2020 Press Resources

Leydy Pech, an indigenous Mayan beekeeper, led a coalition that successfully halted Monsanto’s planting of genetically modified soybeans in southern Mexico. The Mexican Supreme Court ruled that the government violated the Mayans’ constitutional rights and suspended the planting of genetically modified soybeans. Because of the persistence of Pech and her coalition, in September 2017, Mexico’s Food and Agricultural Service revoked Monsanto’s permit to grow genetically modified soybeans in seven states.

Disrupting an Ancient Industry

The state of Campeche in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula features an ancient mixture of forests, beekeeping, local agriculture, and deep-seated Mayan culture. Mexico is the world’s sixth largest producer of honey, and 40% of the nation’s honey production originates from the Yucatán Peninsula. In Campeche, 25,000 families—especially within indigenous Mayan communities—depend on honey production for their livelihoods.

Beekeeping is also integral to Mayan culture and a key factor in the protection of Campeche’s forests. Recently, with the rise of industrial agriculture, the state lost nearly 94,000 acres of forest—the highest rate of deforestation in Mexico.

In 2000, Monsanto began growing small, experimental plots of genetically modified (GM) soybeans in Mexico. In 2010 and 2011, these projects were elevated to “pilot projects” by the government. The GM soybean used by Monsanto (now owned by Bayer) is known as “Roundup Ready,” a reference to the plant’s programmed genetic tolerance to high doses of the herbicide Roundup (also a Monsanto product). The main ingredient in Roundup is glyphosate, a probable carcinogen that is also linked to miscarriages and birth defects.

In 2012, the Mexican government granted Monsanto permits to plant GM soybeans in seven Mexican states, including Campeche and the Yucatán, without consultation by local communities. It was soon apparent that the GM crops were contaminating local honey in Campeche, threatening the food supply, environment, and livelihoods of the Mayan communities.

A Mayan Lady of Honey

Leydy Pech, 55, is a proud Mayan woman who makes her living as a beekeeper in a collective of Mayan women. She was born and raised in Hopelchén, where the practice of beekeeping goes back centuries for the Mayan community. Pech has focused her beekeeping practice on a rare native bee species, Melipona beecheii. She is also a promoter of sustainable development for rural Mayan communities as a member of Koolel-Kab/Muuchkambal, an organic farming and agroforestry cooperative composed solely of Mayan women.

Beekeepers Fight Back

In June 2012, in response to the planting of GM soybeans in the region, Pech brought beekeepers, NGOs, and environmentalists together in a coalition known as Sin Transgenicos (Without GMOs). That same month, Pech led the group in filing a lawsuit against the Mexican government to stop the planting of GM soybeans. Their case rested on the fact that neither the government nor Monsanto consulted indigenous communities before approving the permits—in violation of the Mexican Constitution and International Labor Organization’s Convention 169.

Pech reached out to academic institutions for assistance documenting the impacts of GM soy cultivation on honey, the environment, and people. As a result, the Universidad Autonoma carried out a study of GM soybean production in Campeche—where Monsanto had conducted a pilot project—confirming that GM soy pollen was present in the local honey supply. The Universidad Autonoma and the UN Development Programme also charted the impacts of glyphosate, finding traces of the herbicide in the water supply of Hopelchén, and in the urine of the town’s residents.

With this data in hand, Pech and her Mayan collective began an outreach and education campaign to local communities and government officials about the negative impacts of GM soybean production. They organized a series of workshops for activists and organizations to exchange information and research, launched petitions, and arranged simultaneous protests in seven Mayan ceremonial centers across the Yucatán Peninsula, with approximately 2,000 participants.

In November 2015, in response to the coalition’s lawsuit, Mexico’s Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the government must consult indigenous communities before planting GM soybeans. The ruling effectively canceled Monsanto’s permits and prohibited the planting of GM soybeans in Campeche and Yucatán. And, in September 2017, thanks to Pech’s organizing, Mexico’s Food and Agricultural Service revoked Monsanto’s permit to grow genetically modified soybeans in seven states, including Campeche and Yucatán. This decision marks the first time that the Mexican government has taken official action to protect communities and the environment from GM crops.

Pech and the coalition’s historic fight is precedent-setting for Mexico, and already a model for other indigenous movements struggling to preserve indigenous rights and land management. Carrying out a “lucha de la vida” (a struggle for life), she brought together a diverse group of activists and stakeholders and organized thousands of people through outreach, assemblies, and petitions. An unassuming but powerful guardian of Mayan land and traditions, Pech experienced frequent discrimination and was widely underestimated: upon seeing her in person following her court victory, a lawyer for Monsanto remarked that he couldn’t believe that this little woman beat them.

Leydy Pech, apicultora indígena maya, encabezó una coalición que exitosamente detuvo la siembra de soya genéticamente modificada por Monsanto en el sur de México. La Corte Suprema de México dictaminó que el gobierno violó los derechos constitucionales de los mayas y suspendió la siembra de soya genéticamente modificada. Debido al empeño de Pech y su coalición, en septiembre del 2017, el Servicio Nacional de Sanidad, Inocuidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria revocó el permiso que tenía Monsanto para cultivar soya genéticamente modificada en siete estados.

Ruptura de una antigua industria

El estado de Campeche en la Península de Yucatán en México cuenta con una mezcla antigua de bosques, apicultura, agricultura comunitaria, y una cultura maya fuertemente arraigada. México es el sexto productor de miel más grande del mundo, y un 40% de la producción nacional de miel proviene de la Península de Yucatán. En Campeche, 25,000 familias—especialmente dentro de las comunidades mayas—dependen de la producción de miel como su medio de vida.

La apicultura también es fundamental para la cultura maya y un factor clave para la protección de los bosques de Campeche. En tiempos recientes, con el crecimiento de la agricultura industrial, el estado perdió alrededor de 94,000 acres de bosque—la mayor tasa de deforestación en México.

En el año 2000, Monsanto empezó a cultivar pequeñas parcelas de soya genéticamente modificada (GM) en México. En el 2010 y el 2011, el gobierno elevó estos proyectos a “programas pilotos.” La soya GM usada por Monsanto (ahora propiedad de Bayer) se conoce como “Roundup Ready,” una referencia al diseño de tolerancia genética que tiene la planta a altas dosis del herbicida Roundup (también un producto de Monsanto). El principal ingrediente en Roundup es el glisofato, un probable carcinógeno que además está vinculado a los abortos espontáneos y a defectos congénitos.

En el 2012, el gobierno mexicano otorgó a Monsanto permisos para sembrar soya GM en siete estados mexicanos, incluidos Campeche y Yucatán, sin previa consulta en las comunidades locales. Pronto fue evidente que las siembras GM estaban contaminando la miel local en Campeche, poniendo en riesgo el suministro de alimentos, el medioambiente y el medio de vida de las comunidades mayas.

Una dama de la miel maya

Leydy Pech, de 55 años, es una mujer maya llena de orgullo que se gana la vida como apicultora dentro de un colectivo de mujeres mayas. Ella nació y creció en Hopelchén, donde la práctica de la apicultura se remonta a muchos siglos en la comunidad maya. Pech ha enfocado sus prácticas de apicultura en una rara especie de abejas nativas, la Melipona beecheii. También es promotora del desarrollo sostenible para comunidades rurales mayas, siendo integrante de Koolel-Kab/Muuchkambal, una cooperativa de agricultura orgánica y agroforestería compuesta exclusivamente por mujeres mayas.

Los apicultores se defienden

En junio del 2012, como respuesta a la siembra de soya GM en la región, Pech reunió a apicultores, varias ONG, y a ambientalistas en una coalición conocida como Sin Transgénicos. Ese mismo mes, Pech lideró al grupo en la presentación de una demanda contra el gobierno mexicano para detener la siembra de soya GM. Su caso se basó en el hecho que ni el gobierno ni Monsanto llevó a cabo una consulta previa en las comunidades indígenas antes de autorizar los permisos—en violación de la constitución mexicana y el Convenio 169 de la Organización Internacional del Trabajo.

