by BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — They tell stories of rising sea levels, burning trees, contaminated water and disease. But they are also ready to discuss solutions and share the work of their communities to address a major threat to life on Earth: climate change.
For the many indigenous peoples taking part in the annual UN climate talks taking place in Azerbaijan this year, it is a chance to make their voices heard. Their communities are often severely affected by extreme weather events, which are made worse by climate change. At the same time, many of these communities are critical to combating global warming because of traditional practices. After all, indigenous peoples around the world have successfully cared for their lands and found balance with nature for thousands of years.
The Associated Press asked 12 indigenous peoples who took part in this year’s negotiations to say something about how climate change is affecting their community or how their community is helping to combat climate change. Here are their thoughts:
Saina Ekaterina Savvinova, 53
Indigenous community: Yakut
Location: Yakutsk, Russia
“When I was a kid we had a lot of snow. We played in it. We used it to build labyrinths. Now we don’t have much snow anymore.”
Antumalen Ayelen Antillanca Urrutia, 26
Indigenous community: Mapuche Huilliche
Location: Huapi Island, Chile
“As a young Mapuche, I denounce the pollution of my homeland, Lake Ranco in southern Chile. I live on the third largest lake, on an island in the middle of it, and we have no drinking water.”
Sydney Men, 27
Indigenous Community: Kichwa Otavalo
Location: Otavalo, Ecuador
“We have an energetic connection to the lakes, to water in general. We have a connection to fire, we have a connection to air and other things that you don’t have a connection to in the West. So we have solutions to climate change.”
Big Wind Carpenter, 31
Indigenous Community: Northern Arapaho
Location: Wind River Reservation, United States
“We have been experiencing a drought since I was born. We have experienced extreme drought for the last 30 years and are completely surrounded by wildfires.”
Flora Vano, 39
Indigenous Community: Melenazis
Location: Port Vila, Vanuatu
“Sea level rise is eating us up. It threatens our food security, contaminates our water sources, destroys infrastructure and increases the rate of gender-based violence at a rapid pace.”
Puyr dos Santos Tembé, 47
Indigenous community: Tembé
Location: Belem, Brazil
“Think of the Amazon. There are trees and rivers, and then you see the rivers, which are a means of transportation for many people, drying up.”
Mingma Chhiri, 40
Indigenous community: Sherpa
Location: Khumbu Pasanglhamu Municipality, Nepal
“As an ethnic population of the region, we do not destroy natural beauty. We don’t cut down trees. We plant them.”
Hindu Oumarou Ibrahim, 41
Indigenous Community: Mbororo
Location: N’Djamena, Chad
“We are currently experiencing the biggest floods we have ever had. Two million people have been displaced and thousands are dead.”
Ninewa Inu Pereira Nunes, 50
Indigenous community: Huni Kui
Location: Feijo, Brazil
“Our main work is to raise people’s awareness to end deforestation. But we also restore degraded areas by planting trees. And we are working very hard to strengthen the spirituality of our people by restoring the sources of the rivers and repopulating the streams and rivers.”
Marynne Rimbao, 42
Indigenous community: Tombekin
Location: Unda Village, Papua New Guinea
“My house is in one of the most remote places in Papua New Guinea where there is mining activity. “Especially when it comes to mining activities, my region is affected by climate change when it comes to the environment – the land, the water, the resources, the food and the forests – that support our livelihoods.”
Didja Tchari Djibrillah, 30
Indigenous community: Peul Mbororo
Location: Mayo-Kebbi East, Chad
“The community (of pastoralists) contributes to combating the effects of climate change. When we move from one place to another, we leave behind cow dung, which allows the soil to be fertilized and the ecosystem to regenerate.”
Jackson Michael, 40
Indigenous community: Iban
Location: Borneo, Malaysia
“Heavy rains affect wildlife. Now the government is making major efforts to protect and conserve wildlife.”
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