World Water Day 2026, under the theme “Water and Gender,” and 2026 World Water Report, titled Water for All: Rights and Equal Opportunities underscores that when people lack the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation, inequalities deepen, disproportionately affecting women and girls. While this focus is important, it remains insufficient for Indigenous Peoples if it is not accompanied by a fundamental shift in who holds decision-making power over water.

This year is a decisive moment for the global water agenda. Key milestones, including preparatory discussions held in Dakar and the upcoming UN Water Conference in December, are shaping global priorities on water governance, investment, and cooperation. Yet there are growing concerns about the direction of these processes. Indigenous Peoples and civil society have warned that current approaches risk prioritizing corporate and financial interests over human rights, while participation mechanisms for Indigenous Peoples remain limited and inadequate.

This concern is not new. It reflects a longstanding pattern of exclusion across global water governance spaces. Indigenous Peoples continue to be marginalized from decisions that directly affect their territories, despite their critical role in sustaining the planet’s ecosystems. Although they represent only around 6% of the global population, Indigenous Peoples manage a significant share of the world’s biodiversity and manage vast areas of land, including some of the most ecologically intact regions. Evidence consistently shows that these territories have higher biodiversity and lower rates of environmental degradation.

This is not a coincidence, it is the result of deeply rooted knowledge systems and governance practices developed over generations. For Indigenous Peoples, water is not merely a resource; it is a living entity and a common good, central to cultural, spiritual, and physical survival. Across diverse regions, from the Amazon to the Arctic, Indigenous worldviews emphasize a relationship of reciprocity and responsibility with water and the broader environment.

For the Zenú people in northern Colombia, the origin of the world and time begins with water. For Ëyuujk communities in Oaxaca, springs are sacred sites where authorities ritually wash their staff of office when assuming and leaving leadership, making water the link between political governance and spiritual life. For the Awajún people in the Peruvian Amazon, rivers are a home defended with life itself. For the Sámi peoples in the Arctic, the quality of snow determines reindeer migration and, with it, the course of community life. For the Maasai in Kenya’s savannas, seasonal water flows shape pastoral cycles, food systems, and culture throughout the year.

Yet these systems are increasingly under threat. Large-scale extractive industries, hydropower projects, and agribusiness expansion continue to drive water contamination, ecosystem destruction, and the displacement of Indigenous Peoples’ communities, often without Free, Prior and Informed Consent.

At the same time, the global push for a “green” energy transition is intensifying demand for critical minerals. Decarbonizing the global economy requires minerals such as lithium, cobalt, manganese, graphite, and copper. Research published in Nature Sustainability shows that more than half of global energy transition mineral projects are located on or near Indigenous Peoples’ and rural communities’ lands; in Latin America and the Caribbean, this rises to 73%. Moreover, 62% of these projects are in areas facing high water risk.

Water insecurity is frequently framed as a technical challenge requiring expert solutions. However, this technocratic approach avoids naming the structural causes of the problem, and those responsible for them. Unequal power relations, extractivist models, and the systematic marginalization of Indigenous governance systems. The issue is not simply about infrastructure or management; it is about rights, justice, and who gets to decide.

Indigenous women are at the center of this crisis. As traditional custodians of water in many communities, they hold critical knowledge about ecosystems and resource management. Yet they face disproportionate burdens when water becomes scarce or contaminated and are often excluded from decision-making processes. Addressing gender and water, therefore, requires more than recognition, it demands concrete mechanisms to ensure their leadership and participation.

Despite these challenges, Indigenous Peoples continue to defend water through community-based governance systems, including collective decision-making, biocultural knowledge, and sustainable management practices. However, these systems are often overlooked or undermined by state policies, and the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent is too often reduced to a procedural formality rather than a substantive right.

The risks are high, and the stakes are global. The biodiversity and ecosystems that Indigenous Peoples protect are essential for regulating the planet’s water cycles and ensuring long-term water security. There can be no meaningful response to the global water crisis without recognizing and supporting the rights and leadership of those who sustain these systems.