Pech pidió apoyo a instituciones académicas en la documentación de los impactos del cultivo de soya GM en la miel, el medioambiente y en las personas. Como resultado, la Universidad Autónoma realizó un estudio sobre la producción de la soya GM en Campeche—donde Monsanto había llevado a cabo un programa piloto—confirmando que el polen de la soya GM estaba presente en el suministro local de miel. La Universidad Autónoma y el Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo también trazaron los impactos del glifosato, encontrando rastros del herbicida en el suministro del agua en Hopelchén y en la orina de los habitantes del pueblo.

Con esta información, Pech y su colectivo maya empezaron una campaña de promoción y educación para las comunidades locales y los oficiales del gobierno sobre los impactos nocivos de la producción de soya GM. Desarrollaron una serie de talleres para activistas y organizaciones para intercambiar información e investigaciones y lanzar peticiones, y organizó protestas simultáneas en siete centros ceremoniales mayas a lo largo de la Península de Yucatán, en las que hubo alrededor de 2,000 participantes.

En noviembre del 2015, como respuesta a la demanda por la coalición, la Corte Suprema de México dictaminó de manera unánime que el gobierno debe realizar previas consultas en las comunidades indígenas antes de sembrar soya GM. El fallo resultó en la cancelación de los permisos de Monsanto y prohibió la siembra de soya GM en Campeche y Yucatán. Además, en septiembre del 2017, debido al trabajo organizativo de Pech, el Servicio Nacional de Sanidad, Inocuidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria revocó el permiso que tenía Monsanto para cultivar soya genéticamente modificada en siete estados, incluidos Campeche y Yucatán. Esta decisión marca la primera vez en que el gobierno mexicano ha tomado medidas oficiales para proteger a las comunidades y al medioambiente de los cultivos GM.

La lucha histórica de Pech y la coalición establece precedentes en México, y es ya un modelo para otros movimientos de lucha indígena por la protección de sus derechos y la defensa y manejo de la tierra. Llevando a cabo una lucha de la vida, Pech reunió a un grupo diverso de activistas y partes interesadas y organizó a miles de personas mediante la promoción, asambleas y peticiones. Una humilde pero fuerte guardiana de la tierra y las tradiciones mayas, Pech sufrió una discriminación frecuente y fue ampliamente subestimada: al verla en persona después de su victoria en los tribunales, un abogado de Monsanto comentó que no podía creer que esta pequeña mujer les hubiera derrotado.

Drawing on the power of youth activism, Kristal Ambrose convinced the government of The Bahamas to ban single-use plastic bags, plastic cutlery, straws, and Styrofoam containers and cups. Announced in April 2018, the nationwide ban went into effect in January 2020.

Attack of the Plastic Waste

The territory of The Bahamas encompasses 700 islands across 100,000 square miles of the Atlantic Ocean. Its famous coastline and beaches are central to the culture and livelihoods of Bahamians and features a vast array of marine life—from sea turtles to manatees to sharks and coral reefs. With more than 3 million tourists visiting the islands each year, tourism is a vital part of the economy.

In this marine oasis, plastic waste has become a ubiquitous scourge. Washing up in huge quantities on beaches and littering coral reefs, plastic pollution is threatening wildlife, fishing, and the entire food chain, as humans eat fish that digest plastic particles in the ocean. Critically for the nation, plastic contamination is projected to cost $8.5 million in tourism losses annually.

Globally, 8 million metric tons of plastic waste enters the ocean each year, killing millions of seabirds, mammals, and fish. Corals that come into contact with plastic have an 89% chance of contracting disease, compared with 4% likelihood for those not exposed to plastic. Fifty-one trillion microplastic particles litter the ocean, and, by 2025, there will be one ton of plastic for every three tons of fish in the world’s oceans.

Additionally, in 2019, the production and incineration of plastic is projected to produce 850 million metric tons of greenhouse gases, equivalent to pollution from 189 500-megawatt coal plants.

Single-use plastic is particularly wasteful, accounting for one third of all plastic, with each piece used, on average, for a few minutes before being thrown away. It then persists in the environment for up to 1,000 years. The Bahamas does not have the capacity for recycling, and waste is disposed of in landfills and incinerators.

A Plastic Warrior for the Ocean

Once, while working at an aquarium in The Bahamas, Kristal Ambrose, 29, spent two days helping to pull plastic out of a sea turtle that had internal blockage. After this experience, she vowed, “I’ll never drop a piece of plastic on the ground again.” At age 22, Ambrose joined an expedition to study the Western garbage patch, the mass of marine debris that is part of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the north Pacific Ocean. Examining the waste, she noted that all the debris “were things that I was using at home—plastic bags, Styrofoam, plastic cutlery, straws.” Ambrose returned from the expedition inspired to tackle plastic waste and, in 2013, founded the Bahamas Plastic Movement to develop solutions to plastic pollution and educate youths in The Bahamas.

Channeling the Power of Youth

In 2013, continuing her ongoing education on both oceans and plastic, Ambrose researched how plastic moves through the marine environment and onto Eleuthera Island, where she lives. Through the Bahamas Plastic Movement, she created numerous programs to engage, empower, and educate local youths, including tuition-free youth camps to train the country’s next environmental leaders. During camp, students conduct surveys of plastics on beaches, trawl on boats measuring microplastics on sea surface, dissect mahi-mahi fish to determine stomach plastic content, and learn how lifestyle on land impacts ocean health.

Ambrose also designed an “upcycled” program that encourages students to think creatively about repurposing plastic waste, a “trashion fashion show” featuring student-created plastic clothing and accessories, and a Junior Plastic Warriors environmental education program with music, dance, and art activities for kids.

Convinced that a ban on single-use plastics was the strongest local solution, Ambrose set her sights on policy change. She drafted legislation to share with the government and conducted energetic outreach and advocacy on the issue across the country.

In January 2018, Ambrose and her students traveled from Eleuthera Island to Nassau to meet the environment minister. Students entered his office singing, “We are the change, we are the solution, we can fix this plastic pollution.” They had a lively discussion on the environmental and economic impacts of plastic waste, and the minister agreed that he would address the issue.

On April 23, 2018, the environment minister officially announced a ban on single-use plastic bags, food utensils, straws and Styrofoam. The ban was officially adopted in January 2020 and will be enforced with fines in the thousands of dollars starting in July 2020.

Operating outside of the traditional power structures in The Bahamas, Ambrose used science, strategic advocacy, and youth empowerment to get her country focused on plastics; then she convinced the government to enact a nation-wide single-use plastic ban. This is the first Prize for The Bahamas.

Seeking to preserve both the environment and Karen culture in Myanmar, in December 2018 Paul Sein Twa led his people in establishing a 1.35-million-acre peace park—a unique and collaborative community-based approach to conservation—in the Salween River basin. The Salween River basin is a major biodiversity zone and home to the indigenous Karen people, who have long sought self-determination and cultural survival. The new park represents a major victory for peace and conservation in Myanmar.

A Troubled and Rich Ecosystem

After World War II, the Karen people—one of eight major ethnic groups in Myanmar—sought an independent state, leading to a 70-year armed political conflict. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, hundreds of thousands of Karen fled to refugee camps along the Thai border. Since 2015, there has been a nationwide ceasefire agreement in place, with tensions and occasional skirmishes replacing open hostilities.

Largely isolated due to years of conflict, the Salween River basin is both a major biodiversity zone and the home of the indigenous Karen people. The region has some of the last remaining intact wilderness areas in mainland Southeast Asia, including vast stretches of teak forests, tigers, endangered Sunda pangolins, clouded leopards, gibbons, Asiatic black bears, and sun bears. The Salween River—Asia’s longest free-flowing river—also runs through the territory.

