Concluding thoughts

Throughout this blog series I’ve covered how indigenous communities are on the frontlines of environmental change, and often have to face the most severe impacts before any other group of people. However, I also hope that I’ve conveyed that indigenous peoples are not just victims, but resilient activists, and are playing an increasingly prominent role in areas such as climate change action and biodiversity conservation.

When researching and writing posts, I’ve found that it’s very easy to slip into the narrative that indigenous peoples are helpless and passive victims. Reading about the Batwa in Uganda being evicted so ruthlessly from their ancestral homeland to make way for a conservation project was nothing less than heart-breaking. I couldn’t help but think ‘if the good guys have been doing this, then what hope does anyone have against the bad guys?’

Furthermore, when we see images like the effect of rising sea level on Bangladesh for instance, it is hard to imagine how the country’s coastal indigenous communities, such as the Munda, will adapt and survive something as large and daunting as environmental change. 

However, as pointed out in the video below, the onslaught of extreme weather and threats to traditional livelihoods also gives rise to the anger felt by indigenous peoples that they are the most affected by a problem that they did not create. The Batwa have never hunted gorillas, but lost their homes due to overhunting and exploitation by people outside of their community. According to 2013 data, Bangladesh emitted 0.439 metric tons of carbon dioxide per capita, compared to the 16.39 metric tons per capita in the United States. This anger often manifests itself into forms of activism, as shown by the Munda women in the video participating in local decision making and organising to influence Bangladesh’s adaptation policies.

Adapting to environmental fluctuations is also a key component in indigenous knowledge. From the Inupiat on one side of the globe abiding by hunting quotas to preserve whale populations for the future, to the Australian aboriginals on the other side incorporating some invasive species into their cultures and diets, indigenous life develops and adjusts alongside changes in the environment. There is no denying, though, that the scale of the environmental issues that indigenous peoples now face may be unlike anything the previous generations have had to overcome. Environmental concerns including habitat degradation, pollutants, invasive species, biodiversity loss and climate change, are coupled with social issues such as discrimination, economic marginalisation and a disparity in healthcare.

"There are 370 million indigenous people today, in roughly 5000 nations, and these people are tough as diamonds. They are where the hope lies for the future of this planet."- Brian Keene, co-founder of Land is Life 

Nevertheless, since starting this blog, we’ve seen the success of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in their fight against fossil fuels and environmental pollution, and we’ve also seen indigenous communities participating at COP13 and being recognised as custodians of biodiversity. Studies have also proven that deforestation rates are lower when indigenous land rights are recognised, helping to keep carbon out of the atmosphere. Not only are indigenous and rural communities adapting on a local scale, but are becoming more and more recognised in global dialogues, and moving away from being seen as passive victims to becoming resilient change-makers. By now, it goes without saying that indigenous voices and the messages they convey are very powerful, but in the end we all need to listen. 

Environmental Change and Health: A summary

It is expected that climate change will cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year between 2030 and 2050. The potential health impacts of environmental change are not distributed equally across the globe or among social classes. Global warming may have some benefits in temperate regions, such as fewer winter deaths and an increase in crop yields. On the other hand, as we have seen throughout this blog series, diseases resulting from climate change, habitat destruction, and environmental contamination has, and will continue to have, a powerful effect on indigenous health.

What is health?

The World Health Organisation describes the concept of health as a 'state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity'. However, Green et al. acknowledge that in many ways, Indigenous views of health can be more complex, abstract, and multifaceted than the Western biomedical consensus. A sense of identity, ancestry, language and a connection to the land are also intrinsic to indigenous concepts of health. 

Aboriginal health care training

Pathogenic disease

Increasing global temperatures and extreme weather could create a more favourable environment for disease transmission. As I mentioned in previous blogs, persistent floods in Uganda have led to more outbreaks of waterborne diseases among the Batwa, and hot, dry conditions in Australia may cause a spike in bacterial diarrhoea and Dengue fever in the Aboriginal community. A similar situation is likely to be seen in Asia, where diarrhoea incidence is expected to increase as floods and droughts become more frequent and freshwater availability decreases. Droughts in particular can increase pathogen concentration, as the pathogens multiply at increased rates in less available water.

