Posts by Coimbra Sirica
Not For Sale: Indigenous Peoples Protect Their Lands—Sometimes with their Lives
There are few people who would refuse to sell their home—if the price were right. So investors might assume that money would mollify indigenous and other rural peoples whose land is wanted for gold mining, oil, timber or other extractive projects. But new findings released last month in London by the Rights and Resources Initiative and by TMP Systems revealed the opposite.
Indigenous Peoples ‘Paddle to Paris’ for COP21
Hundreds of indigenous peoples from the major tropical forest regions of Latin America, Africa and Indonesia traveled to Paris for COP21, hoping to be heard above the cacophony of voices shaping the long-awaited climate agreement.
Brazil’s Women Warriors Face New Challenge in Battle for Babassu Palm
Thirty years ago, the enemy was much easier to recognize and much easier to fight, says Dona Beliza Costa Souza, member of a union representing 350,000 rural women in northern and northeastern Brazil, who battle to protect the ubiquitous babassu palm trees that grow wild throughout the region.
New President: Hope for Indonesia’s Besieged Indigenous Peoples?
Imagine living in a world where your home could at any time become a national park, or a giant plantation—and you have no say. And if you should stand up to this injustice, you’d likely go to jail. This is the reality of many of the forest peoples of the archipelago of Indonesia.
Conversations in Development: Guardians of the Forest, Protectors of the Climate
Tropical forests are critical to the future of the planet. They harbor millions of species of plants and animals, and, as natural storers of carbon, they play a key role in combating climate change. They are also home to millions of indigenous people, who have protected the forests and their resources for thousands of years.
Conversations in Development: On the Front Lines in the Fight Against Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB), an infectious disease that kills 1.4 million people per year, has existed since the time of the pharaohs. Organizations like the TB Alliance and Aeras are working on new technologies to fight the scourge of this ancient and deadly foe.