Today, as resource-rich Myanmar transitions from military dictatorship to capitalist democracy, there has been an increase in logging, mining, agribusiness, dams, and rubber extraction in the area. In 1998, the Burmese government proposed the $2.6 billion, 1,360-megawatt Hatgyi dam in the southern Salween basin—in the heart of Karen territory.

An Indigenous Peace Maker

Paul Sein Twa, 47, is an indigenous Karen who grew up along the Thai-Burmese border and has spent his life navigating the zones of conflict. He is deeply connected to the physical, spiritual, and cultural landscape of the Salween River basin, and has dedicated his life to preserving its land and traditions, which are deeply intertwined for the Karen people. In 2001, he co-founded the Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN) in order to protect the environment and culture of the Karen community.

Preserving Ancestral Territory

In 2005, as industrial development increased in the region, Sein Twa began facilitating a community-driven approach to protect the Salween River basin, with support from local government and others. He attended international meetings to learn about various conservation approaches and learned about the peace park model. Rather than responding to each new project that appeared, he launched a proactive strategy of environmental protection and self-determination for his community.

Peace parks—also known as transboundary protected areas—seek to preserve zones of biodiversity and cultural heritage using conservation to promote peacebuilding. Selous-Niassa Wildlife Corridor (Tanzania/Mozambique), Emerald Triangle conservation zone (Thailand/Laos/Cambodia), and Cordillera del Condor (Ecuador/Peru) are examples of earlier peace parks.

Sold on the concept of creating a peace park in their beloved Salween River basin, in 2016 Sein Twa and KESAN worked with Karen civil society and local government to mobilize Karen community support, holding public consultations, seminars, and educational meetings with 348 villages representing some 68,000 people.

In order to ensure community buy-in and involvement throughout the process, Sein Twa worked with local leaders to organize a community referendum to approve a charter and governance structure, garnering 75% community support. He worked with the Karen Forest Department to replace colonial forestry principles with traditional practices and helped communities define borders using natural landmarks. Sein Twa and his team used GPS to map parcels and accurately record Karen ownership of land, and they documented biodiversity and conducted data analysis in the forests.

On December 18, 2018, the Karen people officially declared the creation of the Salween Peace Park, to be managed by local Karen communities. The 1.35-million-acre park includes 27 community forests and three wildlife sanctuaries, protecting endangered populations of tigers, Sunda pangolins, black and sun bears, gaur, and hoolock gibbons, from extractive industries and development projects. The park’s borders were specifically designed to include proposed dam sites—including the Hatgyi dam—in efforts to stop destructive megaprojects.

In this still-volatile region, Sein Twa and KESAN are moving forward in assisting communities to develop land management plans, documenting biodiversity gains, and using the park as a bulwark against destructive megaprojects. Sein Twa is employing international environmental frameworks and collaborating with communities and local government to create peace and independence in the region. He is building a community-focused conservation zone with no boundaries between forest, wildlife, and indigenous communities. Sein Twa has ably combined grassroots environmental activism and indigenous self-determination to create the peace park in a conflict zone—a singular and unprecedented achievement. This is a major victory for peace and conservation in Myanmar.

Click here for Paul Sein Twa’s Bio in Karen

သဘာဝပတ်ဝန်းကျင်နှင့်ကရင့်ထုံးတမ်းဓလေ့ယဉ်ကျေးမှုနှစ်ရပ်လုံးကို ထိန်းသိမ်းကာကွယ်ရန်ကြိုးပမ်းရာတွင်၊ Paul Sein Twa သည် ၎င်းလူမျိုးအားဦးဆောင်ကာ ၁.၃၅ သန်းဧက အကျယ်အဝန်းရှိသည့် ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးဥယျာဉ် ကို ဒီဇင်ဘာ ၂၀၁၈ တွင် တည်ထောင်ခဲ့သည်။ ထိုဥယျာဉ်သည် သဘာဝပတ်ဝန်းကျင်အားထိန်းသိမ်းစောင့်ရှောက်သည့် တမူထူးခြား၍ပူးပေါင်းဆောင် ရွက်မှုရှိသော လူထု အခြေပြုချည်းကပ်မှုနည်းလမ်းတစ်ခုဖြစ်ကာ သံလွင်မြစ်ဝှမ်း (Salween River) တွင်တည်ရှိသည်။ သံလွင် မြစ်ဝှမ်း (Salween River) သည် သက်ရှိအမျိုးမျိုးပူးတွဲတည်ရှိသည့် အဓိကကျသောနယ်မြေဒေသဖြစ်ပြီး ကိုယ်ပိုင်ပြဌာန်းခွင့် နှင့် ယဉ်ကျေးမှုဆိုင်ရာ ရှင်သန်တက်ကြွလာစေရန်အတွက် နှစ်‌ပေါင်းများစွာကြိုးပမ်းလာသည့် ဒေသခံဌာနေတိုင်းရင်းသား ကရင်လူမျိုးတို့၏ ရှင်သန်ရာဇာတိလည်း ဖြစ်သည်။ ထိုဥယျာဉ်အသစ်သည် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံအတွင်း ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးနှင့် သဘာဝ ပတ်ဝန်းကျင်ကိုထိန်းသိမ်းစောင့်ရှောက်ခြင်းတို့အတွက် အဓိကကျသည့် အောင်မြင်မှုတစ်ရပ်ကို ကိုယ်စားပြုသည်။

ဒုက္ခရောက်၍ ကြွယ်ဝသည့် ဂေဟစနစ်တစ်ခု

ဒုတိယကမ္ဘာစစ်အပြီးတွင် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ၏လူမျိုးကြီး ၈ စုမှ တစ်စုဖြစ်သည့် ကရင်လူမျိုးများသည် လွတ်လပ်သောပြည်နယ် ရရန် ကြိုးပမ်းခဲ့ကြသည့်အတွက် နှစ်ပေါင်း ၇၀ ကြာသည့် လက်နက်ကိုင်နိုင်ငံရေးပဋိပက္ခသို့ ဦးတည်ခေါ်ဆောင်သွားခဲ့သည်။ ၁၉၈၀ နှင့် ၁၉၉၀ စုနှစ်တစ်လျှောက်လုံးတွင် သောင်းဂဏန်းများစွာရှိသည့်ကရင်လူမျိုးများသည် ထိုင်းနယ်စပ်တစ်လျှောက်ရှိ ဒုက္ခသည်စခန်းများဆီသို့ထွက်ပြေးခဲ့ကြရသည်။ ၂၀၁၅ ခုနှစ်မှစ၍ အပစ်အခတ်ရပ်စဲခြင်းသဘောတူညီချက် စီစဉ်ချမှတ်ခဲ့ ကြရာ ဆက်ဆံရေးတင်းမာမှုများနှင့်အတူ ပစ်ခတ်မှုများအခါအားလျော်စွာဖြစ်ပေါ်ခြင်းက ပွင့်လင်းစွာ စစ်ပြုခြင်းကို အစား ထိုးခဲ့ပါသည်။

နှစ်ပေါင်းများစွာသောပဋိပက္ခများကြောင့် များသောအားဖြင့်သီးခြားဖြစ်နေခဲ့ရာ၊ သံလွင်မြစ်ဝှမ်း (Salween River) သည် သန့် ရှင်းသန့်ပြန့်သော သက်ရှိအမျိုးမျိုးပူးတွဲတည်ရှိသည့်နယ်မြေဒေသနှင့် ဒေသခံဌာနေတိုင်းရင်းသားကရင်လူမျိုးများ၏ ရှင်သန် ရာဇာတိလည်း ဖြစ်သည်။ ထိုဒေသတွင် ကျယ်ပြောသည့်ကျွန်းသစ်တောများ၊ ကျားများ၊ မျိုးသုဉ်းမည့် အန္တရာယ်တွေ့ကြုံ နေရသည့် ဆန်ဒသင်းခွေချပ်များ၊ အင်းကျားသစ်များ၊ မျောက်လွှဲကျော်များ၊ အာရှဝက်ဝံနက်များ၊ နှင့် ပသျှူးဝက်ဝံခေါ် နေ ဝက်ဝံများ အပါအဝင် အရှေ့တောင် အာရှတိုက်၏ အချို့သောနောက်ဆုံးကျန်ရစ်သည့် ပကတိအတိုင်း တောနယ်မြေ ဒေသ များအချို့ရှိသည်။ အာရှ၏အနှောင်ဖွဲ့ကင်းစွာစီးဆင်းသည့်အရှည်ဆုံးမြစ်ဖြစ်သော သံလွင်မြစ်သည်လည်း ထိုနယ်မြေကို ဖြတ်ကျော်၍စီးဆင်းသည်။