Lifestyle diseases

Diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and cancer are usually rare in populations surviving on a traditional diet. However, millions of Indigenous people now dwell in urban areas, and so their diets are often higher in calories, fat and salt than those a few generations before them.

In the U.S., the aforementioned illnesses are increasing among tribes as access to traditional food is restricted by pollution, urbanisation and policy changes. Pacific islanders also suffer from high levels of obesity due to an increased consumption of imported, processed food in place of traditional foods. Up to 80% of women in American Samoa are obese. Micronutrient deficiencies are also common, with anaemia being prevalent amongst pregnant women and children.

Environmental contamination

Whilst Arctic environments may appear pristine on the surface, indigenous peoples in the Arctic are some of the most chemically contaminated ethnic groups. Since the early 1970s, an accumulation of manmade chemicals in the Arctic raised concerns about toxic substances contaminating marine animals and humans. According to one paper published by Jens Hansen, Inuits are the highest exposed to heavy metals such as methyl mercury, as it accumulates in marine organisms, which the Inuits rely on for food. Another particularly dangerous group of chemical compounds is the Poly Chlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs). Using PCBs in products such as paints and fluorescent lighting is now banned, but those that have already been released into the environment will take a long time to break down. At high concentrations, PCBs can be lethal to humans, and at lower concentrations can disrupt hormones and damage reproductive and immune systems.

Since the publication of a study by Dewailly et al. in 1989, we have known that the breast milk of indigenous women in Quebec has a higher concentration of PCBs than anywhere else in the world. Diets in this region consist of large amounts of fish and meat, in which the chemical accumulates and enters the food chain. In the study, the average level of PCBs in non-indigenous populations in Quebec was around 0.77mg/kg, whilst levels in indigenous women averaged around 3.60mg/kg, and even reached 14.7mg/kg.

Aconitum heterophyllum

Traditional medicines

Biodiversity loss resulting from habitat degradation, invasive species, and climate change, reduces the availability of traditional remedies, such as medicinal plants. A ten-year study by Prakash Kala published in 2004 assessed the population status of medicinal plants in the Indian Himalayas. Of the 60 species studied, 22% where critically endangered, 16% were endangered and a further 27% were vulnerable.

According to the indigenous healers, approximately 45 different ailments can be treated with various parts of the plants included in the study. These medicinal plants face numerous threats, including habitat loss, introduction of alien species, over-grazing of livestock, climate change, unregulated tourism and commercial collection, and road construction. For example, the tubers Aconitum heterophyllum are traditionally used to treat diarrhoea and fever, but overexploitation and illegal collection has resulted in an Endangered classification by the IUCN.

Summary

Not only does environmental change increases the prevalence of diseases, through both the spread of pathogens and the loss of traditional diets, but also reduces the availability of traditional remedies that have been used for generations. The impacts of biodiversity loss most negatively affects marginalised groups, which often includes indigenous peoples, as health care is mostly unaffordable or inaccessible. Athough I haven't covered mental health in as much detail here, throughout the previous 'spotlight' posts I have explored how climate change and biodiversity loss also causes stress, depression, and grief, and that cultural identity and a connection to the natural environment is a key factor in Indigenous health.

'I don’t know where my grandson will grow up if this land is lost': Environmental Change and Displacement

It is almost certain that climate change will compromise the global human ‘carrying capacity’, and will force mankind to redraw coastlines, alter where we grow food and find water, and will expose us to harsher and more extreme weather conditions in many parts of the world.  In this post, I will summarise the various forms of displacement by looking at some of the most affected areas and indigenous communities.

Alaska

As I mentioned in previous posts, rising sea levels, commercial hunting and anthropogenic contaminants have all impacted food security, livelihood and culture of Alaskan indigenous groups. Since 1974, temperatures across Alaska have increased by around 2 to 3.5 degrees Celsius, causing sea ice extent to decrease and permafrost to thaw.

Shishmaref is another Inupiaq community located on an island just south of the Arctic Circle. In 2002, residents voted to leave the island due to melting sea ice and major erosion from melting permafrost.  However, the community eventually realised that they did not have the resources to relocate, and a 2006 study confirmed that this could cost up to $200 million. Dozens of indigenous Alaskan communities are facing similar circumstances and are at risk of having to relocate, as stronger storms are eroding the land on which they are situated. The only option is to migrate, as there is no higher ground to relocate to.

