Earth Week: Taking on 50 Years of Inaction

April 14, 2020

Contact: contact@pollutersout.org 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

As a part of our Earth Week actions (April 20-24), Fridays For Future Digital and Raíces Libres (Polluters Out Latin America) are starting a massive digital campaign to raise awareness about how the climate crisis disproportionately affects indigenous communities and environmental defenders. Even though indigenous peoples' land rights have been codified on an international level, they are often overlooked or completely ignored by governments in favor of short-term economic or industrial gains like drilling or mining projects, at a high environmental and public health cost. Additionally, 70-80% of the 370 million indigenous peoples worldwide live in Asia and Pacific island nations particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

(tw: sexual assault) Indigenous people are often ignored and marginalized in decision making processes, and societal marginalization allows violence against indigenous communities to continue with impunity (tw:) rape of indigenous women. Their right to self-determination is undermined by a lack of political representation, lax affirmation of land rights, and a lack of access to social services. Despite ongoing attacks on the sovereignty of these communities, indigenous people care for and protect nearly 22% of the Earth’s surface and 80% of the planet’s remaining biodiversity despite making up 5% of the world population. The world needs indigenous knowledge and wisdom in order to preserve, protect, and lead the fight against the climate crisis. Without indigenous people, we will not survive this crisis we face. Therefore, we must do everything we can to #DefendtheDefenders.

In the past, collaborations between FFF Digital and Polluters Out have created amazing results. On the March 20th International Day of Action, thousands of people engaged in the action which included a Twitter storm, profile picture campaign, cyberstorm, webinars, and a digital strike.

During Earth Week, there will be an enormous digital strike in which people take pictures of themselves holding a sign with the #DefendtheDefenders theme. In order to amplify the actions, we are working alongside indigenous activists and groups to draw attention to the failure of governments worldwide to protect the rights of indigenous peoples to raise their voices without fear of retribution. We are demanding that swift actions are taken to safeguard their sustainable ways of life, and to protect those who put their lives on the line in order to fight the climate crisis.

“We are demanding climate justice,” said Mitzi Jonelle Tan, a 22-year-old activist from the Philippines, the most dangerous country for environmental defenders according to Global Witness in 2018. “The most vulnerable countries’ contribution to carbon dioxide emissions are close to none, yet they bear the brunt of the impacts of the climate crisis. While these fossil fuel industries that contribute the most to the climate crisis, not only destroy our environment because of greed and plunder, but also commit human rights violations, especially to the world’s indigenous peoples. When we call for climate justice, it also means calling for justice for our environmental defenders.”

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