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Deforestation of Amazon Rainforest

Melbourne climate strike "Indigenous land management not corporate greed".

Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples in Latin America and the Caribbean

Latin America

Indigenous Peoples Background

Although some cultures thrive in urban settings like Mexico City or Quito, Indigenous peoples in Latin America populate most of the rural poor areas in countries such as Ecuador, Brazil, Peru and Paraguay. Indigenous people consist of 40 million of the Latin American-Caribbean populations. This makes these populations extremely susceptible to threats of climate change due to socioeconomic, geographic, and political factors. Formal education is limited in these areas which caps contributions of skills to the market economy. Mostly living in the Amazon Rainforest, there are more than 600 ethnographic-linguistic identities living in the Latin American region. This distinction of cultures provides different languages, world-views, and practices that contribute to Indigenous livelihoods.

Impacts of Climate Change on Indigenous Peoples

Humans have impacted climate change through land use, extractive practices, and resource use. Not only have humans exacerbated climate change, our actions are threatening the livelihoods of Indigenous peoples in targeted and susceptible areas. Extractive industries in the Amazon and the Amazonian Basin are threatening the livelihood of Indigenous persons. These extractive policies were originally implemented without the consent of indigenous people are now being implemented without respect to the rights of indigenous people, specifically in the case of REDD. Not only do deforestation and fragmentation of forests negatively affect the areas and livelihoods of inhabitants, but contributes to the release of more carbon into the atmosphere, as the trees provided as carbon sinks, which exacerbates climate change even more. Thus, deforestation has and will continue to have disproportionate effects on Indigenous people in Latin American tropical forests, including the displacement of these communities from their native lands. Also, in the Amazon Basin where fish are a main resource, precipitation and flooding greatly impact fish reproduction drastically. Likewise, this inconsistency in precipitation and flooding has affected, and decreased the reproduction of fish and turtles in the Amazon River. Furthermore, climate change has altered the patterns of migratory birds and changed the start and end times of wet and dry seasons, further increasing the disorientation of the daily lives of Indigenous people in Latin America.

As most of the contributions and the roles of combatting climate change, the rights and resources of Indigenous peoples often go unrecognized, these communities face disproportionate and the most negative repercussions of climate change and from conservation programs. Due to the close relationship with nature and Indigenous peoples, they are among the first to face the repercussions of climate change and at a large devastating degree.

Gender (In)Equality

Indigenous peoples suffer disproportionately from the impacts of climate change, women even more so. Discrimination and some customary laws hinder political involvement, making numbers for Indigenous women extremely low. Although women still lag behind, countries such as Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru have improved their political participation of Indigenous peoples. Furthermore, women often face strenuous physical labor when excepted to prepare meals. To reduce harm, improve health of humans and the environment, a nongovernmental organization in Brazil introduced an eco-stove that eliminates the need for heavy fuelwood to cook. This has empowered Indigenous women in Brazil and surrounding areas as around 53,000 people have the opportunity to live healthier and easier lives.

Adaptation Strategies

Due to Indigenous peoples' extensive knowledge and ability to predict and interpret weather patterns and conditions, these populations are vital to adaptation and survival of posed climate threats. From hundreds of years experimenting with nature and developing inherently sustainable cultural strategies has allowed Indigenous peoples to pass on their knowledge to future generations. This has made Indigenous peoples crucial to understanding the relationship between nature, people, and conserving the environment. In Latin America and the Caribbean, Indigenous peoples are restructuring and changing agricultural practices in adaptation to climate changes. They are also moving and relocating agriculture activities from drought inflicted areas to areas with more suitable, wetter areas. It is imperative for the Americas and the Caribbean to continue pursuing conservation of the environment as 65% of indigenous land has not been developed intensely.

Policy and Global Action

After the Zapatista movement in Mexico in the Mid-1990s, Indigenous issues were recognized internationally and the start of progress for Indigenous political involvement and recognition. Bearing the best political representation, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela have the largest political representation, Mexico being recognized as having the largest gap in proportion to representation and population. International treaties and goals like the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement, and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda have recognized the rights of Indigenous peoples.

Women play a crucial role in combatting climate change especially in Indigenous culture, and its imperitive to recognize strong leadership and their successes. Despite the threats of climate change, Indigenous women have risen up and pushed for sustainable solutions at local and global scales.

The Caribbean

Impacts of Climate Change on Indigenous Peoples

The impacts of climate change are taking a disproportionate toll on Indigenous peoples, when Indigenous peoples contribute least to climate change.

In the Caribbean, people have reported erosion of beaches, a reduction in vegetation, a noticeable rise in sea-level, and rivers that are drying up.

Adaptation Strategies

Among changing agricultural practices, it is imperative for Indigenous peoples and inhabitants of these regions to integrate disaster plans, national sustainable development goals and environmental conservation into daily lives.

As indigenous lands are constantly under attack, from governments to industries, it is imperative for Indigenous peoples to partner with groups such as the Rainforest Alliance to fight and protest for Indigenous rights.