Indigenous Life is at Stake

Amazon Frontlines’ founder and Executive Director, Mitch Anderson, was featured on CNN this morning, calling in to the interview from our organizing center in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

In the interview, Mitch speaks about the Waorani people’s historic victory, what made it possible and what it means for the Amazon and indigenous rights. “Indigenous peoples have been protecting these lands for thousands of years… for them the issue is clear: it’s about a way of life premised on the destruction of their lands versus their way of life which as about harmony, about connection to the forest, and about survival,” Mitch said.

As forests are being cut down, soil degraded, and sea levels and global temperatures are on the rise, the critical role of indigenous peoples and forests in stopping climate change is becoming better understood, as evidenced by the recent UN special report on climate change. “Hopefully their victory, coupled with what’s happening in Brazil with Bolsonaro, will spark a shift in how the world conceives of the urgent threats facing the Amazon and the big question of how to save the Amazon rainforest… indigenous peoples need the backing of the international community so they can continue to protect their lands and their way of life.”

Watch and share the video, and if you haven’t already, join the movement to help scale the Waorani’s landmark victory to protect seven million acres of rainforest in the Amazon.