Article by Rhianna Majumder
Illustrated by Mitali Kapure
Did you know: beyond 50 per cent of Earth’s biodiversity is found in rainforests?
From medicinal antidotes to daily essentials like shampoo and moisturizer, to the cup of coffee which finally surmounts your creative block—rainforests are a generous gift to humanity!
Congo Rainforest—the second-largest tropical rainforest worldwide—is home to 10,000 animal and 1,000 bird species. Moreover, around 75 million people call the rainforest home!
Remy Zahiga is a Congolese climate activist, advocating for better treatment of rainforests and communities indigenous to them. Some of the issues he raises include the eviction of the Bambuthi people from their ancestral land in and around the forest, illegal trade of protected forest species, and the rapid deforestation faced by the Congo Rainforest.
Considered protectors of the Amazon rainforests in Ecuador, the Waorani people have an estimated population of 5,000. Nemonte Nenquimo is an indigenous Waorani activist.
In 2018, the Ecuadorian government attempted to auction 16 oil concessions—7 million acres of indigenous property. Nemonte headed the protest; her petition to the Ecuadorian government and oil industry saw 378,000 signatures. She conducted regional assemblies and assisted her community in launching a digital campaign with the slogan “Our Rainforest is Not for Sale.”
The Sateré-Mawé, a forest people, inhabit the headwaters of Amazon tributaries, and are facing increasing encroachment. Samela Sateré-Mawé, in an interview at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, had expressed, “I think we are born activists!”
Fighting legislation which ousts indigenous people from ancestral lands or ease mining access within the Amazon, reinforcing the importance of social media as a site of protest, and denouncing patronizing media narratives of rainforest communities—are a few of the many issues she fights.
From Arunachal Pradesh’s hills, the Mising people migrated to Assam’s riverside areas. Here, 16 year-old Jadav Payeng would encounter a barren sandbar of Brahmaputra’s, snake-strewn after a massive flood.
Payeng—the “Forest Man of India”—planted twenty seedlings. Over decades, his efforts created a 550-hectare forest housing Bengal tigers, rhinos, vultures, and much more. Towering trees like valcol and arjun thrive there, alongside a 300-hectare bamboo grove.
Payeng was awarded the Padma Shri by the Indian Government in 2015, for his incredible environmentalism.
What are some steps we can take as global citizens to protect the treasure trove that rainforests are?
- Educating Yourself: Engaging with discourse around rainforest preservation and having conversations with indigenous advocates and climate activists.
- Purchasing Responsibly: Boycotting commodities produced by companies exploiting rainforest resources, and advocating for ethically sourced products.
- Amplifying Voices: Having conversations about indigenous advocates and climate activists, and engaging with discourse around rainforest preservation.
Our advocacy is imperative in providing a global platform to activists who rise to represent their communities. Today, let us unite to save our forests!