Ultimately, addressing water justice requires a shift in perspective: from viewing Indigenous Peoples as stakeholders to recognizing them as rights-holders and decision-makers. It requires moving beyond rhetoric toward enforceable rights, genuine participation, and long-term support for Indigenous governance systems.

Without Indigenous Peoples at the center, global efforts on water, climate, and biodiversity will continue to fall short. With them, there is a pathway toward more just, sustainable, and resilient futures.

El cargo Water, Rights, and Indigenous Peoples: What’s at Stake in 2026 apareció primero en Land Is Life.

By Killa Becerra, Land is Life Coordinator of the Amazon Basin

“In the Amazon, defending the territory is defending life itself; we feel deep pain for every hectare lost, every river that disappears, and every family displaced.”

The words of a Traditional Doctor from the Cofán Indigenous People in Colombia are not a metaphor. They describe a daily reality across the Amazon Basin, where forests fall to illegal mining and logging, rivers are poisoned, armed actors expand their control, and Indigenous defenders are threatened or killed for protecting their lands.

Yet amid this violence, Indigenous Peoples are not retreating. They are organizing.

For Indigenous Peoples’ communities across the Amazon, security does not begin with police or military forces. It begins with the territory itself: with collective governance, ancestral knowledge, vigilance over rivers and forests, and the protection of community members who raise their voices.

At Land is Life, we see security as sovereignty in action. The Indigenous-Led Security Program is based on a simple truth: those who inhabit and govern the territory understand its risks better than anyone else.

Security, therefore, cannot be imposed from outside. It must strengthen Indigenous Peoples’ autonomy, reinforce existing systems of governance, and provide flexible resources that allow communities to respond quickly and strategically.

In 2025, as extractive expansion, illegal economies, and armed violence intensified across the Amazon Basin, this vision translated into 88 rapid emergency responses in less than 36 hours, protecting Indigenous defenders at imminent risk. These actions safeguarded more than 35,000 Indigenous defenders,  including over 16,000 Indigenous women, from 65 Indigenous Peoples and strengthened 69 Indigenous Peoples’ organizations, reinforcing territorial governance, collective protection systems, and Indigenous-led responses throughout the region.

It tells of Indigenous Peoples’ communities reclaiming control over their safety, mapping their territories, monitoring incursions, and standing guard over forests and rivers. It speaks of women who, despite intimidation and violence, lead assemblies and protection efforts. Of Indigenous youth using secure communication tools to document threats and counter disinformation. And of organizations building community-based alert systems and collective strategies that allow them to act swiftly when danger approaches.

Coshikox Consejo Shipibo Konibo Xetebo (COSHIKOX) an Indigenous Peoples’ organization in Peru described what this support meant:

“This support have been fundamental in strengthening our communities’ capacity for self-management, promoting the conservation of our culture and protecting our ancestral territories. These activities have not only benefited our members, but strengthened respect for Indigenous Peoples’ rights.”

Protection as a Collective Process

The fund operates on multiple levels.

When a defender faces imminent threats, emergency funds can support temporary relocation, medical care, or legal assistance. In the medium term, communities strengthen collective systems: territorial patrols, early warning mechanisms, internal governance processes, and physical and digital security training. In the long term, advocacy efforts seek recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ protection systems as legitimate and effective within national and international policy frameworks.

Security, in this sense, is not an isolated intervention. It is a continuous process that links land, culture, leadership, and autonomy.

Women at the Center

Nearly half of those directly reached in 2025 were Indigenous women. This is not incidental.

Indigenous women defenders often face differentiated risks, including gender-based violence and exclusion from decision-making spaces. Investing in their leadership strengthens entire communities. It reinforces cultural continuity, territorial cohesion, and intergenerational resilience.

Challenges and Hope

The challenges remain severe. Illegal mining, narcotrafficking, and deforestation continue to expand. Protection mechanisms are often weak or poorly implemented. Connectivity gaps limit safe communication in remote areas.

And yet, there is also momentum.

Indigenous Peoples’ agendas are gaining visibility in global spaces.A new generation of Indigenous communicators is combining ancestral knowledge with digital tools. Regional Amazonian networks are deepening coordination across borders.

