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Living in harmony with nature used to be instinctive for all humans. It was a matter of survival. But, over the centuries we’ve urbanised and industrialised and the connection has become weaker.
Now over four billion of us live in cities, where it’s all too easy to forget that everything still comes from Earth. The more we extract, the more nature struggles. But it has some powerful defenders. Indigenous communities make up around 5% of the world’s population and yet safeguard 80% of the planet’s biodiversity. They haven’t forgotten what it means to live in harmony with Earth, and how important it is to give back. And yet they are the ones under attack. The natural wealth they guard, makes them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse by industry. In this programme we’ll meet two indigenous communities which are protecting unique ecosystems on their territory.
In Brazil, the Xavantes are exploring new ways of defending their ancestral way of life. And in north-western Australia, the Bardi Jawi are working with scientists to create a fresh approach to marine conservation. We also have short interviews with indigenous activists Xiye Bastida, Daiara Tukano and Nemonte Nenquimo.
Marine Rangers - In northwest Australia’s remote Kimberley region, indigenous communities and scientists are creating a co-designed Marine Park to preserve the unique and richly biodiverse Dampier Peninsula. Conservation efforts here are extremely challenging due to the harshness of the environment and the area’s extreme remoteness. From them to succeed partnerships with the Traditional Owners, the Bardi Jawi, are crucial. The park is in the planning phase. Presenter Harriet Davies travels to the Dampier Peninsula to see how Bardi Jawi rangers are collaborating with marine scientists to research and design the park. The hope is that this will safeguard the area’s wildlife, as well as the Bardi Jawi way of life. Harriet sees how the area’s corals, although hardy, are beginning to suffer as ocean temperatures rise. She learns how intricately connected the Bardi Jawi culture is with the surrounding area. And she goes with the team on a research trip to monitor green turtle populations known as a “turtle rodeo”.
Guardians of the Serra do Roncador - The Xavante tribes have long been known as the guardians of the Serra do Roncador area, a rich and biodiverse stretch of land in the heart of Brazil where the rainforest ecosytem of the Amazon meets that of the tropical savannah, the Cerrado. Despite being the legal owners of the land, the Xavantes’ way of life is under threat. Big business has had its eye on the region for decades and now, aided and abetted by a government that values profits over conservation, the fight to protect nature is all the more critical. Without being able to rely on the political and legal system, the Xavantes have turned to other means to protect their lands. In an attempt to replenish lost biodiversity, one tribe in the village of Ripa has started a systematic, planned conservation of native seeds. They have created a seed bank and started to plant a barrier of trees around the village. The seeds are also shared with other tribes and non-indigenous peoples. The village of Pimentel Barbosa has a lookout and is starting to use a drone to survey its borders, in the hope that it will catch legal farmers, fisherman and hunters who enter the area. While these efforts may sound simple they are integral to saving the natural environment in Brazil. And with scant resources these indigenous tribes must try everything before the rich biodiversity on their territory is lost.
Indigenous activists - We speak to Xiye Bastida, an 18 year old climate justice activist from the Mexican Otomi-Toltec nation. She is now based in New York. She is one of the lead organizers of the Fridays for Future youth climate strike movement and a co-founder of the Re-Earth Initiative. We also hear from activist and artist, Daiara Tukano of the Brazilian Tukano nation, and Nemonte Nenquimo of the Waorani tribe in the Ecuadorian Amazon.