Sustainable Solutions
for the Coexistence of
Wildlife and People
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Films and Links
Across the globe, indigenous communities are raising their voices to speak out against the pervasive plundering and selling off of ecosystems and biodiversity. Environmental associations and citizens' initiatives in the global north are beginning to show solidarity with them and work together to protect "Mother Earth". Our work is closely linked to these emerging networks.
A film by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN):
Indigenous communities are not only the guardians of global ecosystems and biodiversity, they are also often very involved in climate protection, as they feel the effects of climate change much more strongly. A film about indigenous climate activists.
The focus of our work is on promoting projects for the sustainable coexistence of people and wild animals and community-based conservation, i.e. nature and species protection measures by indigenous peoples and local village communities, citizens' initiatives and small local organizations. The history of nature conservation has shown that large, internationally active organizations often make decisions over the heads of the local population and implement projects that are not in the interests of the people living there. We believe in conservation that integrates rather than excludes people and benefits wildlife, ecosystems and local communities. Many indigenous communities and some organizations have now taken this path of new nature conservation and have launched their own projects. With the following films and links we would like to show some of these projects to give an idea of their work. With your help we are trying to support at least some of these projects.
A film about the Ogiek indigenous people on Mount Elgon in western Kenya, one of our most important project regions. The Ogiek live in the mountain rainforest of Mount Elgon and also in the Mau Forest, Kenya's largest forest area. At Mount Elgon they have started a very promising project to prove their rightful claims to their forest and to document their very own ways of nature conservation.
Nashulai Maasai Conservancy, a project in the Masai Mara ecoregion in southwest Kenya, won the 2020 United Nations Equator Prize for its conservation model of coexistence with wildlife. A film:
Mata Loita Community Rangers is another Maasai project in southwest Kenya in the Loita forest ecosystem. The film clearly shows how the local Maasai population takes the protection of wild animals and the ecosystem into their own hands.
Most indigenous peoples are protectors of their respective ecosystems simply because of their sustainable way of life, which has been proven over thousands of years, such as the Baka in the Central African rainforests in the film example. Nevertheless, in many African countries they are forcibly removed from the forest in order to use it economically or to set up national parks.
The Maasai have always been lion hunters, because lions threatened their livestock, invaded villages and also killed people. Killing a lion was "good" and part of the young warriors' initiation rites. Two biologists turned things around. Today many Maasai are in favor of lion protection and coexistence.
The Salween Peace Park in Myanmar on the border with Thailand is a model for how future nature conservation could be implemented. In contrast to a national park, where people living there have mostly been resettled, in a "peace park" wild animals and people live in the same habitat, as has been natural for decades. One of our future film projects will document whether the Salween Peace Park fully complies with this.
The Prey Lang is the largest remaining lowland rainforest in Southeast Asia, located in northeast Cambodia and home to rare forest animals such as clouded leopards, leopards and forest elephants. In recent decades, the forest has become increasingly smaller due to government-sponsored conversion into plantations and also illegal logging. Many of the people who live in the forest and the surrounding area have organized themselves into the Prey Lang Community Network to save their forest from total destruction.
The temperate rainforests of the North American west coast are home to many Indian peoples, the First Nations, as they call themselves. The invasion of white European settlers brought disease and death to often entire villages and, as a result, the destruction of the forests and the plunder of the rich marine world. Today, the First Nations continue to fight to preserve forests, protect wildlife and preserve their culture.
Links:
With the following links we would like to introduce some organizations and projects that, like us, support indigenous projects and projects of local village communities or work on human-wildlife coexistence.
IWGIA - International Workgroup for indigenous Affairs
International Wildlife Coexistence Network
Our selection is by no means complete, but only reflects some of the organizations working on the topics mentioned and is continually supplemented and revised.