The lesson is clear: when Indigenous Peoples are trusted with direct resources and decision-making power, protection becomes more effective and more sustainable.

Protecting the Amazon Means Strengthening Self-Determination

In 2025 alone, 88 rapid emergency responses helped protect thousands of Indigenous lives, strengthen governance structures, and safeguard territories across the Amazon.

At the heart of this work are clear strategic priorities:

• Direct, intermediary-free funding, so Indigenous organizations can access flexible resources without burdensome bureaucracy.
• Comprehensive protection for defenders, including legal, medical, psychosocial, and collective protection mechanisms.
• Strengthening Indigenous women’s leadership, recognizing the differentiated risks they face and their central role in territorial sustainability.
• Digital security and information protection, equipping communities to respond to surveillance, disinformation, and technological threats.

Defending the Amazon is not only about conserving trees. It is about strengthening self-determination, protecting cultures, and ensuring the right to live with dignity, where the forest stands, life stands.

El cargo In the Amazon, Security Begins with the Territory apareció primero en Land Is Life.

Open call

Registration period: From October 6 to November 5, 2025

Land is Life invites Indigenous women leaders who are driving change in their communities to apply. We welcome proposals with clear and achievable goals that demonstrate a strong commitment to advancing Indigenous Peoples’ rights, gender equality, and community well-being.

About Indigenous Women’s Program

Designed and led by Indigenous women, the program supports Indigenous women and their organisations in Africa, Asia, and throughout the Americas in effectively asserting their individual and collective rights to access, use, and control land and natural resources; to improve their livelihoods; and to promote and protect their peoples’ entitlements.

About the fellowship

Under our Indigenous Women’s Program, the year-long fellowship nurtures the next generation of Indigenous women leaders by supporting those who are taking innovative steps that contribute to gender equality, the well-being of their communities, and the recognition of their land and resource rights.

What do we offer?

1. Personalized mentoring from Indigenous women leaders with proven experience advancing Indigenous Peoples’ rights.
2. Funding and technical support (up to $3,000 USD) to design and implement a community-level project.
3. A stipend of $3,600 USD to support your participation throughout the program.
4. Knowledge sharing through monthly trainings on key topics related to Indigenous Peoples’ rights.
5. Leadership development to strengthen Indigenous women’s voices and decision-making power.
6. Networking opportunities to build or strengthen alliances with local, regional, and global partners and allies.
7. Advocacy support to participate in national and international decision-making spaces.

What do the fellows commit to?

1. Design and implement a community project to be completed within 10 months.
2. Support their communities in advancing the promotion and protection of Indigenous Peoples’ rights, with particular attention to the rights of Indigenous women and girls.
3. Actively participate in monthly training sessions and peer-learning activities.

Who can apply?

1. Indigenous women between 18 and 35 years old
2. The applicant should not have been a former Land is Life fellow.

How to apply?

1. Fill out the application form.
2. Develop a community project that promotes the rights of Indigenous Peoples, with particular attention to the rights of Indigenous women and girls.. The project can address a range of key issues, including capacity building, biodiversity conservation, climate action, participation in decision-making, improved livelihoods, governance, and leadership development.
   • In case you are unable to complete the form, please apply by video. Here’s how to do it:
     • Review the questions in the application form and clearly answer each of them in the video.
     • Record a video of up to 15 minutes in English, French, or Spanish.
     • Make sure to answer all questions in the application form.
     • At the end of your video, provide your oral acceptance of the terms and conditions, since we cannot obtain your written signature.
     • Save your video preferably in mp3/mp4 format and send it to us mail

Registration period: From October 6 to November 5

Results: By January 5th

Starting date: January 12, 2026

____________________________________________________________________________

Land is Life is a global coalition of Indigenous Peoples that works to advance the self-determination and collective rights of Indigenous Peoples in the world’s seven socio-cultural regions.

El cargo Open call: Indigenous Women’s Program Fellowship 2026 apareció primero en Land Is Life.

