Saving the Planet Shouldn’t Mean Hurting People

By: Imran Abdurashed
Imran is a student who cares about the planet, Human rights, and making sure people are heard and respected.

In the Amazon rainforest in Peru, the Asháninka people have lived for generations. They use the land to hunt, fish, farm, and keep their culture going. But now they are getting pushed out by the government and big environmental groups. These groups are turning parts of the forest into protected areas and say it is to help fight climate change. But they are not asking the Asháninka what they think, even though it is their land.

This is what people call eco colonialism. It is when people try to protect nature by taking over Indigenous land without permission. On the outside it sounds like a good thing, like saving the planet, but it is really just another way of ignoring the people who have always lived there. The Asháninka are not destroying the rainforest. They have been taking care of it for a long time. Now they are being treated like a problem for just living how they always have.

Even with all this going on, the Asháninka are standing up for themselves. A leader named Ruth Buendía has been fighting for her people’s rights. She helped stop a huge dam project that would have flooded their land. She works with a group called CARE that supports Indigenous communities who want to protect the land in their own way. That means they decide what happens, not people from far away.
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This shows that not every green project is actually good. Just because something is called eco friendly does not mean it is fair. If we really care about the planet, we also have to care about the people who protect it every day.


Sources:

• Survival International. “Eco Colonialism: Green Projects that Violate Indigenous Rights"
• Mongabay. “Indigenous Leader Ruth Buendía Fights for Peru’s Asháninka People”
• Earth Daughters – an Indigenous led group supporting women and youth in climate justice