In a crushing blow to years of indigenous opposition efforts, the Bolivian government has decided to move ahead with plans to build a highway directly through the Isiboro Sécure National Park and indigenous territory, known as TIPNIS. The park, rich in biodiversity and home to thousands of indigenous peoples, will lose protected status and essentially be split in two by the construction. As a result, the local people anticipate rapid deforestation, and increase in mining and oil extraction in the region, impacting access to clean water, and the health of the local communities. For the 14,000 indigenous peoples who call the TIPNIS home, their ways of life will be dramatically impacted, including their access to food, water, and the undisturbed natural spaces they depend on.
Bolivia, a country all too familiar with environmental corrosion, recently lost an entire lake to rising temperatures and mining projects. With the news about the highway construction, there is an invigorated sense of urgency among indigenous and environmental groups.
Global Greengrants Fund continues to support indigenous efforts to protect their land and ways of life. Since 2011, Greengrants has contributed to the ongoing fight against the TIPNIS highway with 12 grants totaling over $53,000 to multiple groups in the region standing in resistance to the project. Since then these resources have supported education programs and marches, including a nationwide march which resulted in temporary protection of the area.
Now these protections are being stripped away.
Luckily, the indigenous resistance movement in the region is strong, and connections between resistance groups are more integrated than ever before. One Greengrant in particular helped launch and develop a digital platform for activists and reporters to communicate online, strengthening resistance efforts.
Despite recent news from Bolivia, the fight continues on. Those on the frontlines will continue to stand up for their rights and the environment they depend on for survival. Whether that fight is one of resistance or adaptation, the movement presents a unified front, united in their passion, knowledge, and commitment.
By River Crane, Global Greengrants Fund Communications Intern
Photo Credit: Dennis Jarvis / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0