By: Bestang Dekdeken, Land is Life Asia Coordinator

Asia is home to an estimated 260 to 411 million Indigenous Peoples, around two-thirds of the global Indigenous population. These Peoples represent over 2,000 distinct civilizations and languages and inhabit diverse ecosystems, including mountains, plateaus, coastal areas, deserts, and rainforests. Their ways of life are deeply rooted in unique relationships with their ancestral lands and territories.

However, the concept of “Indigenous Peoples” remains contentious across much of Asia. Many governments reject the term and instead use alternative classifications such as “hill tribes,” “ethnic minorities,” “minority nationalities,” “scheduled tribes,” “Adivasi,” or Masyarakat Hukum Adat. These terminologies often strip Indigenous Peoples of their distinct identity and deny them the specific rights recognized under international law.

Although nearly all Asian countries, except Bangladesh, voted in favor of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in 2007, few have implemented it. Most States have yet to officially recognize Indigenous Peoples or fulfill their obligations under the declaration. Even in countries with legal frameworks, such as the Philippines’ Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act, Indigenous Peoples continue to face systemic human rights violations, land dispossession, discrimination, and denial of self-determination.

The modern Indigenous Peoples’ movement in Asia began to take shape in the early 1980s. In the Philippines, they mobilized effectively against Martial Law and a World Bank-funded dam in the Cordillera region. In Malaysia, protests against deforestation in the late 1980s spurred the growth of Indigenous Peoples’ resistance. Similar movements later emerged across the region in response to neo-colonialism, authoritarianism, extractive industries, and the erosion of Indigenous Peoples’ land rights.

In 1992, the formation of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) marked a key milestone, providing a regional platform to strengthen unity, solidarity, and advocacy among Indigenous Peoples’ movements. Other regional networks followed, including the Asia Young Indigenous Peoples Network, Asia Indigenous Peoples’ Network on Extractive Industries and Energy, Indigenous Peoples Human Rights Defenders Network, and Land is Life. These alliances support community-led efforts to defend land, territories, and the right to self-determination.

Asian Indigenous leaders have also played a vital role at the international level. They were instrumental in shaping global advocacy spaces such as the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Their sustained engagement contributed significantly to the drafting and eventual adoption of UNDRIP in 2007.

Today, the Indigenous Peoples’ movement in Asia continues to grow, grounded in collective resistance, cultural survival, and solidarity. Despite progress, the struggle for genuine recognition, rights, and justice remains urgent, and far from over.

El cargo The Rise of the Indigenous Movement in Asia: A Struggle for Rights and Recognition apareció primero en Land Is Life.

 By: Binota Dhamai, Member EMRIP

Consent has long been a foundational practice within Indigenous communities, grounded in their inherent relationships to their lands and territories and governed by their own systems of law and decision-making. Long before the imposition of colonial borders and legal frameworks, Indigenous Peoples maintained sovereignty over their lands, upheld their own laws, and protected their territories. These governance systems are not relics of the past—they are dynamic, evolving, and vital structures that must be respected as legitimate expressions of Indigenous law, diplomacy, and self-governance.

The concept of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), as recognized under international human rights law, reflects these inherent rights. FPIC is a living expression of Indigenous Peoples’ rights to self-determination, self-government, and control over their lands, territories, resources, and ways of life. These rights are affirmed in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), ILO Convention No. 169, and other human rights instruments. However, in practice, States and corporations often misinterpret, minimize, or ignore FPIC. Too frequently, it is reduced to a mere consultation process, rather than acknowledged as a binding right to grant or withhold consent. In response, Indigenous-led FPIC protocols have emerged as mechanisms through which Indigenous communities assert authority over their own consent processes, rooted in their cultural, legal, and political traditions.

FPIC is grounded in the principle that Indigenous Peoples have the right to decide what happens on their lands and with their resources. According to the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP, 2018), the term “free” implies the absence of coercion or manipulation; “prior” requires that consent is obtained before project implementation; and “informed” demands that all relevant information be provided in a culturally appropriate and accessible format. Most importantly, “consent” means Indigenous Peoples hold the final authority to approve or reject any project. Indigenous-led FPIC protocols reinforce such principles by ensuring that these processes are directed by Indigenous communities themselves.

