The Pope’s Climate Change Role Models
By Susan Tonassi, June 19, 2015
The Pope’s environment and climate change encyclical exploded on the scene this week, unleashing debate about humanity’s relationship to the planet. While the document, entitled Laudato Si, was generally critical of the way people have treated the planet, it praised one group for its respect for the earth: indigenous people.
The encyclical states the following:
“…it is essential to show special care for indigenous communities and their cultural traditions. They are not merely one minority among others, but should be the principal dialogue partners, especially when large projects affecting their land are proposed. For them, land is not a commodity but rather a gift from God and from their ancestors who rest there, a sacred space with which they need to interact if they are to maintain their identity and values. When they remain on their land, they themselves care for it best. Nevertheless, in various parts of the world, pressure is being put on them to abandon their homelands to make room for agricultural or mining projects which are undertaken without regard for the degradation of nature and culture.”
In an op-ed that ran in Al Jazeera this week, Vicky Tauli-Corpuz, the UN Special Rapporteur for Indigenous People, elaborates on how the Pope and indigenous people see eye to eye on the climate. She also stresses that, “it’s time for leaders, CEOs and investors who say they care about the environment to finally acknowledge that indigenous people are a major part of the solution to global warming. And governments, on their part, should grant indigenous people strong, unambiguous rights over the land where they live.”
