Territorial Justice

Past and ongoing colonization has stolen and damaged indigenous lands. For Amazonian peoples, their territory is fundamental to physical well-being, cultural identity, and ancestral knowledge. Land grabbing and the expansion of destructive industries (such as logging, ranching, industrial agriculture, gold mining, and development projects) threaten the physical permanence and very survival of indigenous peoples. Helping our partner communities take back their territory is ACT’s central priority — a fight we call territorial justice. Territorial justice ensures that indigenous peoples not only have access to their land, but also guaranteed stewardship and decision-making over it — which consistently results in high rates of forest cover, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration. Territorial justice is not just a fight for the future of indigenous peoples, but for the well-being of the planet and our shared fate.

By the Numbers

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Acres of new indigenous reserve land for 14 indigenous ethnic groups. That’s approximately the size of Yellowstone national park. This represents 14 reserve expansions, and 26 reserve creations, directly benefitting 63,000 indigenous peoples.

Home » Territorial Justice

ACT HAS PURCHASED

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ACRES OF PRIVATELY-HELD LAND AND RETURNED IT TO THE RIGHTFUL INDIGENOUS ETHNIC GROUP

ACT WAS DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN ESTABLISHING

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ACRES OF FORMALLY PROTECTED AREAS, SUCH AS
INDIGENOUS CO-MANAGED NATURAL PARKS

How Do We Work Toward
Territorial Justice?

Advocating

Promoting new land rights

Expanding existing land rights

Securing

Establishing and expanding indigenous reserves

In Colombia and Peru, ACT establishes new indigenous reserves and expands existing ones. This is done by providing legal, technical, and logistic support for indigenous communities while simultaneously coordinating with the appropriate government agencies. Prior to the approval of a new reserve or expansion, ACT carries out extensive mapping and sociological, ecological, and legal analyses.

Co-creating new protected area categories

Returning private land to indigenous ownership

In Colombia, in many instances, ancestral territory is held as private property by non-indigenous owners. Prioritizing property that contains sacred sites, lies adjacent to indigenous reserves, or is essential for maintaining or restoring ecological connectivity, ACT will purchase and return ownership to the rightful associated indigenous group. These lands are typically absorbed into adjacent indigenous reserves or become their own recognized protected area.

Upholding

Protecting indigenous land rights

Across Amazonia, collective land rights are violated and disregarded as land grabbers, illegal intruders, and developers encroach on indigenous reserves. To prevent further destruction, ACT supports indigenous communities as they physically demarcate their land, carry out territorial vigilance, and report intrusions to the appropriate government agencies. We also guide and assist when free, prior, and informed consent practices are ignored.

Supporting long-term management

After we have helped establish or expand an indigenous reserve, our partnership with the community is long from over. We guide our partners with logistical, technical, and financial support as they create and execute land use and environmental management plans. These living documents are adapted to the unique cultural and environmental conditions of each reserve, and created with the participation of traditional leadership, community elders, women, and youth. We work to ensure that traditional ecological stewardship practices and cosmological worldviews inform the environmental management plans. In this way, the ecological integrity of these reserves is best maintained in harmony with the communities’ belief systems for generations to come.

Territorial Justice

Territorial Justice

By the Numbers

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