These protocols are community-developed frameworks that articulate how Indigenous Peoples engage with external actors on matters affecting their rights, lands, and governance. They are rooted in Indigenous laws, decision-making practices, and customary governance. These protocols define who holds the authority to give or withhold consent—whether traditional councils, community assemblies, or hereditary leaders—and outline the procedures for community-wide participation. They may also establish terms for negotiation, benefit-sharing, and long-term agreements in line with future generations’ interests. Above all, they require external actors to recognize and respect Indigenous governance and legal orders.

In conclusion, FPIC is not a privilege—it is a right. It must be respected not only in principle but also in practice. Development, conservation, and other interventions cannot proceed on Indigenous lands without their explicit consent. Indigenous-led FPIC protocols are not mere tools for consultation; they are powerful mechanisms for asserting Indigenous sovereignty, self-determination, and self-governance. Through them, Indigenous Peoples define their own futures, protect their territories, and uphold their legal and cultural systems on their own terms.

El cargo Anchoring the power of consent in Indigenous FPIC protocols apareció primero en Land Is Life.

Land is Life stands in solidarity with the Indigenous Adi People of Arunachal Pradesh, Northeast India, in their ongoing struggle to assert their rights, defend their ancestral land and protect the Siang River from the proposed 11000, MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Hydroelectric Project — set to become the largest dam in India.     

Land is Life expresses deep concern over the ongoing efforts by the Government of India and the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) to carry out a Pre-Feasibility Survey (PFR) for the project, despite a long-standing opposition of the affected Adi Indigenous People and failing to obtain their Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).

The proposed Siang Dam will affect at least 27 villages in Arunachal and other villages in the downstream areas, displacing them from their ancestral land and undermining their traditional way of life, culture and food systems.

Over the past few week, the Adi people launched protests against the forceful pre-feasibility study for the project and the deployment of security forces to facilitate the PFR surveys, viewing it as a form of militarization and intimidation. Further, the government’s filing of legal charges against Ebo Milli, a prominent anti-dam activist, and other anti-dam protesters is undemocratic.

Land is Life supports the Adi People’s call for meaningful dialogue and for the Government of India to uphold the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), as  enshrined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 2007. The ecological and human risks of constructing such a massive dam in this fragile region —marked by rich biodiversity and high seismicity activity in the Eastern Himalayas—are immense. The catastrophic breach of the 1200 MW Teesta III dam in Sikkim on 4 October 2023 due to climate change induced glacial lake outburst flood, as well as the damage to multiple dams during the 2011 earthquake in the region, serves as a reminder of the dangers associated with meg-dam projects in Northeast India.

Land is Life urge upon the Government of India to concede the demands of affected Adi People to stop the PFR surveys and ensure their right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent is upheld. We strongly support the communities’ call to end the militarization of their territories and to stop the use of threats, intimidation, and bribery that create division among Indigenous Peoples.

We further urge the Government of India to drop the legal charges against Ebo Milli and other members of the communities protesting the dam, and ensure the safety and protection of Indigenous Peoples’ leaders and human rights defenders advocating for just development and Indigenous Peoples’ rights.

Instead of pursuing destructive mega-dam projects, the Government should prioritize the real social and development needs of Indigenous Peoples of Arunachal Pradesh — such as access to quality healthcare, education, and livelihood opportunities — as demanded by the communities themselves. Any future energy solutions must be developed in genuine consultation with Indigenous Peoples, ensuring their full participation and Free, Prior and Informed Consent.   

El cargo Land is Life Statement of Solidarity with the Adi People in their Campaign to Protect the Siang River and Ancestral Lands from Mega Dam Construction in Arunachal Radesh, Northeast India apareció primero en Land Is Life.

Land is Life congratulates the Indigenous Peoples in the Cordillera region, Philippines and the Cordillera Peoples Alliance for a successful 41st People’s Cordillera Day celebration. This year, the Cordillera Day activities were held from 13-27 April 2025 in 3 cities in the Philippines and in Hong Kong and Hawaii, with the participation of a total of 3,000 Indigenous Peoples and advocates. We believe this is a testament to a strengthened unity and solidarity of Cordillera Indigenous Peoples in their struggle for land and life.