Pacific Islands

The Pacific Islands consist of 22 countries, with 7500 islands between them. Approximately 300 of these are inhabited, with the total Pacific Islands population reaching over 9.2 million. These countries can in some ways be regarded as indicators for the early impacts of climate change. Despite being responsible for only around 0.006% of global greenhouse gas emissions, Pacific Island states often experience the most serious consequences of the practices of developed countries.

Since 1950, the number of natural disasters has increased. Droughts, coral bleaching, and salination of soils have also increased, as a result of both climate change and other anthropogenic environmental damage. Rising sea levels not only threaten coastal zones, potentially creating the first climate refugees, but also the way of life and national identities of Pacific peoples.

Sandbags to prevent floods in Kiribati

The Republic of Kiribati has one of the highest poverty rates of the Pacific Islands, and is believed to be one of the most vulnerable nations to climate change. Water supplies are expected to have been reduced to an insufficient level by the mid-21^st century, and the island is at risk of disappearing altogether. In 2005, President Anote Tong acknowledged that migration may be the only option and that other forms of adaptation may be too late.

Sea ecosystems which are essential for the livelihoods of many Pacific Islanders are likely to be severely disrupted by the loss of coral reefs. Coral reefs are home to approximately one million species and provide a critical food supply. In Palau, a nation in the Western Pacific, over one-third of coral reefs have been destroyed due to warming events and coral bleaching. Since witnessing these events, Palau has played a fundamental role in raising international awareness and has worked towards conserving vast swathes of near-shore marine resources and ban the destructive bottom trawling practice.

Bangladesh

‘I respect the scientists as they are wise and there must be truth in their words. I know very little about all this climate change or global warming, and few in my community understand it well. But we are already facing the true nature of these changes. I don’t know where my grandson will grow up if this land is lost.’- U-Sa-Chi-Master, head of the Kansai Na Pyo Roa (a minority Rakhain village in South Bangladesh)

Bangladesh is renowned for its vulnerability to climate change and rising sea levels. In fact, in terms of the number of people likely to be affected, it is the world’s third most vulnerable country to sea-level rise. Food and water supplies will be jeopardised by an increase in salinity around coastal areas, and it is expected that food shortages will result in a large number of internally displaced people.

'Adivasi' is a term which includes all the Indigenous peoples of South Asia. The Adivasi tribal communities of Bangladesh, including the Garo, Santal, Chakma and tribes in the Chittagong Hill tracts, are particularly vulnerable to displacement due to environmental change. Much of their ancestral land has been lost to encroachment by settlers, and so many Adivasi groups are confined to the more drought-prone areas.

Palm oil plantation in Colombia

Colombia

As we have seen with the Batwa, indigenous peoples are sometimes displaced to make way for seemingly 'good' initiatives, such as conservation projects.  Along with other biofuels, oil palm has sometimes been heralded as a more ‘eco-friendly’ alternative to fuel and part of the solution to climate change. Oil palm, in particular, has become one of the fastest growing monocultures in the tropics, which raises the issues of habitat destruction and depleting biodiversity. However, the production of these crops can have devastating consequences on forest-dwelling indigenous peoples and other minorities.

Colombia is home to 92 indigenous groups but also has the world’s second largest number of internally displaced peoples. These communities have endured massive displacement at the hands of paramilitary groups who take over indigenous lands to grow oil palm. Abuses in relation to the planting of these biofuel crops include forced evictions, denied lands rights, higher disease prevalence and an increase in exploitative relationships between forestry officials and indigenous people. Similar situations occur in Argentina, Brazil, and Indonesia, due to an increasing demand for biofuels in a somewhat contradictory effort to combat climate change.

Summary

Since 1990, the IPCC has put forward that human migration may be the most significant impact of climate change. By 2050, as many as 200 million people could be displaced due to disruption in monsoon changes in addition to other changes. However, in our search for strategies to fight climate change and biodiversity loss, we can cause further displacement of indigenous peoples, highlighting the delicate balance between combatting environmental issues while maintaining human rights and wellbeing.