ယနေ့ သဘာဝသယံဇာတကြွယ်ဝသည့်မြန်မာနိုင်ငံသည် စစ်အာဏာရှင်စနစ်မှ အရင်းရှင်ဒီမိုကရေစီသို့ကူးပြောင်းသည့်အား လျော်စွာ ထိုနယ်မြေဒေသတွင် သစ်ထုတ်လုပ်မှု၊ ဓါတ်သတ္တုတူးဖော်မှု၊ စိုက်ပျိုးမွေးမြူရေးလုပ်ငန်း၊ ရေကာတာများ၊ နှင့် ရာဘာ ထုတ်ယူမှုများတို့သည် တိုးပွားလာခဲ့သည်။ ၁၉၉၈ တွင် မြန်မာအစိုးရသည် $2.6 ဘီလီယံတန်ဖိုးရှိသည့် ၁၃၆၀ မီဂါဝပ် ဟိုက်ကြီးရေကာတာအား သံလွင်မြစ်ဝှမ်း (Salween River) ၏တောင်ဘက်—ကရင်၏အချက်အချာနယ်မြေဒေသတွင် ဆောက်ရန် အဆိုပြုခဲ့ကြသည်။

ဌာနေတိုင်းရင်းသားငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးတမန်တစ်ဦး

Paul Sein Twa သည် အသက် ၄၇ နှစ် ဌာနေတိုင်းရင်းသားကရင်လူမျိုးတစ်ဦးဖြစ်ကာ ထိုင်း-မြန်မာနယ်စပ်တစ်လျှောက်တွင် ကြီးပြင်းလာ၍ ၎င်း၏ဘဝအားပဋိပက္ခနယ်မြေများတွင်လှည့်လည်သွားလာခြင်းဖြင့် အချိန်ကုန်လွန်စေခဲ့သည်။ ၎င်းသည် ကိုယ်ပိုင်းဆိုင်ရာ၊ စိတ်ပိုင်းဆိုင်ရာ၊​ နှင့် ယဉ်ကျေးမှုဆိုင်ရာအလိုက် သံလွင်မြစ်ဝှမ်း (Salween River) ၏တောတောင် ရေမြေဒေသနှင့် နက်နက်ရှိုင်းရှိုင်းဆက်စပ်မှုရှိကာ ၎င်း၏ဘဝအား ကရင်လူမျိုးများအတွက်နက်နက်နဲနဲရောယှက်နေသည့် ထိုနယ်မြေနှင့် ထုံးတမ်းစဉ်လာများကို ထိန်းသိမ်းကာကွယ်စောင့်ရှောက်ရန် နှစ်မြှုပ်ထားသည်။ ၂၀၀၁ ခုနှစ်တွင် ကရင် သဘာဝပတ်ဝန်းကျင်နှင့် လူမှုရေးဆိုင်ရာလှုပ်ရှားမှုကွန်ယက် (KESAN) အား သဘာဝပတ်ဝန်းကျင်နှင့် ကရင်လူမျိုးစုအသိုင်း အဝိုင်း၏ယဉ်ကျေးမှုကို ကာကွယ်နိုင်ရန် တွဲဖက်ထူထောင်ခဲ့သည်။

ဘိုးဘေးဘီဘင်၏နယ်မြေဒေသအားထိန်းသိမ်းစောင့်ရှောက်ခြင်း

၂၀၀၅ ခုနှစ် တွင် စက်မှုလုပ်ငန်းဖွံ့ဖြိုးတိုးတက်မှုများ နယ်မြေဒေသတွင် များပြားလာသည်နှင့်အမျှ Sein Twa သည် လူထု လှုံ့ဆော် လှုပ်ရှားသည့်ချည်းကပ်မှုနည်းလမ်းဖြင့် သံလွင်မြစ်ဝှမ်း (Salween River) အား ကာကွယ်နိုင်ရန် ဒေသခံအစိုးရနှင့် အခြားသူများတို့၏ကူညီထောက်ပံ့မှုဖြင့် စတင်ဆောင်ရွက်ပံ့ပိုးခဲ့သည်။ ၎င်းသည် သဘာဝပတ်ဝန်းကျင် ပျက်စီးဆုံးရှုံးမှု မရှိစေ ရန်ထိန်းသိမ်းစောင့်ရှောက်သည့် နည်းလမ်းအများအပြားကိုသင်ယူရန် နိုင်ငံတကာတွေ့ဆုံပွဲများကို တက်ရောက်ကာ ငြိမ်းချမ်း ရေးဥယျာဉ်နမူနာအကြောင်းသင်ယူခဲ့ရသည်။ ပေါ်ပေါက်လာသည့် စီမံကိန်းအသစ်တစ်ခုစီအား တုံ့ပြန်မည့်အစား ၎င်းသည် ၎င်း၏လူမျိုးစုအသိုင်းအဝိုင်းအတွက် သဘာဝပတ်ဝန်းကျင်ကာကွယ်စောင့်ရှောက်ခြင်းနှင့် ကိုယ်ပိုင်ပြဌာန်းခွင့် အခြေအနေကို ဖန်တီးယူသည့် နည်းဗျူဟာတစ်ရပ်အား စတင်ဆောင်ရွက်ခဲ့ သည်။

နယ်စပ်ဖြတ်ကျော်သည့် သဘာဝထိန်းသိမ်းရေးနယ်မြေဒေသများဟုလည်းခေါ်တွင်သည့် ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးဥယျာဉ်များသည် သက်ရှိအမျိုးမျိုးပူးတွဲတည်ရှိသည့် နယ်မြေဒေသများနှင့် ယဉ်ကျေးမှုအမွေအနှစ်အား သဘာဝပတ်ဝန်းကျင် ပျက်စီးဆုံးရှုံးမှု မရှိစေရန်ထိန်းသိမ်းစောင့်ရှောက်မှုကို အသုံးပြု၍ ထိန်းသိမ်းစောင့်ရှောက်နိုင်ရန် ကြိုးပမ်းခြင်းဖြစ်ကာ ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးတည် ဆောက်မှုအား တိုးတက်ဖြစ်ထွန်းစေသည်။ Selous-Niassa Wildlife Corridor (တန်ဇေးနီးယားနိုင်ငံ/မိုဇမ်ဘစ်နိုင်ငံ)၊ Emerald Triangle ထိန်းသိမ်းစောင့်ရှောက်ရေးဇုံ (ထိုင်းနိုင်ငံ/လာအိုနိုင်ငံ/ကမ္ဘောဒီးယားနိုင်ငံ)၊ နှင့် Cordillera del Condor (အီကွေဒေါနိုင်ငံ/ပီရူးနိုင်ငံ) တို့သည် ကနဦး ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးဥယျာဉ်များ၏စံနမူနာများဖြစ်သည်။