Amidst the relentless state attacks against the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) and communities of Indigenous Peoples in the Cordillera, the Cordillera Indigenous Peoples have once again demonstrated that no amount of political repression can stop Indigenous Peoples from defending their ancestral lands, natural resources and human rights.

Over the past few years, Land is Life stood with the Cordillera Peoples Alliance and Indigenous Peoples’ communities in the Cordillera region as they faced relentless attacks to their human rights along with the intrusion of corporate mining and energy projects in their territories.

As part of our continued support and solidarity with the Cordillera Indigenous Peoples, Land is Life co-sponsored the Cordillera Summit on Just Energy Transition and Indigenous Peoples Rights which was held from April 24-26 in Baguio City. The summit was among the highlights of this year’s People’s Cordillera Day celebration. Attended by more than 800 Indigenous Peoples and advocates, the summit reinvigorated the Cordillera Indigenous Peoples’ struggle against destructive projects and related human rights violations. The summit came out with a strong Unity Declaration for the protection of the environment, defense of ancestral land, and assertion of Indigenous People’s rights. 

We continue to draw inspiration from the resilience of the Indigenous Peoples in the Cordillera and other Indigenous Peoples all over the world as we advance our work for Indigenous Peoples’ rights and welfare.

We stand firmly with the Cordillera Indigenous Peoples as they assert their rights to land and self-governance.

El cargo 41st Year of Cordillera Day Celebration: Cordillera Indigenous Peoples Strengthen Unity and Solidarity for Land and Life apareció primero en Land Is Life.

By Tatiana Blanco Quiroga

I grew up hearing my grandmother speak to the water before drinking it. She taught me that the river doesn’t just flow; it also listens, it also feels. As a young Andean Indigenous woman, trained in science but guided by ancestral wisdom, I have learned that our struggles are not only for rights, but for memory, for dignity, for the right to continue being who we are.

Participating for the first time in the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues was like opening a door to a world we already inhabited, but where our voices were rarely heard with open hearts. It was an experience that moved me, challenged me, and strengthened me.

Speaking in such an institutional space as a young woman, Indigenous, and defender of territories, was not an individual act. It was a collective act. I spoke on behalf of the Indigenous women in my family, my community, “Mujeres del Sur,” our alliance of Indigenous women who protect water, life, and the knowledge of our peoples. I spoke from the Andes, but also from the pain and hopes of so many peoples who face extractive projects without consent, education that denies our languages, and policies that still see us as obstacles, not solutions.

At the Forum, I felt the power of encounter. I listened to sisters from the Arctic, the Pacific, the Amazon. Each one shared her truth, but we all agreed on the essential: the Earth is crying, and with it, we cry.

One of the deepest lessons was seeing how the rights contained in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples can be living tools, not just formal texts. But for this, we need spaces where we are heard, not just tolerated. We need resources to sustain our own ways of learning, caring, and deciding. And we need the international community to recognize that without us, there is no possible sustainable future.

Comunaria Uru, Bolivia 

Foto de Tatiana B.

I returned home with more questions than answers, but also with renewed clarity: these global spaces must serve to nourish local resistances. Because it is in the territory where we defend life every day, where we weave alternatives, where we teach our girls to love being Indigenous, to know themselves as seeds.

I thank Land is Life for opening this space for us to speak. From our hills, from our struggles, we continue to say: the future has roots. And those roots are the Indigenous peoples.

Jallalla.

Tatiana Blanco is an Aymara woman, community leader, environmental scientist, and Land is Life fellow committed to defending the rights of Indigenous Peoples and restoring ecosystems. Motivated by what she has seen of the environmental degradation caused by mining pollution and climate change, she has dedicated her work to unite traditional knowledge with science to heal territories and bodies of water.

She leads the Uru Uru team, which works to decontaminate lakes and wetlands in Bolivia, promoting nature-based solutions and strengthening the role of indigenous women in environmental protection. She has collaborated with national and international institutions, highlighting the importance of ancestral knowledge in the fight against climate change.

El cargo Reclaiming our voices out loud: my first time at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. apareció primero en Land Is Life.

