Mongabay series: Indigenous Peoples and Conservation

Indigenous peoples’ stewardship of natural resources is increasingly being recognized as a critical priority in efforts to combat climate change, protect biodiversity, and maintain the ecosystems that sustain the planet. Yet indigenous communities continue to face grave threats when it comes to protecting their lands. Some indigenous peoples are challenged by governments’ failure to recognize their land rights and the loss of traditional knowledge, which erodes cultural identity. The Indigenous Peoples and Conservation project will produce a series of journalistic stories that explore threats to indigenous peoples’ territories and showcase successful indigenous-led conservation initiatives.

Indigenous forest guardians Laércio Guajajara and Paulo Paulino Guajajara.

End of impunity for Indigenous killings in sight for Brazil’s Guajajara

Indigenous forest guardian Paulo Paulino Guajajara was killed in November 2019 in the Brazilian Amazon. Mongabay’s Karla Mendes, who interviewed Paulo nine months before his death, returned to the Arariboia Indigenous Territory in August 2023 to talk with his family and the other guardian who survived the attack, Laércio Guajajara, and shine a light on a case that still hasn’t gone to trial after four years.
Indigenous forest guardians Laércio Guajajara and Paulo Paulino Guajajara.