၎င်းတို့ချစ်ရသောသံလွင်မြစ်ဝှမ်း (Salween River) တွင် ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးဥယျာဉ်တစ်ခုဖန်တီးရေး အမြင်သဘောထားအပေါ် လက်ခံယုံကြည်စေရန် ၂၀၁၆ တွင် Sein Twa နှင့် KESAN သည် ကရင်လူမှုအသိုင်းအဝိုင်းများနှင့် ဒေသခံအစိုးရများ နှင့်ပူး ပေါင်းကာ ကရင်လူထု၏ အားပေးထောက်ခံမှုကို ဆော်သြစည်းရုံးရန် လူထု ၆၈၀၀၀ ခန့်အားကိုယ်စားပြုသည့် ရွာပေါင်း ၃၄၈ ရွာနှင့် အများပြည်သူ ဆွေးနွေးညှိနှိုင်းပွဲများ၊ နှီးနှောဖလှယ်ပွဲများ၊ နှင့် အသိပညာပေးသည့်တွေ့ဆုံပွဲများကို ကျင်းပခဲ့ကြသည်။

လုပ်ငန်းစဉ်တစ်လျှောက်လုံးတွင် လူထု၏သဘောတူလက်ခံမှုနှင့် ပူးပေါင်းပါဝင်မှုတို့ရရှိစေနိုင်ရန် Sein Twa သည် ဒေသခံ ခေါင်းဆောင်များနှင့်ပူးပေါင်းကာ လူထုဆန္ဒခံယူပွဲအား အခြေခံဥပဒေတစ်ရပ်နှင့်အုပ်ချုပ်မှုဖွဲ့စည်းတည်ဆောက်ပုံကို အတည် ပြုရန် စီစဉ်ခဲ့ရာ ၇၅ ရာခိုင်နှုန်းသောလူထု၏အားပေးထောက်ခံမှုကိုရရှိခဲ့သည်။ ၎င်းသည် ကိုလိုနီခေတ် သစ်တောဆိုင်ရာ ဥပဒေသ များကို ဓလေ့ထုံးတမ်းအလေ့အထများနှင့်အစားထိုးရန် ကရင်သစ်တောဌာနနှင့် ပူးပေါင်းလုပ်ကိုင်ခဲ့ကာ နယ်နိမိတ် များကို သတ်မှတ်ရာတွင် သဘာဝမှတ်တိုင်များအားအသုံးပြုရန် လူထုအားကူညီခဲ့သည်။ Sein Twa နှင့် ၎င်း၏အဖွဲ့သည် GPS ကိုအသုံးပြုကာ မြေကွက်အစိတ်အပိုင်းများအားပုံထုတ်နိုင်၍ ကရင်လူမျိုးပိုင်နယ်မြေအား တိကျမှန်ကန်စွာ မှတ်တမ်းတင်ပြီး ၎င်းတို့သည် သက်ရှိအမျိုးမျိုးပူးတွဲတည်ရှိမှုကို  မှတ်တမ်းတင်ပြုစုခြင်းနှင့် အချက်အလက်ခွဲခြားစိတ်ဖြာခြင်းကို သစ်တောများ တွင် ပြုလုပ်ခဲ့ကြသည်။

ဒီဇင်ဘာ ၁၈ ရက် ၂၀၁၈ ခုနှစ် တွင် ကရင်လူမျိုးများသည် သံလွင်ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးဥယျာဉ် (Salween Peace Park) အစပြုမှုကို တရားဝင်ကြေညာခဲ့ကာ ထိုဥယျာဉ်အား ဒေသခံကရင်လူထုများမှ စီမံခန့်ခွဲမည်ဖြစ်သည်။ ၁.၃၅ သန်းဧက ရှိသောဥယျာဉ်သည် လူထုသစ်တော ၂၇ ခုနှင့် တောရိုင်းတိရစ္ဆာန်ဘေးမဲ့တော ၃ ခုပါဝင်ကာ မျိုးသုဉ်းမည့် အန္တရာယ်တွေ့ကြုံနေရသည့် အုပ်စုများ ဖြစ်သော ကျားများ၊ ဆန်ဒ သင်းခွေချပ်များ၊ ဝက်ဝံနက်နှင့် ပသျှူးဝက်ဝံခေါ်နေဝက်ဝံများ၊ ပြောင်၊ နှင့် မျောက်လွှဲကျော် မျက်ခုံးဖြူများကို ထုတ်ယူသည့် လုပ်ငန်းများနှင့် ဖွံ့ဖြိုးတိုးတက်မှုစီမံကိန်းများမှ ကာကွယ်နိုင်မည်ဖြစ်သည်။ ဥယျာဥ်၏ နယ် နမိတ်များသည် အပျက်အစီးများကိုဖြစ်ပေါ်စေမည့် စီမံကိန်းကြီးများကို ရပ်တန့်နိုင်စေရန် ကရင်လူမျိုးများကြိုးပမ်းအားထုတ် သည့်အနေဖြင့် ဟိုက်ကြီးရေကာတာအပါအဝင်အဆိုပြုခံထားရသည့် ရေကာတာများပါဝင်စေရန် အထူးစီမံထားခြင်းဖြစ် သည်။

တည်ငြိမ်မှုမရှိသေးသည့်ဤနယ်မြေဒေသတွင် Sei Twa နှင့် KESAN သည်ပြည်သူလူထုများကို လယ်ယာစီမံခန့်ခွဲမှုပုံစံများရှိ လာစေရန်ကူညီပေးခြင်း၊ သက်ရှိအမျိုးမျိုးပူးတွဲတည်ရှိမှုပိုမိုကောင်းမွန်လာစေရေးအား မှတ်တမ်းတင်ပြုစုခြင်း၊ နှင့် အပျက် အစီးဖြစ်ပေါ်စေမည့် စီမံကိန်းကြီးများဘေးရန်မှ အကာအကွယ်တံတိုင်းအဖြစ် ဥယျာဉ်အား အသုံးပြုခြင်းဖြင့် ရှေ့ဆက်လှမ်း ချီနေပါသည်။ Sei Twa သည် နယ်မြေဒေသအတွင်း ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးနှင့်လွတ်လပ်ရေးကိုဖန်တီးနိုင်ရန် နိုင်ငံတကာသဘာဝ ပတ်ဝန်းကျင်ဆိုင်ရာလုပ်ငန်းဘောင်များကို အသုံးချ၍လူထုများနှင့်ဒေသခံအစိုးရတို့နှင့် ပူးပေါင်းဆောင်ရွက်နေပါသည်။ ၎င်း သည် သစ်တော၊ တောရိုင်းတိရစ္ဆာန်၊ နှင့် ဌာနေတိုင်းရင်းသား လူထုများအကြား နယ်နမိတ်မရှိသည့် လူထု-ဗဟိုပြု သဘာဝ ပတ်ဝန်းကျင်ပျက်စီးဆုံးရှုံးမှုမရှိစေရန်ထိန်းသိမ်းစောင့်ရှောက်မှု နယ်မြေအားတည်ဆောက်နေပါသည်။ Sei Twa သည် အခြေခံလူထု၏သဘာဝပတ်ဝန်းကျင်လှုပ်ရှားမှုနှင့် ဌာနေတိုင်းရင်းသားတို့၏ ကိုယ်ပိုင်ပြဌာန်းခွင့်တို့ကို ပိုင်နိုင်စွာ ပေါင်းစပ် ကာ ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးဥယျာဉ်ကို ပဋိပက္ခဖြစ်နယ်မြေတွင် အစပြုနိုင်ခဲ့သည်မှာ ပြိုင်စံကင်း၍ မကြုံစဖူးသည့် အောင်မြင်ဖြစ်ထွန်းမှု တစ်ရပ်ဖြစ်သည်။ ဤအရာသည် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံအတွင်း ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးနှင့် သဘာဝပတ်ဝန်းကျင်ကိုထိန်းသိမ်းစောင့်ရှောက်ခြင်း တို့အတွက် အဓိကကျသည့် အောင်မြင်မှုတစ်ရပ်ဖြစ်သည်။

In 2017, Lucie Pinson’s activism successfully pressured France’s three largest banks to eliminate financing for new coal projects and coal companies. She then compelled French insurance companies to follow suit: between 2017 and 2019, mega insurers AXA and SCOR announced plans to end insurance coverage for coal projects.

