50 major forest-flooding dams.
COP20 host Peru claims forest 'leadership' - while attacking forest protectors AIDESEP Forest Peoples Programme | 8th December 2014 Activism Forests Indigenous Peoples Oil Gas Fossil Fuels Peru …
What can indigenous wisdom teach us about how to better live within our environmental means? Maestro Tlakaelel has some tips
… his words. ‘I think this is the future of humanity. More and more people will realise … Are there prophecies that indicate the end of humanity? He is having none of it. ‘All we …
For most Australians, 26th January is a day of family celebration, writes John Pilger. But for its indigenous peoples the only thing to celebrate is their survival after over two centuries of rape, murder, theft and vicious racism that continues to this day, and has even found new expression in Australia's war on refugees, incarcerated in barbaric Pacific Island concentration camps.
What's to celebrate on Australia's 'apartheid day' of national shame? Only this: survival John Pilger | 25th January 2016 Activism Australia Indigenous Peoples Society aborigines-cut.jpg For most …
Deep in Ecuador's Amazon rainforest, a gigantic open pit copper and gold mine is planned in the heart of the Shuar peoples' territory. David Dene tells the story of a growing international campaign to uphold and defend the 'Rights of Nature', in Ecuador and beyond.
Ecuador - upholding the Rights of Nature David Dene | 29th April 2014 Activism Forests Mining Ecocide Ecuador Indigenous Peoples kennecott-mine-utah-cut.jpg Deep in Ecuador's Amazon rainforest, a …
For Saskatchewan, uranium is an important part of the economy, but for the province's indigenous peoples, the land is everything. It is filled with relationships between beings who dwell together in an interconnected web. Their traditional ecological knowledge is not just a set of terms or data, but a deep, broadly-viewed reality which contains systematic respect for all creation.
Sacred land, unholy uranium: Canada's mining industry in conflict with First Nations Committee for Future Generations | 30th March 2016 Activism Nuclear Canada Arctic Human Rights Mining Indigenous …
A new investigation of palm oil plantations, companies and auditors has found that the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is failing to deliver on its promise, writes Chris Lang. Widespread fraud, collusion between auditors and companies, conflicts of interest, and a flawed complaints system mean that RSPO-certified palm oil may be destructively and illegally produced.
Sustainable palm oil? RSPO's greenwashing and fraudulent audits exposed Chris Lang REDD Monitor | 19th November 2015 Activism Forests Food Farming Indigenous Peoples Regulation Corporations …
India’s Dongria Kondh tribe have rejected plans by mining giant Vedanta Resources for an open-pit bauxite mine in their sacred Niyamgiri Hills. Although the decision is not yet final, the case has been hailed as an unprecedented triumph for tribal rights ...
Dongria Kondh tribe of India resist powerful mining company Joanna Eede | 20th November 2013 Activism Indigenous Peoples Protest Mining India d7.jpg Where will us children go? How will we survive? …
Next week the indigenous peoples of the Yukon challenge their Government in the Territory's Supreme Court, writes Jill Pangman. At issue, its plans to open the Peel watershed, a vast unspoilt ecosystem rich in wildlife and cultural meaning, for industrial development.
Wild heart of the Yukon in gravest peril Jill Pangman | 3rd July 2014 Activism Canada Indigenous Peoples Mining Development Natural World yukon-on-high.jpg Next week the indigenous peoples of the …
On the one side, the Guarani people and the entire panoply of international and Brazilian law asserting the rights of indigenous peoples to their lives, lands, and way of life. Against them, the entrenched economic and political power of farmers, ranchers, loggers and others exploiting the wealth of the Guarani's soils, forests and waters. Right now the power of money is winning every time. Only with international pressure can the Guarani emerge victorious.
Only global protest can secure land rights and justice for Brazil's Guarani people Lewis Evans | 24th May 2017 Activism Brazil Indigenous Peoples Law Human Rights Politics lucio.jpg On the one side, …
The palm oil industry's repeated failure to keep its promises illustrates why global initiatives to achieve 'sustainable palm oil' must place communities centre-stage, writes FPP. Standard-setters like the RSPO must demand action, enforcement and accountability - not just lofty commitments that inspire hope, but rarely deliver.
To make palm oil 'sustainable' local communities must be in charge Forest Peoples Programme | 14th May 2015 Activism Forests Commons Farming Corporations Indigenous Peoples vb2_img_6748-cut.jpg Local …
The Kawahiva, an uncontacted tribe in the Amazon rainforest, face extinction unless Brazil's government acts to secure their legal rights to land, security and to remain undisturbed by outsiders, writes Lewis Evans. The decree that would achieve this vital goal has been sitting on the Minister of Justice's desk since 2013. Let's make sure he signs it soon, before it's too late.
… of the Kawahiva people themselves but for all humanity, it is essential that he acts to …
Rio Tinto's QMM mine in Madagascar was meant to be an exemplar of 'corporate social responsibility' and environmental best practice. But the reality experienced by local communities is different, writes Yvonne Orengo, with uncompensated land seizures, food insecurity, deforestation and social deprivation. New concerns are emerging about the infringement of legal buffer zones and radiation exposure. Rio Tinto must be held responsible for its actions!
Tall tales and tailings - the truth about Rio Tinto's rare earth mine in Madagascar Yvonne Orengo | 3rd April 2017 Activism Mining Biodiversity Madagascar Forests Corporations Indigenous Peoples …
Blacks, Indigenous peoples and Palestinians are all engaged in a single struggle against a racist empire that systematically robs, colonises, impoverishes, terrorises, enslaves, imprisons, tortures and murders its subject populations. Their struggle for liberation is one, and will ultimately vanquish as the empire collapses from within.
Liberation is our birthright! Palestine stands with Ferguson Khaled Barakat | 1st September 2014 Activism Indigenous Peoples Politics USA Middle East ferguson-hands-in-the-air-cut.jpg Blacks, …
Malaysia is pushing ahead with its plans for a devastating series of 12 dams in the rainforests of Borneo that will kill a billion trees, bring death to wildlife on a stupendous scale and evict tens of thousands of indigenous people and their communities, writes Jettie Word. Now a new film honours their struggle for land, forest and freedom.
Broken Promises: new film exposes Malaysia's indigenous rights violations Jettie Word | 17th August 2015 Activism Forests Indigenous Peoples Malaysia Energy Water bockade long lama-cut.jpg Malaysia …
On international women's day, a remarkable lady fighting to maintain the ancient traditions, local knowledge and sacred sites of one of South Africa's last indigenous clans talks to the Ecologist
Celebrating women activists: South Africa's Mphatheleni Makaulule The Ecologist | 8th March 2011 Activism Natural World Women Activism Sacred Sites Indigenous Peoples Mphatheleni Makaulule Mupo …
This day 20 years ago one of Britain's most committed and effective environmental campaigners died trying to save a coastal forest in southern Madagascar from mining, writes Yvonne Orengo. The world has been a poorer place without Andrew Lees - and his fears for the Petriky forest and local indigenous communities have been proved all too close to the mark.
Andrew Lees - 20 years after his last mission to Madagascar Yvonne Orengo | 31st December 2014 Activism Forests Mining Indigenous Peoples Corporations local flora in anosy-cut.jpg This day 20 years …