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These Indigenous Peruvians are Fighting Deforestation with Satellites and Drones
Vice writes about the effectiveness of satellite and drone forest monitoring in Peru.
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Vice writes about the effectiveness of satellite and drone forest monitoring in Peru.
The Naso People of Panama have been fighting for legal recognition of their territory for more than 50 years. On February 20, 2019, the National Assembly of Panama officially recognized their lands. But will the President ratify the decision?
With the election of Jair Bolsonaro, the consequences for Brazil’s environment look bleak. But indigenous peoples are leading by example.
The National Coordination of Indigenous Peoples of Panama (COONAPIP) has been engaged in a decades-long battle with Panama’s Ministry of the Environment to secure land rights for ancestral forests. Read about this fight, and the renewed push for recognition by COONAPIP.
Fortress conservation is a standard method of protection for old-growth forests. This practice forbids any and all human interference with the land. Read how this idea, while good on paper, has troubling implications for indigenous populations.
The government of Guyana has an international commitment to conserving an additional 2 million hectares of forest. Formally recognizing indigenous collective lands could be the solution.
Far from Georgetown or other large settlements, the villages’ lands had been largely untouched by outside forces. Yet the geographical remoteness which had previously sheltered these communities is ending as new infrastructure makes it easier to access this region, putting its native populations in danger.
After hundreds of indigenous representatives and their allies blocked the entrances to Panama’s Ministry of the Environment, the director of MiAmbiente sat down to negotiate land rights petitions.
For the first time in the history of Peru, two indigenous communities have been officially accredited as Forest Monitors by the State.
RFUS’s partners, the Wapichan communities in Guyana, have joined together to create a website and mapping portal that shares their story, culture, and vision.
Analysis of satellite images reveals that indigenous communities with rights to their territories keep fires out, even as national parks and other surrounding areas are devastated by fire.
State sanctioned violence is on the rise against indigenous peoples in Brazil. In the midst of this tragedy, Rainforest Foundation figurehead Sting reaffirms his support for the rainforest’s native peoples.
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Didier Devers
Chief of Party – USAID Guatemala
gro.y1722065278nffr@1722065278sreve1722065278dd1722065278
Didier has been coordinating the USAID-funded B’atz project since joining Rainforest Foundation US in April 2022. He holds a Master’s in Applied Anthropology and a Bachelor’s in Geography. Before joining the organization, Didier worked for 12 years in Central and South America on issues of transparency, legality, governance, and managing stakeholders’ processes in the environmental sector. Prior to that he worked on similar issues in Central Africa. He speaks French, Spanish, and English, and is based in Guatemala.