The Secret Persistence of Coal

Despite decades of research and stark evidence of its many dangers, coal remains the world’s primary source of energy, especially in the developing world. The burning of coal is responsible for 46% of carbon dioxide emissions worldwide and, as such, is a proven driver of climate change. Coal plants emit toxic lead, cadmium, trace amounts of uranium, carbon monoxide, arsenic, and volatile organic compounds—all environmental contaminants and health hazards for communities and workers alike. A typical coal plant generates 3.5 million tons of carbon dioxide per year.

The French financial sector has long played a key role in financing and insuring the global expansion of the coal power industry. Every new coal plant depends on financing from private banks and investors, and of the 20 international banks responsible for 75% of coal industry loans, three are French. Between 2007 and 2013, France’s three largest banks—BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, and Société Générale—provided loans of more than $32 billion to the global coal industry.

A Climate Soldier

Lucie Pinson, 34, grew up in Nantes, France, and became involved in environmental and social justice while attending college in South Africa. In that country, she learned about the harmful impacts of coal power plants and joined local efforts to fight coal projects financed by French banks. Back in France, Pinson joined Friends of the Earth, France to lead efforts to fight coal projects backed by French financial institutions. She then became a campaigner for the Sunrise Project and dived into anti-coal advocacy to address the central role of finance in climate change. Pinson is committed to protecting the Earth for future generations.

Stopping Coal Development at the Source

In 2013, two years before COP21, when the issue of climate change was gaining attention, Pinson began educating herself on coal finance policy. Pivoting from the existing strategy of mobilizing against specific projects, she decided to tackle the big picture: overall financial support for the entire coal industry. Soon, she launched a media campaign to pressure French banks by targeting their reputations. She cultivated strong relationships with journalists, providing sophisticated financial reports and research to show banks’ direct involvement in coal projects. Even while pressuring them, Pinson developed a solid working relationship with the staff at those institutions, steadfastly making the case against “short-termism” in their planning.

Pinson collaborated with other NGOs in order to mobilize demonstrations at bank offices and target them from every flank. She and her allies distributed leaflets to bank customers, purchased shares of banks’ stock so Pinson could attend shareholder meetings, facilitated workshops and conferences, and publicly ranked French banks based on their coal portfolios and policies. She wrote personal letters to executives of each bank, laying out expectations for the coming year, thus ensuring that the banks were continually confronted with anti-coal demands.

Pinson kept pressure on each of the banks for years—often leveraging one bank’s policies and reputation against the others—and pushed them into a bind: no financial institution wanted to be the last to act on climate change and coal policy. By 2017, all French banks had committed to no longer finance new coal projects.

With the progress made on banks, Pinson started also focusing on insurers. By 2017, AXA and SCOR—two of the world’s largest re-insurers—became the first to announce that they would no longer insure new coal projects. In December 2017, AXA declared that it would also divest roughly $3.5 billion from the coal and tar sands industry.

In June 2019, Crédit Agricole announced a staggered total phase-out of coal from its portfolio, in alignment with the Paris Climate Agreement targets. AXA and other financial institutions have since followed suit.

Pinson’s unique approach of forming relationships with key institutions while publicly holding them accountable successfully pressured France’s three largest banks and two largest insurance companies to stop financing or insuring coal and coal-related projects. This is a key precedent for financial institutions around the world, which are now, because of Pinson’s work, engaged in a race to the top to be more responsible actors on climate impact. As a result of her work with French institutions, 22 global banks and 17 insurers now cease to support coal development. Pinson’s activism has already resulted in the adoption of new coal policies by investors managing more than $7 billion in assets. She vows not to stop until financial institutions cease all new investment in coal.

En 2017, l’activisme de Lucie Pinson a obtenu des 3 banques françaises les plus importantes d’éliminer tout financement de nouveau projet au charbon et des entreprises de la filière du charbon. Elle a ensuite contraint les assurances françaises à faire de même : Entre 2017 et 2019, les géants de l’assurance AXA et SCOR ont annoncé leur intention de mettre un terme à la couverture par leurs assurances de tout projet lié au charbon.

La persistance secrète du charbon

Malgré des décades de recherche et des preuves manifestes de ses nombreux dangers, le charbon demeure la principale source d’énergie dans le monde, particulièrement dans les pays en voie de développement. La combustion du charbon cause 46% des émissions de dioxyde de carbone dans le monde et constitue, de ce fait, un facteur démontré du changement climatique. Les centrales à charbon rejettent des émissions toxiques de plomb et de cadmium, de faibles quantités d’uranium, de monoxyde de carbone, d’arsenic, et des composés organiques volatils — qui sont tous des contaminants de l’environnement et présentent des risques sanitaires tant pour les communautés que pour les personnes travaillant dans ces centrales à charbon. Une centrale à charbon type produit 3,5 million de tonnes de dioxyde de carbone par an.

Le secteur financier français a longtemps joué un rôle clé pour financer et assurer la croissance mondiale de l’industrie des centrales électriques à charbon. Chaque nouvelle centrale à charbon a besoin de financement de banques et d’investisseurs privés. Or, sur les 20 banques internationales responsables de 75% des prêts pour l’industrie du charbon, trois d’entre elles sont françaises. Entre 2007 et 2013, les trois plus grandes banques françaises—BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, et la Société Générale— ont prêté plus de 32 milliards de dollars US à l’industrie du charbon dans le monde.

Un soldat du climat

Lucie Pinson (34 ans) a grandi à Nantes en France, et s’est engagée pour la justice sociale et environnementale pendant ses études universitaires en Afrique du Sud. C’est dans ce pays qu’elle a appris les effets néfastes des centrales à charbon et qu’elle s’est jointe à des efforts locaux pour s’opposer à des projets financés par des banques françaises. De retour en France, Pinson a rejoint les Amis de la Terre en France pour diriger des efforts visant à s’opposer à des projets au charbon soutenus par des institutions financières françaises.  Elle est ensuite devenu une militante pour le Sunrise Project et s’est plongée dans le plaidoyer anti-charbon pour faire face au rôle central de la finance dans les questions de changement climatique. Pinson est déterminée à protéger la Terre pour les générations futures.

Arrêter le développement du charbon à la source

En 2013, deux ans avant la COP21, alors que la question du changement climatique recevait plus d’attention, Pinson a commencé à se former sur les politiques de financement du charbon. S’orientant différemment de la stratégie existant qui consistait à mobiliser contre des projets spécifiques, elle a décidé de s’attaquer à la situation dans son ensemble : le soutien financier global pour toute l’industrie du charbon. Peu de temps après, elle lança une campagne médiatique pour faire pression sur des banques françaises en visant leur réputation. Elle a cultivé des relations étroites avec des journalistes, fournissant des recherches et rapports financiers sophistiqués montrant l’implication directe des banques dans des projets au charbon. Tout en faisant pression sur eux, Pinson a aussi développé une forte relation de travail avec les personnels de ces institutions, démontrant sans relâche l’importance de ne pas opter pour une approche à court terme dans leur planification.

Pinson a collaboré avec d’autres ONGs pour mobiliser pour des manifestations dans des bureaux de banque, et les cibler sous tous les angles. Pinson et ses alliés ont distribués tracts aux clients des banques, ont acheté des actions des banques pour que Pinson puisse être présente lors des assemblées des actionnaires, ils ont organisé des tables rondes et conférences, et ont effectué un classement public des banques françaises basé sur leurs politiques et portfolio vis-à-vis du charbon. Pinson a écrit des lettres personnelles aux dirigeants de chaque banque, détaillant des attentes pour l’année à venir, s’assurant ainsi que les banques étaient continuellement confrontées aux exigences anti-charbon.

Pinson a maintenu la pression sur chaque banque pendant des années — utilisant souvent la réputation et les politiques d’une banque comme moyen de pression sur les autres — et les a poussées dans une situation difficile : aucune institution financière ne voulait être la dernière à agir pour le changement climatique et les politiques vis-à-vis du charbon. En 2017, toutes les banques françaises s’étaient engagées à ne plus financer de nouveau projets au charbon.

