Posts Tagged ‘indigenous rights’
Conservation victory in Colombia’s deforestation hotspot
On the shores of the Caquetá River, among tall Amazonian palms and fast flowing waters brown with silt, are three indigenous reserves– Huitorá, Coropoyá and Jericó Consaya. These reserves are home to 138 families of the Murui Muina and Korebajʉ people, who have long assumed responsibility for caring for the life within their biodiverse territory.
Read MoreBiocultural restoration at Jaba Tañiwashkaka
Understand how the Kogui people reclaimed access to the sea and restored nature at a coastal sacred site through our new blog about Jaba Tañiwashkaka.
Read MoreColombian National Land Agency formalizes fourth expansion of the Kogui-Malayo-Arhuaco Indigenous Reserve
The KMA reserve is inhabited by three of the four peoples of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta: the Wiwa people (Malayo or Arzario), Kággaba (Kogui) and Ikᵾ (Arhuaco), with jurisdiction in the departments of Magdalena, Cesar and La Guajira. 3,575 indigenous families benefit from the 213 new hectares, which are allocated to cultural and environmental protection and recovery between the upper and lower areas of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, increasing the area of the reserve to just over 407,839 hectares.
Read MoreGoing at Nature’s Pace: The Story of ASOMI
With the occasion of ACT’s 25th anniversary, Maria del Rosario Chicunque—Charito, the formidable leader that some of you have met—and I want to share the wonderful, glorious, painful, and ultimately extraordinary path that led to the creation of ASOMI, the Association of Indigenous Women, and their private reserve in Colombia. ASOMI’s headquarters is aptly called La Chagra de la Vida, or the Garden of Life. As with all gardens, it nourishes us with blessings of food, beauty, and joy, but it needs proactive tending and weeding in return—never-ending tasks that can give us scrapes, blisters, and scars.
Read MorePueblos Indígenas en Aislamiento o Estado Natural en Colombia: Una historia reciente de los retos para su protección
Since the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, there were rumors from rubber and animal skin traders about the presence of peoples who took shelter deep in the adjoining forests. These are peoples who avoid all forms of contact with the surrounding society.
Read MoreIndigenous Peoples in Isolation in Colombia: A recent history of the challenges involved in their protection
Since the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, there were rumors from rubber and animal skin traders about the presence of peoples who took shelter deep in the adjoining forests. These are peoples who avoid all forms of contact with the surrounding society.
Read MoreThe Healing Bees of the Amazon Forest
Ancient human societies were not the first to discover the power of plants for healing: for millions of years, bees have used botanical resin exudates—known as propolis—to control the proliferation of microorganisms in their nests. These Amazonian bees possess innate knowledge of medicinal plants. By collecting resin from different trees and plants, they produce one of the first medicine cocktail of animals’ societies, known as propolis. ACT has been strengthening the communities living in the Amazon forest in order to sustainably harvest this product.
Read MoreFor the first time, Colombian Constitutional Court rulings are being translated into indigenous languages
The Amazon Conservation Team and the Colombian Constitutional Court have joined forces to culturally and idiomatically interpret the most significant rulings of the Colombian Constitutional Court with respect to the protection of the nation’s ethnic communities. In a first project phase, the partners and indigenous community members adapted these rulings to 26 of the nation’s 65 languages.
Read MoreStrengthening Indigenous Land Rights in Colombia
In Santa Marta, Colombia, earlier this year, preparations began for a series of expeditions into the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. More than a dozen teams—each composed of indigenous peoples and western professionals—prepared their gear for weeks-long trips into the remote mountains.
Read MoreACT Indigenous Fellowship Program
The Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) has established an Indigenous Fellowship Program in partnership with Colombia’s Universidad Externado to provide indigenous college students with the opportunity to better understand the functioning of international cooperation agencies, international conventions, and funding aimed at supporting the rights of indigenous communities.
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