Food security: A summary

Environmental change poses a severe risk to indigenous food security. For generations, indigenous peoples have relied on a diverse range of fungi, plant and animal species for food and medicine. As ecosystems have been exploited, the availability of these resources has greatly diminished. Pollution, disease and introduction of invasive species has further hampered the productivity of the ecosystems that remain. These traditional foods not only provide irreplaceable sustenance but also have a cultural importance in terms of ceremonies, harvesting, processing and sharing of these resources.

A Brazilian Awa family go on a gathering trip

Winter sea ice is rapidly disappearing as a result of climate change, threatening food security for Arctic indigenous communities. As we have seen with the Inupiat, traditionally hunted species such as the bowhead whale are becoming less available due to population declines or range shifts. Other key species such as walruses are declining due to this loss of habitat, and the Athabascan peoples in central Alaska have also observed changes in moose habitat and health.

Lynn et al. have conducted research on the impact of climate change on traditional Native American and Alaskan foods. In Wabanaki culture, berries are important indicators of ecosystems health and services, and guide the timing of activities such as wild plant gathering, hunting and fishing. For examples, the blossoming of the shadbush in early spring used to coincide with the spring migration of the shad fish. This would alert the Wabanaki people that it was time to move to the low lands, but environmental and climatic changes have begun to impact the range and abundance of these berries. In the Amazon basin, fish are an important and diverse food resource for indigenous populations. The life cycles of fish closely follow the seasonal river flooding cycle. Flooding in the southern regime of the Amazon River has not been sufficient since 1999, with dire consequences on fish reproduction.

Bushmen in Botswana

Indigenous peoples are proactively seeking ways to adapt to the changing environment. One method is to diversify the resource base, by planting or farming different species with varying susceptibility to droughts or floods, and supplementing this with wild foods. For example, in the Kalahari Desert, changes in precipitation have encouraged a shift from cattle to goats, and manually watered gardening instead of rain-fed crops. Harvesting techniques are also changing. The Gitga'at of British Columbia traditionally sun-dry food, but because of an increase in unusually wet spells, they are beginning to freeze food or dry it indoors more often.

Summary

In terms of food security, indigenous peoples are the first to experience the effects of environmental change. However, throughout history, indigenous knowledge has adapted to such changes and is continuing to adapt. Knowledge already exists within indigenous communities to cope with adverse conditions such as flooding or droughts. Nevertheless, it is the novel layer of political and economic marginalisation which threatens indigenous life and makes indigenous peoples today more vulnerable to environmental change.

Kayaktivism at COP13

The thirteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) began on Sunday in Mexico, and will continue until the 17th of December. The CBD came into force in 1993, and is a legally binding agreement between 193 parties on the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity.

The main focus in Mexico this year will be the implementation of the CBD's strategic plan and to negotiate agreements towards meeting its Aichi targets by 2020. Around 10,000 participants will meet in Mexico this year, including representatives of indigenous groups. Last year, a 'floating protest' was held by indigenous delegations at COP21 to demand respect for indigenous rights, voices and knowledge at the conference. The video below provides a summary of the event, and the ideas behind this form of demonstration. This year at COP13, the 'kayaktivism' will continue on the 11th of December, to raise awareness of their role as guardians of the forest. You can follow the action on twitter with the hashtags #GuardiansOfTheForest and #GuardianesDelBosque.

Success for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe

I'm quite ashamed that it's taken me this long to write about the Dakota Access Pipeline; it's been on the cards for a while but I haven't been able to properly construct my thoughts into a post. Although it was necessary to emphasise the fact that indigenous groups are on the front line of environmental change, I feel the need to change tone and talk about indigenous resilience. The recent news that the permission for the oil pipeline to cross Lake Oahe has been rejected by the US Army of Engineer Corps is the perfect example of this.

Facebook newsfeeds and twitter timelines have been awash with the hashtag #NoDAPL for quite some time now- but what is it all about? The Dakota Access Pipeline is an oil pipeline that has been proposed to cross four states, passing through Illinois, Iowa, South Dakota and North Dakota. If approved, it would have passed under the Missouri river and Lake Oahe- half a mile upstream of the Standing Rock reservation, home to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and near sacred burial sites. The protests largely revolved around the estimation that oil could contaminate the tribe's water source within hours, if a spill were to ever happen.