Avec le progrès réalisé du côté des banques, Pinson a commencé à cibler les assureurs. En 2017, AXA et SCOR— deux des plus grands réassureurs du monde — sont devenus les premiers à annoncer qu’ils n’assureraient plus de nouveaux projets au charbon. En décembre 2017, AXA a déclaré se départir d’environ 3,5 milliards de dollars US d’avoirs dans les industries du charbon et des sables bitumeux.

En juin 2019, le Crédit Agricole a annoncé un abandon total progressif et échelonné du charbon de son portfolio, conforme aux objectifs de l’Accord de Paris sur le Climat. AXA et d’autres institutions financières en ont fait de même depuis.

L’approche unique de Pinson qui consiste à former des relations avec des institutions clés tout en les tenant publiquement responsables a fait pression avec succès sur les trois plus grandes banques et les deux plus grandes assurances de France pour qu’elles arrêtent de financer ou d’assurer des projets au charbon ou liés au charbon. Ceci constitue un précédent clé pour les institutions financières de par le monde qui se sont maintenant embarquées, à cause du travail de Pinson, dans une course vertueuse pour devenir des acteurs plus responsables quant à leur impact sur le climat.

Grace à son travail avec les institutions françaises, 22 banques et 17 assureurs de niveau mondial ont maintenant cessé de soutenir le développement du charbon. L’activisme de Pinson a déjà conduit à l’adoption de nouvelles politiques sur le charbon par des investisseurs gérant des capitaux de plus de 7 milliards de dollars US. Elle s’est juré de ne pas arrêter jusqu’à ce que les institutions financières cessent tout nouvel investissement dans le charbon.

As a direct result of Chibeze Ezekiel’s four-year grassroots campaign, the Ghanaian Minister of Environment canceled the construction of a 700-megawatt (MW) coal power plant and adjoining shipping port to import coal. The coal power plant would have been Ghana’s first. Ezekiel’s activism stopped the coal industry from entering Ghana and steered the nation’s energy future away from coal.

A Crossroads on Energy Sustainability

In Ghana, energy shortages have long affected all sectors of society. Hospitals are often hit by blackouts and babies are not infrequently born by cell phone light. In 2015, there were 159 blackout days across the country. In recent years, with a significant share of Ghana’s energy coming from hydro-electricity, the outages have been exacerbated by increasing drought conditions.

In 2013, the Ghanaian government proposed construction of a 700-MW coal power plant and adjoining new port in Aboano, a coastal fishing community in Ekumfi district. The proposal was part of China’s aggressive push for coal development across the globe; its energy companies are projected to comprise nearly half of new coal generation worldwide in the next decade. The Ekumfi project, proposed by the Volta River Authority and Shenzhen Energy Group, required a $1.5 billion loan from the China African Development Fund to finance both the coal power plant and port. Because Ghana has no coal reserves, the port was an essential part of the plan for importing the raw materials—a proposed 2 million tons annually from South Africa.

Coal is the world’s most polluting and unsustainable form of power generation, though it still fuels 27% of the world’s energy and 38% of electricity generation. Electricity generated from fossil fuels is the largest single contributor to rise in carbon emissions, driving climate change in dramatic fashion.

In addition to the climate impact, the proposed coal plant’s wastewater, ash pit, and mercury emissions posed serious health and environmental risks for 52,000 people in Ekumfi district. The coal plant’s sulfur dioxide emissions risked creating acid rain, destroying community water catchments, and imperiling access to clean drinking water. In the Ekumfi district, access to fresh water is severely limited because underground sources are saline and unusable for drinking; collected rainwater is the primary potable water source.

Eyes on the Future of Ghana

Chibeze “Chi” Ezekiel, 40, is the national coordinator of 350 Ghana Reducing Our Carbon (350 GROC), an affiliate of the environmental NGO 350.org; he also founded Strategic Youth Network for Development, an organization that harnesses the power of youth to make environmental and social change in Ghana. For more than a decade, Ezekiel has organized Ghana’s youth around environmental sustainability and climate change issues. He is committed to empowering the next generation of environmentalists and giving them a voice, and follows the motto to “leave no one behind.”

A Sea Change on Energy Policy

Upon learning about the proposed coal plant and port in Ekumfi in 2013, Ezekiel and 350 GROC launched a campaign to raise awareness of its inherent risks for the people of Ghana. He forged a coalition with grassroots youth organizations and others, organized press conferences, gave media interviews, launched a social media campaign, and wrote public opinion papers on coal and Ghana’s energy future.

An essential part of the operation was a public information campaign. Initially, community members were drawn to the promise of jobs and economic opportunity through the coal project; for them, environmental concerns were secondary to struggles for food, water, and basic necessities. However, Ezekiel designed outreach materials to help communities understand the danger of coal in the face of misinformation and propaganda. He presented the facts to local leaders and residents, explaining the health and environmental costs of coal in contrast to renewable energy; he showed videos on coal’s devastating environmental impacts in other communities; and demonstrated the real risk that the coal plant could contaminate food, destroy clean drinking water, and harm people’s health.

In 2016, the Volta River Authority pitched the local communities on the proposal, asserting that the coal plant would be clean and safe for residents. However, because of Ezekiel’s groundwork, community members were prepared to question and counter these claims.

Finally, on October 10, 2016, Ghana’s environmental minister announced that the 700-MW Ekumfi coal plant would not be built, and, in May 2017, plans for the port were abandoned. In June 2017, the Ghanaian president announced that new power projects would only be renewable energy-based. Ezekiel’s activism prevented the construction of Ghana’s first coal power plant and port with a coal terminal, and stopped the coal industry from establishing itself as part of the nation’s energy system. In February 2019, Ghana’s national government released the Renewable Energy Master Plan, a comprehensive plan with energy targets for 2030, signaling the government’s commitment to renewable energy.

Ezekiel’s campaign blocked the coal industry from gaining a foothold in Ghana and continues to push for investments in renewable energy.

Nemonte Nenquimo led an indigenous campaign and legal action that resulted in a court ruling protecting 500,000 acres of Amazonian rainforest and Waorani territory from oil extraction. Nenquimo’s leadership and the lawsuit set a legal precedent for indigenous rights in Ecuador, and other tribes are following in her footsteps to protect additional tracts of rainforest from oil extraction.

Guardians of the Amazon Rainforest

Despite its relatively small area, Ecuador is one of the 10 most biodiverse countries on Earth. It contains pristine Amazon rainforests with rich wildlife, complex ecosystems, and significant populations of indigenous communities. Long protectors of this territory, the Waorani people are traditional hunter-gatherers organized into small clan settlements. They are among the most recently contacted peoples—reached in 1958 by American missionaries—and number around 5,000 today. Waorani territory overlaps with Yasuni National Park, which, according to the Smithsonian, “may have more species of life than anywhere else in the world.”

Since the 1960s, oil exploration, logging, and road building have had a disastrous impact on Ecuador’s primary rainforests, which now cover less than 15% of the country’s land mass. Extractive industries have increasingly driven deforestation, human rights abuses, public health crises (including spikes in rates of cancer, birth defects, and miscarriages), and negative impacts on indigenous peoples’ territories and cultures. For decades, oil companies have dumped waste into local rivers and contaminated land, while displacing indigenous people from their land.

Today, 80% of the Waorani population currently lives on one-tenth of its original ancestral lands.

In 2018, Ecuador’s Minister of Hydrocarbons announced an auction of 16 new oil concessions, covering seven million acres of primary Amazon forest, in efforts to attract investment by multinational oil companies, including Exxon and Shell. The concessions were located on the titled land of Waorani, Shuar, Achuar, Kichwa, Shiwiar, Andoa, and Sápara nations—in direct violation of indigenous rights. One area overlaps almost entirely with Waorani territory.

