“This Is Not Conservation – It’s A Cartel” - Unique Indigenous Gathering Issues Hard-Hitting Landmark Declaration

Nairobi: A unique gathering of Indigenous people impacted by conservation has demanded that “our ancestral lands, including those grabbed for parks and wildlife sanctuaries, be returned.”

The Nairobi Declaration, issued today by the newly-formed Indigenous Land Alliance, also contains a blunt ultimatum to well-known conservation bodies, including WWF, WCS, African Parks, UNESCO and others: “Leave our lands and respect our rights, or else we shall kick you out.”

The Our Land, Our Nature gathering brought together for the first time Indigenous representatives from around the world who are fighting conservation – to expose the human cost of fortress conservation and carbon markets, while presenting Indigenous-led alternatives.

The Declaration outlines the scale of the problem: “For decades, our lands have been grabbed and stolen by conservation cartels under the guise of saving Mother Earth. Our territories are turned into national parks, tiger reserves, wildlife sanctuaries, conservancies and trophy hunting reserves without our consent.”

“Our territories are sold through carbon markets, biodiversity credits and offset regimes that greenwash the destructive behavior of transnational corporations. Despite being designated as “protected areas”, they are destroyed, handed over for open-pit mining, “green” mining for critical transitional minerals, and commercial plantations of rubber, pine, tea, coffee, soy and teak. They are opened up for safari tourism that disrespects Indigenous Peoples and our ancestors.”

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“Behind all of it stands a coalition of governments, transnational companies and international “conservation” NGOs. They control our territories because they are bankrolled by wealthy northern countries, multilateral development banks, multilateral financial institutions, the World Bank, fossil fuel and polluting industries, and the like. Today our lands are administered by governments, NGOs and elites. Not by us. This is not conservation. It is nothing more than a cartel.”

“We oppose conservation characterised by market systems, land grabbing, greenwashing by major polluters, and false nature-based solutions.”

The hard-hitting Declaration has been issued by the 60 Indigenous people from 16 countries around the world who came together for the unprecedented gathering. They have formed a new network, the Indigenous Land Alliance, to drive forward the demands outlined in the Nairobi Declaration.

The Indigenous delegates came from:

Argentina (Qom and Mbya Guarani peoples)
Bolivia (Uchupiamona Indigenous people)
Botswana (Kua people)
Cambodia (Bunong Indigenous people)
Cameroon (Baka people)
Colombia (Pasto people)
Congo, Rep. (Baka people)
Ecuador (Kichwa people))
India (Jenu Kuruba people)
Kenya (Ogiek, Samburu, Rendille, Maasai, Borana, Sengwer peoples)
Nepal (Tharu people)
Peru (Kichwa people)
Tanzania (Maasai people)
Thailand (Plong Karen people)
Uganda (Mosopisyek/Kalenjin sub-group)
United States (Diné and Dakota nations)

Note:

This unique gathering was organized by Conservation Solutions Afrika and Survival International.

Indigenous Mising activist Pranab Doley (N.E. India) was due to speak at the conference but was arrested in July and imprisoned for leading a protest against a luxury hotel project that will affect Indigenous people near Kaziranga National Park, India.

Today, at least 3 million Indigenous people across Africa, Asia and the Americas are paying the price for conservation — with their land and with their lives. Conservation steals their territory, their livelihoods. It brings violence and hunger.

At least 1.1 billion hectares (2.7 billion acres) of Indigenous land have been stolen in the name of conservation.

Conservation — perceived by many as a positive movement — threatens the ways of life of Indigenous peoples on three continents. Its effects are on a par with the theft of Indigenous territories by logging, mining, gas extraction and narco-trafficking.

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