Oil spills resulting from inland pipelines in the U.S are not unheard of. In 2010, a pipeline rupture released around 1.1 million gallons of crude oil into Michigan's Kalamazoo River. It was one of the largest inland oils spills recorded in U.S. history, with long term effects on the environment, and by 2014, 1.2 billion dollars had been spent on clean up operations. People have been gathering at Standing Rock since April, when the pipeline proposal was first announced, to prevent such a catastrophe happening at a sacred site. Events escalated in August, when construction began, and the #NoDAPL movement gained traction around the world. However, yesterday, news spread that easement for the pipeline to cross Lake Oahe will not be granted.

U.S. emissions commitment

Despite the victory, the fight is not over. While the pipeline will not pass under Lake Oahe, the Corps will be 'undertaking an environmental impact statement to look at possible alternative routes'. Further adding insult to injury, during the negotiations in Paris, the U.S. committed to cut greenhouse emissions to 26%-28% below 2005 levels by 2025. According to research by Greenblatt & Wei, this target is unlikely to be met without extra greenhouse gas reduction strategies, even if all proposed policies are implemented. Potentially building a 1172 mile oil pipeline, while simultaneously undermining indigenous rights in the process, doesn't seem to be the way to meet this target. Nevertheless, with the president elect once claiming that global warming is a hoax invented by the Chinese, and neither presidential candidate mentioning the Dakota Access Pipeline in their campaigns, the success and willpower of the Standing Rock tribe represents an even greater achievement.

"We especially thank all of the other tribal nations and jurisdictions who stood in solidarity with us, and we stand ready to stand with you if and when your people are in need."- Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault II

Spotlight: The Batwa of Uganda

In Uganda, over 80% of the population is dependent upon rain-fed agriculture, so will be hit hard by changes in climate, particularly precipitation. Yet, it is economically underdeveloped with a severe strain on healthcare resources. However, again, this vulnerability is not evenly distributed. The Batwa are an Indigenous people located in the southwest highlands of Uganda, and are a group particularly sensitive to climate change as a result of their marginal social status and livelihoods reliant on natural resources.

Conservation Refugees

There are around 6700 Batwa across three districts in southwest Uganda. During the 1990s, the Batwa were forcibly evicted from the forest to make way for conservation projects, including the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The mountain gorillas of Bwindi once shared the forst with the Batwa, who had lived there for more than 4000 years.

Image from United Organisation for Batwa Development in Uganda

The Batwa have never hunted the apes, but as the gorillas are so closely related to humans, the existence of Batwa in the forests could increase the risk of infections being passed from humans to the animals. The Batwa were therefore evicted from their ancestral home in 1991, when the National Park was announced, with no land rights or compensation. The dislocation resulted in the removal of access to traditional foods, shelter and medicinal resources, and rendered the Batwa low in health and socioeconomic status when compare to the rest of the population.

Climate Change in Uganda

It is difficult to predict how climate change will materialize in Uganda due to a lack of scientific monitoring. Uganda's current climate is equatorial, with humid and hot condition throughout the years, and two rain seasons. However, it is likely that Uganda will face unpredictable rainfall and warmer temperatures, and increased extreme weather events including droughts, floods and heat waves. The frequency of droughts has already increased, with seven droughts in Uganda between 1991 and 2000, and increases in floods has led to outbreaks of waterborne diseases. Agricultural yields will be reduced as a result of climate change, as well as increased water stress, with potentially severe impacts on coffee- Uganda's most lucrative export crop.

Effect of temperature increase on Uganda's coffee crops

In the Kanungu District, Patterson et al. found that 97% of Indigenous households are severely food insecure. The Batwa are already vulnerable to seasonal variation, and this variation will only increase as the environment changes.

However, over the last few decades, the Batwa have improved significantly in wellbeing and have an extensive history of resilience. I found it interesting to read that the Batwa consider climate change to be a minor threat- perhaps because the economic and social determinants of wellbeing are more pressing at the moment. Additionally, households with secure land tenure are more optimistic about the state of their future. I have spoken about the benefits of Indigenous land rights before in regards to climate change mitigation, but land tenure security also has a significant impact on Indigenous health. Child mortality (under five years of age) was 41% lower in Batwa households with land compare to those with land, demonstrating that land ownership needs to be integral to future interventions.