Land Conflict
Shipibo communities create Indigenous guard to protect Peruvian Amazon from deforestation
Drug trafficking, logging, oil palm plantations, oil spills, highways, illegal fishing, expanding Mennonite communities — in the Peruvian Amazon, there’s no shortage of threats against Indigenous peoples or their lands. But now the Shipibo-Konibo-Xetebo people, living in the department of Ucayali, near the border with Brazil, have taken steps to protect themselves from the barrage […]
Indonesian project shows how climate funding can — and should — go directly to IPLCs
JAKARTA — Suryani grew up in a family of farmers on the island of Java in Indonesia. Her parents are members of a farmer’s union called SPP. The land they live and farm on isn’t titled, so Suryani knows very well the importance of having farmers’ land rights recognized and protected. Yet she’s also seen […]
Chemical spill in Nicaraguan reserve raises questions about industrial mining regulations
A recent chemical spill in a protected reserve in northern Nicaragua is raising concerns about the contamination of several river ecosystems and the public health fallout for thousands of Indigenous people living nearby. Earlier this month, chemicals believed to be cyanide leaked from a processing plant run by Colombian gold mining company Hemco in Bonanza, […]
Guatemala national park nearing ‘collapse’ amid land grabbing, deforestation
Officials are struggling to keep up with an increasing wave of deforestation in one of Guatemala’s largest protected areas, where squatters are clearing the rainforest to make room for settlements, roads, cattle ranching and airstrips for drug planes. Sierra del Lacandón National Park, which sits on the Mexican border, has lost thousands of hectares of […]
Mexico approves mining reforms to protect environment, Indigenous people
MEXICO CITY — A major reform approved by congress last week is supposed to limit harmful practices by the mining industry and improve protections for the environment and Indigenous peoples. But some parts of the reform faced strong resistance from pro-business interests, resulting in a watered-down version that some environmentalists said doesn’t go far enough. […]
Report warns of rising violence against environmental defenders in Mexico
MEXICO CITY — Protecting the environment is no easy task. But in Mexico, it can often be deadly. The country is seeing a rise in violence against environmental defenders, who suffer everything from intimidation to kidnapping to murder while trying to prevent encroaching deforestation, pollution and other threats to local habitats, according to a report […]
CAPS, new gas megaproject, aims to power Central Africa, but at what cost, critics ask
More than 60% of people in Central Africa have no access to electricity. An ambitious proposal aims to change that with a network of pipelines, refineries and gas-fired power plants stretching across 11 countries in the region. But critics say the proposed Central African Pipeline System is a mistake. Nathalie Lum, chairwoman of the Central […]
Indonesian Indigenous group AMAN wins Skoll Award for defending land rights
JAKARTA — The Indigenous Peoples’ Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN), the main advocacy group for Indigenous communities in Indonesia, has won a 2023 Skoll Award for Social Innovation. Since its establishment in 1999, AMAN has been advocating for Indigenous rights to prevent communities from having their lands stolen. The main issue currently facing Indigenous communities […]
Is El Salvador preparing to reverse its landmark mining ban?
MEXICO CITY — It was considered a major environmental victory, back in 2017, when El Salvador’s government announced it would be the first country in the world to issue a total ban on metal mining. For a half-century, the industry had been dumping waste and toxic chemicals into local rivers. Prioritizing clean drinking water was […]
Indigenous communities threatened as deforestation rises in Nicaraguan reserves
It’s hard to know exactly what’s happening to the environment in Nicaragua. Data on everything from mining to deforestation to biodiversity loss is nearly impossible to get from the government. Hundreds of journalists and environmental defenders have been arrested or fled the country, including much of the newsroom of La Prensa, Nicaragua’s oldest newspaper. And […]