Indigenous environmentalism
Indigenous Peoples are commonly affected by changes in climate, biodiversity, and various ecosystems. Most Indigenous Peoples disproportionately suffer from loss of biological diversity and environmental degradation. This is why biodiversity cannot succeed without working to save Indigenous cultures - they have conserved biodiversity for thousands of years. They are influential in environmental conservation efforts because their homelands contain a huge proportion of earth's biodiversity. They have created much of the world’s agricultural biodiversity; including thousands of crop varieties, livestock breeds, and unique landscapes. However, the majority of Indigenous Peoples passion and observance lies beyond just simply loving their land. They have a spiritual connection to the land, often passed down from generation to generation. They are the futuristic visionaries and protectors of the Earth’s grandest gifts, ecology, and more in tune towards leading a more holistic way of life.
In the Brazilian Amazon, Indigenous People place themselves and overall safety on the line to protect native lands threatened by loggers, miners, and ranchers. When the Rights of Indigenous Peoples are protected–particularly their rights to self govern their land, territories, and resources–their culture thrives. Nature thrives. An example is Peru’s Potato Park, which is governed collectively by an association of five Quechua communities. The park provides presentations on how the biocultural heritage approach can achieve multiple conservation and developmental goals.The park demonstrates to its audience how a biocultural heritage strategy can help meet a variety of conservation efforts and growth objectives.
A critical matter most concerning revolves around species extinction. A million species will face extinction and many within decades—without major changes to the way we interact with nature. Fortunately, this decline is happening at a much slower pace on lands that Indigenous Peoples occupy. This is because Indigenous Peoples have developed agricultural techniques that have adapted to so many different environments found in the high altitudes of the Andes Mountains, in La Paz, Bolivia, in the harsh winters of Northern Canada, and more. Indigenous Peoples see themselves as connected to nature and as part of the same system as the environment in which they cohabitate. They are the essential lightworkers of their land.
In many of these areas, natural resources are considered valuable, shared property, and are respected as such. By protecting natural resources such as forests and rivers, many Indigenous communities help mitigate the impacts of climate change. This is due to the efforts to rescue the high variety of nature, which cannot be attained without working to save Indigenous cultures. Governments must legally recognise and protect Indigenous Peoples’ rights to territories and natural resources. Ecological decline on this scale has never been seen before, therefore, observing and tracking ecosystems is so important in conservation research.
Indigenous Peoples have a significant role in long-term monitoring as they have already been performing this humanistic role for many eons. This is because some of the most remote areas in the world are home to these communities - areas such as in the Amazon or the Arctic. The large amount of experience and knowledge from Indigenous Peoples can help the world cope with changing environmental patterns and conditions, thus, our efforts at conserving biodiversity can mutually strengthen their economic and cultural resilience.