An Indigenous Steward and Leader

Nemonte Nenquimo, 33, is an indigenous Waorani woman who has committed herself to defending her ancestral territory, ecosystem, culture, economy, and way of life. She co-founded the Ceibo Alliance—an indigenous organization—in 2015 in order to fight back against the planned oil concessions, and was elected president of CONCONAWEP, an organization that represents the Waorani of the Pastaza province. Nenquimo has a 4-year-old daughter and lives with her extended family in the village of Nemonpare.

Using Strategies Old and New to Preserve Land and Life

After the Ecuadorian government announced the land auctions, Nenquimo assumed a leadership role and began organizing Waorani communities. She held regionwide assemblies and interviews with village leaders, helped her people launch a digital campaign targeting potential investors with the slogan “Our Rainforest is Not for Sale,” and spearheaded a petition to the oil industry and Ecuadorian government that was signed by 378,000 people from around the world.

At the same time, Nenquimo proactively helped communities maintain their independence from oil company handouts by installing rainwater harvesting systems and solar panels and supporting a woman-led organic cacao and chocolate production business. She played a key role in a community mapping project that charted more than 500,000 acres of Waorani territory, encompassing 16 communities.

Nenquimo also secured training for Waorani youth to be filmmakers and document their work, publishing powerful images and videos for the campaign, including aerial drone footage of the rainforest and Waorani territory.

Ultimately, Nenquimo helped bring the Waorani case to the courts and served as the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against the Ecuadorian government for violating the Waorani’s right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent. In April 2019, Ecuador’s courts ruled in the Waorani’s favor, a ruling which was upheld in the court of appeals in July of that year. Nenquimo’s leadership helped protect 500,000 acres of Amazonian rainforest and indigenous territory from oil extraction. She deftly bridged the worlds of indigenous people and Western society, bringing together elders and youth, and uniting distinct indigenous tribes that were once divided.

The legal victory sets a legal precedent for indigenous rights in Ecuador, spurring other tribes to follow her people’s example. According to Mitch Anderson, the executive director of Amazon Frontlines, “This is a major precedent for indigenous rights across the Amazon. Guaranteeing indigenous peoples’ rights to decide over their future and to say ‘No’ to destructive extractive projects is key to protecting the Amazon rainforest and halting climate change.” Nenquimo continues to fight for self-determination, rights, cultural and territorial preservation for the Waorani and other indigenous communities.

Nemonte Nenquimo lideró una campaña indígena y una acción legal que tuvo como resultado un dictamen de la corte para la protección de 500,000 acres de selva amazónica y territorio waorani contra la extracción petrolera. El liderazgo de Nenquimo y la demanda legal establecieron un precedente para los derechos indígenas en Ecuador, y ahora otras tribus siguen su ejemplo para proteger otras extensiones de bosque lluvioso contra la extracción petrolera.

Guardianes de la selva amazónica

A pesar de su territorio relativamente pequeño, Ecuador es uno de los diez países con mayor biodiversidad de la Tierra. Contiene selvas vírgenes amazónicas, ricas en vida silvestre, complejos ecosistemas y cuantiosas poblaciones de comunidades indígenas. Protectores desde hace mucho tiempo de este territorio, los waorani son cazadores-recolectores que se organizan en pequeños asentamientos de clanes. Se encuentran entre los pueblos más recientemente contactados—en 1958 fueron contactados por misioneros norteamericanos—y ahora cuentan con una población de aproximadamente 5,000 personas. El territorio waorani se traslapa con el Parque Nacional Yasuní, el cual, según datos del Instituto Smithsoniano, “podría tener más especies de vida que ningún otro lugar en el mundo.”

Desde la década de 1960, la exploración petrolera, la tala y la construcción de carreteras ha tenido un impacto desastroso en los principales bosques lluviosos de Ecuador, los cuales ahora cubren menos de un 15% de la masa terrestre del país. Las industrias extractivas han impulsado la deforestación, los abusos de derechos humanos, las crisis de salud pública (incluyendo el aumento significativo de tasas de cáncer, defectos congénitos, y abortos espontáneos), e impactos negativos en las culturas y los territorios de los pueblos indígenas. Durante décadas, las compañías petroleras han vertido residuos en los ríos locales y han contaminado la tierra, a la vez desplazando a pueblos indígenas de sus territorios.

Hoy en día, el 80% de la población waorani vive en una décima parte de su territorio ancestral original.

En el 2018, el Ministro de Hidrocarburos de Ecuador anunció una subasta de 16 nuevas concesiones petroleras, abarcando siete millones de acres de selva amazónica primaria, en un esfuerzo por atraer inversiones por parte de compañías petroleras multinacionales, incluidas Exxon y Shell. Las concesiones se ubicaban en terrenos pertenecientes a los pueblos waorani, shuar, achuar, kichwa, shiwiar, andoa y sápara—en violación directa de los derechos indígenas. Una de estas áreas se traslapa casi totalmente con el territorio waorani.

Una guardiana y líder indígena

Nemonte Nenquimo, de 33 años, es una mujer waorani que se ha comprometido a la defensa de su territorio, ecosistema, cultura, economía y modo de vida ancestral. Ella cofundó la Alianza Ceibo—una organización indígena—en el 2015 para luchar contra las concesiones petroleras planificadas, y fue elegida como presidenta del CONCONAWEP, una organización que representa a los waorani en la provincia de Pastaza. Nenquimo tiene una hija de 4 años y vive con su familia en la comunidad de Nemonpare.

Usando nuevas y antiguas estrategias para proteger la tierra y la vida

Después de que el gobierno ecuatoriano anunciara las subastas de los territorios, Nenquimo asumió el liderazgo y empezó a organizar a las comunidades waorani. Realizó asambleas regionales y entrevistas con líderes comunitarios, ayudó a su pueblo a lanzar una campaña digital dirigida a posibles inversionistas, con el lema “Nuestra selva no se vende,” y encabezó una petición dirigida a la industria petrolera y al gobierno ecuatoriano que fue firmada por 378,000 personas de todo el mundo.

A la misma vez, Nenquimo ayudó de manera proactiva a las comunidades a mantener su independencia de los subsidios de compañías petroleras mediante la instalación de un sistema de captación de aguas pluviales y paneles solares, además de apoyar una empresa de producción de cacao y chocolate orgánicos dirigida por mujeres. Desempeñó un papel clave en un proyecto de mapeo comunitario en el que se trazaron más de 500,000 acres de territorio waorani, abarcando 16 comunidades.

Nenquimo también obtuvo capacitaciones para que jóvenes waorani aprendieran a ser cineastas y documentaran su trabajo, publicando poderosas imágenes y videos para la campaña, que incluso contenía imágenes aéreas de los bosques lluviosos y del territorio waorani obtenidas por drones.

Ultimadamente, Nenquimo ayudó a traer el caso waorani a los tribunales y fue la principal demandante en una demanda contra el gobierno ecuatoriano por violar el derecho de los waorani al consentimiento libre, previo e informado. En abril del 2019, los tribunales de Ecuador dictaminaron a favor de los waorani, en un fallo que fue confirmado en julio de ese año. El liderazgo de Nenquimo ayudó a proteger 500,000 acres de selva amazónica y territorio indígena contra la extracción petrolera. Hábilmente unió los mundos de los pueblos indígenas y de la sociedad occidental, convocando a ancianos y jóvenes, y uniendo a distintas tribus indígenas que antes habían estado divididas.

La victoria legal establece un precedente legal para los derechos indígenas en Ecuador, impulsando a otras tribus a seguir el ejemplo del pueblo waorani. Según Mitch Anderson, el director ejecutivo de Amazon Frontlines, “Éste es un gran precedente para los derechos indígenas en toda la Amazonía. Garantizar el derecho de los pueblos indígenas de decidir sobre su futuro y decir ‘No’ a proyectos extractivos es clave para la protección de la selva amazónica y para detener el cambio climático.” Nenquimo sigue en su lucha por la autodeterminación, los derechos y la protección cultural y territorial de los waorani y de otras comunidades indígenas.