Meet the guardians of our future, those who depend most on natural resources and want to save them.
By Isvett Verde Staff Editor |
As a kid, I spent most of my time on, or near, the ocean in South Florida. My sister and I would sit on the wooden deck in our backyard, waiting for the manatees to pop up from the canal that ran behind our house so we could rub their heads. On weekends, we'd comb the shoreline for hours, marveling at the colorful seashells. |
Today, the seashells have largely been replaced with plastic litter. When I went back home last spring, the few I found were coated in tar. Manatees are dying in part because there isn't enough for them to eat. |
For many of us, it can be easy to feel powerless in the face of monumental destruction. Slowing climate change feels impossible. But the Indigenous peoples who live on or manage the lands that hold 80 percent of the planet's remaining biodiversity have issued a rallying cry. |
 | | Yaily Castillo |
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What surprised me most from my conversations with them was how hopeful they all remain. There is, they insist, a path forward. "Simple, everyday acts can go a long way," said João Víctor Gomes de Oliveira, a youth activist from the Amazonian forest. "Rethink your rampant consumption. Rethink this capitalist way of living." |
The global community has an opportunity to reconsider the way it interacts with nature. By collaborating with and learning from Indigenous peoples, we can build resilience for all. To save the planet and ourselves, we need listen to what they have to say. |
Here's what we're focusing on today: |
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