IF WE, AS ONE HUMAN FAMILY OF MOTHER EARTH, WANT TO SURVIVE THEN WE NEED TO RESPECT EACH OTHER AND OUR MOTHER EARTH AND ALLOW THOSE WHO ARE SKILLED AT WHAT THEY DO TO PROTECT MOTHER EARTH AS THEY KNOW HOW. IF OUR SOCIETIES OF EARTH FOCUS ON MONEY AS PROGRESS INSTEAD OF LIFE AS PROGRESS THEN WE WILL ALL PERISH TOGETHER AS MONEY CANNOT BUY YOU LIFE BUT MOTHER EARTH CAN KEEP YOU ALIVE. EARTH IS THE MOTHER OF LIFE, BEAUTY, HARMONY AND ABUNDANCE AND THAT IS WHAT EARTH GIVES US DAILY TO SUSTAIN US WITH SO MUCH LOVE AND KINDNESS. WE NEED TO GIVE BACK TO EARTH OUR LOVE, GRATITUDE, KINDNESS AND CARE WITH AN ABUNDANCE OF APPRECIATION FOR THE BOUNTY EARTH PROVIDES US DAILY.
HARMING EARTH HARMS US BECAUSE WE COME FROM MOTHER EARTH AND IF EARTH IS SICK SO WE BECOME SICK. IF THE AIR IS POLLUTED WE BECOME POLLUTED. IF THE WATER IS TOXIC THEN WE BECOME TOXIC. IF OUR FOOD IS POISONED AND UNHEALTHY BECAUSE OF PESTICIDES AND GMO’S THEN WE BECOME POISONED AND UNHEALTHY. IT IS A VERY SIMPLE FACT. SADLY NOT JUST ONE OF OUR ELEMENTS IS POLLUTED BUT ALL THE BASIC ELEMENTS THAT WE ARE MADE UP OF AND REQUIRE TO SURVIVE ARE TERRIBLY POLLUTED. THE WATER, EARTH AND AIR ARE ALL TOXIC TO A VERY UNHEALTHY DEGREE AND HENCE EARTH IS SICK SUFFERING AND OUT OF BALANCE. HUMANITY IS ALSO SICK, SUFFERING AND OUT OF BALANCE TOO. EARTH DID NOT MAKE US SICK BUT OUR DISREGARD FOR EARTH AND NATURE HAS MADE US SICK AND RESULTED IN A DISREGARD FOR OURSELVES. WHAT WE DO TO THE EARTH WE DO TO OURSELVES. HOW WE TREAT THE EARTH IS HOW WE TREAT OURSELVES. RESPECT BEGINS WITH REALISING THE VALUE OF OUR LIFE AND HENCE ALL LIFE.
OUR LIVES ARE SHORT BUT MOTHER EARTH HAS BEEN HERE FOR BILLIONS OF YEARS SO HER TIMING AND RESPONSE TO IMBALANCE IS MUCH SLOWER. HOPEFULLY IF WE FREEZE ALL OF OUR TOXIC ASSAULTS ON EARTH NOW AND END THEM FOREVER MAYBE WE CAN GIVE EARTH ENOUGH SPACE TO RECOVER BEFORE DRASTIC CHANGES OCCUR. THEN WE TOO CAN RECOVER IN TIME TO HAVE A HEALTHY WORLD FOR OURSELVES AND FUTURE GENERATIONS.
Uyunkar Domingo Peas, field representative for the Confederation of Indigenous Nations of the Ecuadorian Amazon, spoke at Amazonia Beyond the Crisis, a gathering of Indigenous leaders, business leaders, NGO representatives, and scientists, held in New York City in conjunction with the Global Climate Strike in September 2019. The Rainforest Alliance organized the event together with No Peace Without Justice, ISA, Imazon, Sustainable Development Solutions Network, The Nando and Elsa Peretti Foundation, and the National Wildlife Federation. Indigenous people comprise less than 5 percent of the world’s population, yet they protect 80 percent of global biodiversity. It’s time for the rest of the world to study their best practices and follow their leadership in living in harmony with nature. To learn how the Rainforest Alliance has worked to support—and learn from—Indigenous and local conservation efforts, visit https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/a…
Maurício Yukuana, director of the Hutukara Yanomami Association in the Brazilian Amazon, spoke at Amazonia Beyond the Crisis, a gathering of Indigenous leaders, business leaders, NGO representatives, and scientists, held in New York City in conjunction with the Global Climate Strike in September 2019. The Rainforest Alliance organized the event together with No Peace Without Justice, ISA, Imazon, Sustainable Development Solutions Network, The Nando and Elsa Peretti Foundation, and the National Wildlife Federation. Indigenous people comprise less than 5 percent of the world’s population, yet they protect 80 percent of global biodiversity. It’s time for the rest of the world to study their best practices and follow their leadership in living in harmony with nature. To learn how the Rainforest Alliance has worked to support—and learn from—Indigenous and local conservation efforts, visit https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/a…
Indigenous and local communities manage almost a quarter of the world’s lands—and that means they care for an astonishing 80 percent of Earth’s biodiversity.
And no one stewards the land better: Research shows that Indigenous peoples achieve conservation results at least equal to those of government-run protected areas—with a fraction of the budget. Another study shows that from 2000 to 2012, the annual deforestation rates inside tenured Indigenous forestlands across the Amazon were 2-3 times lowerthan outside of them. The message is clear: Indigenous peoples know best how to protect forests.
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