By: Ricardo Campos, Executive Director
Indigenous Tourism Network of Mexico (RITA)

In Mexico, approximately 23.2 million people are Indigenous, which accounts for 19.4% of the total population of the country (INEGI, 2020). In 2001, after two centuries of invisibility and integrationist policies, the Mexican state officially recognized us as historical communities descended from pre-colonial societies. This recognition granted a series of collective and cultural rights, including the right to self-determination, the autonomy to decide forms of coexistence and organization, the right to apply our own normative systems, to elect authorities, to hold public office, to preserve our language, to access land ownership, and to make use of natural resources within our communities (Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, Art. 2).

Furthermore, Mexico also signed and ratified ILO Convention 169 (1991), the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007), and the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2016), providing us with a framework of national and international rights as both individual and collective subjects.

However, much remains to be done. In practice, Indigenous Peoples continue to face conditions of inequality, discrimination, and social vulnerability, resulting from historical processes of both ethnic and rural exclusion. The main issues we face are related to the lack of full realization of our rights to work, housing, healthcare, justice, and food (National Discrimination Survey, 2022). The lack of employment and economic resources to meet basic needs, inadequate healthcare, insufficient government support in social programs, limited opportunities for education, and discrimination based on our appearance, language, and the preservation of our traditions are the primary challenges that place us at a disadvantage.

In our communities, we also face challenges related to the violation of our territorial rights due to various factors and actors. Agroindustry, monocultures, large-scale infrastructure projects, extractivism, mass tourism, the real estate industry, and organized crime act as external forces on our territories, causing internal conflicts, divisions, and territorial displacement.

Indigenous collective lands are particularly vulnerable to the factors mentioned above. It is increasingly common to witness the indiscriminate sale of communal and agrarian lands to external agents, the displacement of populations due to violence from organized crime groups, and even the expropriation of lands by the state, often without adhering to the mechanisms of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent established in Indigenous Peoples’ rights frameworks.

These conditions result in a high rate of migration among Indigenous and rural populations to agro-industrial, industrial, and tourist cities in Mexico and the United States. This migration fragments territories and alters our ways of life, but it also generates geopolitical conflicts between receiving states and the states that send migrants.

In contrast, community cohesion, collective organization, and territorial governance are defense mechanisms that allow us to strengthen our territories internally, exercise our collective rights, maintain our food sovereignty, and uphold the right to dignified work within our communities, without having to migrate in search of job opportunities.

In this context, the Indigenous Tourism Network of Mexico (RITA) was founded in 2003. It is a platform representing Indigenous Peoples’ communities, encompassing over 100 organizations across the country. Through our work, we strive to strengthen our cultures, conserve our territories, protect our biocultural heritage, and fully exercise our rights.

At RITA, Indigenous tourism is not seen as the ultimate goal but as a strategy for community development with identity. Over the years, we have diversified our activities, and the guiding principles of our work today focus on improving the quality of life within our communities and exercising our rights as Indigenous Peoples. For over 20 years, our working model has enabled us to contribute to reducing migration by creating opportunities that strengthen the local economy. Additionally, we have increased our political participation and strengthened community governance in the defense of our territories and the building of peace processes.

We have worked to ensure the exercise of the rights of Indigenous youth and women, the revitalization of our culture and traditional knowledge, as well as the contribution of our systems of knowledge and approaches to nature management in preserving biodiversity and combating climate change.

On this journey, since 2021, we have established a strategic alliance with Land is Life, with whom we have found strong alignment in our missions, values, and objectives. This partnership has allowed us to achieve a series of advancements and results, including the following:

In the face of a global context that is increasingly challenging for Indigenous Peoples and our territories, we know that the key to addressing the gaps of inequality, violence, and exclusion we face as Indigenous Peoples lies in coordination, collaboration, and the collective effort to continue contributing solutions for the maintenance of our biodiversity and the fight against climate change.

At RITA, we are committed to continuing to strengthen and expand the joint actions that have been highly successful between Land is Life and RITA, and, through this, to continue working for the benefit of our Peoples and communities.

