Rights for us mean forests for all
Rights for us mean forests for all
Abdon Nababan and Betanio Chiquidama, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Opinion | Sat, June 29 2013, 12:03 PM
Paper Edition | Page: 7
Though one of us lives in Central America and the other in Indonesia — nearly half the Earth’s circumference away from each other — we have the same urgent message for the decision makers who are gathered in Indonesia this week to discuss how best to slow climate change.
For hundreds of years, we — the indigenous peoples of the tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Latin America — have protected the forests that are now of such great interest in the battle against the changing climate.
We want to continue to play the role of global guardian of these precious resources, but we need your help.
In the face of tremendous and unprecedented pressures from the global quest for food, fuel, fiber and mineral wealth, our forests are under siege, and we can do little to protect them until our rights to our lands are recognized and respected.
More:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/06/29/rights-us-mean-forests-all.html
