The Privilege of Working with
Indigenous Rainforest Guardians, Part 3

By Hank Edson

[This post was originally published at AmazonWatch.org on October 17, 2011.]

In celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day last week, I have been blogging about the role of indigenous peoples in the global environmental movement. I first discussed the many reasons indigenous peoples are a leading force in the global environmental movement. Part II in the series focused on a visionary contribution indigenous peoples are making in advancing the legal rights of nature and I called attention to two examples of how indigenous rights can be violated by those who champion the rights of nature: the recent violent suppression of an indigenous protest march by the government of Bolivia and the REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) movement's failure to recognize and protect indigenous rights. Today, I want to tell you about the work Amazon Watch is doing to steer Bolivia and the REDD movement in a wiser, more humane and more effective direction.

As noted in last week's post, on September 25th the Bolivian government violently suppressed a 400-mile protest march by the indigenous communities being directly affected by the construction of a highway through their land, also a national park, without their consent. Aware of the mounting tension over the highway's construction, Amazon Watch co-authored and delivered a letter to the Bolivian government four days before the violence broke out. The letter was signed by 60 other leading international environmental organizations and asked the Bolivian government to respect the rights being asserted by the indigenous protestors.

In making this request, the letter discussed at length Bolivia's history of leadership and its important present role in the global environmental and nature rights movements. The letter also detailed at length the interwoven environmental and social consequences of violating...READ MORE!

                                                                                       Subscribe to MP³'s RSS Feed!

The Privilege of Working with
Indigenous Rainforest Guardians, Part 2

By Hank Edson

[This post was originally published at AmazonWatch.org on October 13, 2011]

Yesterday, I blogged about a number of reasons indigenous peoples are a leading force in the movement to achieve balance and harmony in human society's relationship with the environment. An important example of Amazonian indigenous leadership with respect to the environment is its contribution to the Rights of Nature movement.

In 2008, Ecuador adopted a new constitution that includes a chapter specifically devoted to the Rights of Nature and that establishes as a principle of law that "Nature or Pachamama, where life is reproduced and exists, has the right to exist, persist, maintain itself and regenerate its own vital cycles, structures, functions and evolutionary processes." The Ecuadorian constitution also gives nature "the right to be completely restored." Under the Constitution's Rights of Nature chapter, the government of Ecuador is obligated to take action to ensure the protection of these rights and ...READ ME!

                                                                                       Subscribe to MP³'s RSS Feed!

The Privilege of Working with
Indigenous Rainforest Guardians, Part I

By Hank Edson

[This post was originally published at AmazonWatch.org on October 12, 2010.]

Two weeks ago I blogged about the outstanding cast of rainforest guardians working at Amazon Watch, who over the last few months I have had the opportunity to get to know as an Amazon Watch volunteer. In honor of Indigenous Peoples Day, I'd like to tell you about the real rainforest guardians – the indigenous peoples who call the Amazon their home, the people who know the Amazon intimately as a kindred being, not just a place of far off beauty and power. I'd like to tell you why it is important that I, Amazon Watch, and everyone promoting an environmentalist agenda, make the foundation of our activism a strong partnership with the indigenous peoples who still retain an authentic, sustainable connection to the ecosystems we hope to save, nurture and preserve.

It helps if we begin by acknowledging our own relationship with the Amazon out here in the blogosphere: It is as distant as a Google Earth satellite view of South America. As it turns out, however, even miles above the planet, we can deduce the important role indigenous peoples of the Amazon play in preserving the rainforest. If we look at a satellite picture of the Amazon rainforest basin overlaid with a map of indigenous owned land in the Amazon, it is hard not to notice that the indigenous-held land is green with forest while much of the surrounding land is deforested and brown. Fortunately, indigenous territories comprise more than a quarter of the Amazon basin, which means ...READ MORE!

                                                                                       Subscribe to MP³'s RSS Feed!

Meet the Rainforest Guardians at Amazon Watch

By Hank Edson

This post was originally published at Eye on the Amazon, the official blog of Amazon Watch

Tomorrow Amazon Watch will be holding a fundraising luncheon celebrating its fifteen years as a leader of innovative engagement in the Amazon rainforest environmental movement. This is naturally a time to remember successes, such as Amazon Watch's participation in the lawsuit resulting in a historic $18 billion verdict against Chevron for dumping more than 18 billion gallons of toxic waste into an area of pristine rainforest that is home to more than 30,000 people. It is also a time to look ahead to new challenges, such as the fight to stop the mammoth Belo Monte Dam project in Brazil, and to consider new ideas, such as Amazon Watch's focus on alternative energy solutions for Brazil.

Today, however, the spotlight deservedly belongs to the extraordinary group of individuals who make up the Amazon Watch team. This exceptional crew pursues a dynamic three-pronged approach to protecting the rainforest. First, it works primarily through indigenous groups, helping them acquire the skills necessary to advocate effectively on behalf of the rainforest. Second, it engages in sophisticated corporate accountability strategies that are rendered all the more powerful by the participation of indigenous leaders. Third, it advocates for affordable clean energy alternatives that will alleviate the development pressures that are among the greatest threats to the rainforest. Multilingual, backcountry traveling, politically savvy, technologically astute humanists, the group that not only conceives, but executes such an agenda must be remarkable. And they are.

Over the past few months it has been my privilege to volunteer at Amazon Watch and to get to know its special mixture of sophistication, guts, and compassion, which is leavened with a down-to-earth sense of humor and heated with a passionate commitment to the planet. I'd like to share with you a few odds and ends I have picked up about this team because...READ MORE!

                                                                                       Subscribe to MP³'s RSS Feed!

Five Reasons to Make Facebook Time
for the Rainforest Action Network

By Hank Edson

I find Facebook fun and informative – a great way to stay connected to my friends and to be enriched by the things they share.  There may be negatives to the evolving social network culture, but I prefer to focus on the positive.  My purpose in writing today is to highlight one really great positive: the Rainforest Action Network!

If you are like me, your most frequent Facebook encounter involves checking your News Feed where you can see posts from your friends and the organizations you like.  When I do this, I apply my own selective filter: there are the people whose posts I slide by like a greased pig and there are the ones close to my heart whose posts I not only read, but whose links I follow, whose pictures I comment on, and whose videos make me laugh and cry. 

I value certain people’s posts enough to give them my time based on my high estimation of their je ne sais quoi, the way they complement and entertain my own quirky outlook.  I bet you have some such type of filter too.

The reason I’m writing today is to make the case for devoting some of your News Feed mental space to following the Rainforest Action Network with affection and attention. 

To do this, the first thing you need to do is “like” the Rainforest Action Network.  You can do this by going to its fan page, http://www.facebook.com/rainforestactionnetwork, and clicking the like button next to its name. 

Now, let me quickly give you five reasons I think you will come to highly value the posts Rainforest Action Network shares with you:

1.  Teeth:  The Rainforest Action Network (RAN) is not a timid bunch.  Their motto is “Environmentalism with Teeth,” and they put their mouth where their motto is...READ MORE!

                                                                                       Subscribe to MP³'s RSS Feed!