El cargo Strengthening Indigenous Rights and Sustainability through Indigenous Tourism apareció primero en Land Is Life.

Indigenous Peoples across Eastern Africa continue to face deep marginalization, exacerbated by the discovery of valuable natural resources such as oil and gas. These discoveries often lead to the militarization of Indigenous territories as governments prioritize securing investments. Additionally, the push for carbon credits and tourism has further threatened Indigenous Peoples’s communities. Take, for instance, the violent evictions of the Maasai from Ngorongoro in Tanzania, the Ogiek from the Mau Forest in Kenya, and the Sengwer—a forest-dwelling community with a long history of coexisting with nature, now accused of forest destruction. The loss of land is not just a physical displacement; it is the loss of food sovereignty. Communities like the Endorois and Ogiek rely on forests for grazing and beekeeping, vital to their survival. These forced evictions, often violent, leave lasting physical and psychological scars. When displaced, Indigenous Peoples are forced to either assimilate into other communities, leading to cultural erosion, or struggle to survive on shrinking parcels of land, as seen with the Ogiek people now living in Mumberes, Baringo County, Kenya. This disruption not only threatens their way of life but undermines their sources of livelihood.

Indigenous Peoples have co-existed with nature since time immemorial. The existence of an intricate totem system makes it inconceivable for Indigenous Peoples to destroy the very nature that they have a bond with. However, the introduction of industrial food production systems, reliant on synthetic fertilizers, has complicated their way of life. These systems are often supported by policies that criminalize traditional practices such as seed saving, sharing, and exchange—practices that have long been integral to Indigenous food sovereignty and ecological stewardship in East Africa.

As the world grapples with multiple crises, Africa finds itself in a particularly dire situation. Despite owning 60% of the world’s arable land and having an environment conducive to food production, at least one in five Africans goes to bed hungry every day. According to the 2024 State of Food Security and Nutrition (SOFI) report, the continent remains home to the world’s hungriest people. Eastern Africa, in particular, has suffered from extreme weather events, including droughts, floods, and locust infestations, which have devastated food security, caused loss of life, and destroyed property. In 2019, Kenya was ravaged by locust swarms, severely impacting food access. In 2022, the country faced its worst drought in four decades, and in 2024, March brought massive floods. Tanzania also faced catastrophic flooding, which killed 58 people and affected over 126,000 others.

In response to these challenges, Land is Life’s Food Security Program has been working to support Indigenous Peoples in Kenya, Burundi, and Tanzania. Rooted in agroecological principles, the program collaborates with the Sengwer, Batwa, Ogiek, and Endorois Indigenous Peoples’ communities to foster food systems transformation. Training sessions emphasize the value of Indigenous knowledge and promote intergenerational knowledge transfer. Participants learn climate-adaptive practices like sustainable land management, soil erosion prevention, and fertility retention through techniques such as contour farming. Biodiversity enhancement is also prioritized through intercropping and biological pest control, such as using onions and ginger to repel pests.

The program also tackles gender imbalances in land ownership by creating safe spaces for bold discussions among women, where role-playing and gender analysis help reimagine a future where women control natural resources. Additionally, the initiative encourages the diversification of livelihoods, enabling Indigenous Peoples’ communities to move beyond reliance on livestock and embrace food cultivation. In schools, the project is reshaping the narrative around youth and agriculture by making food production engaging and fun. In school gardens, land tilling and vegetable planting are integrated with music and poetry, creating an enjoyable and educational experience for young people.

The impact of the agroecology training within Indigenous Peoples’ communities has been overwhelmingly positive. Community members now have a deeper understanding of agroecological principles, the importance of healthy food, and the value of intergenerational knowledge transfer. The program has also spurred greater community engagement in policy processes, encouraging people to challenge prevailing narratives about Indigenous Peoples’ ways of life and their food systems.

This initiative has fostered resilience across Kenya, Tanzania, and Burundi, creating a ripple effect that continues to strengthen communities. With its proven success, the project holds significant potential for expansion, paving the way for truly transformative food systems.

El cargo Reclaiming Our Food Systems: Agroecology in Indigenous Peoples Territories in East Africa apareció primero en Land Is Life.