cl i mat e ch a n g e
“Let Us Be Heard” Indigenous Youth Speak on Climate Justice
D
uring the climate crisis and COVID-19 pandemic, Indigenous youth are defending their identities and lands. Roxana Borda Mamani, a Quechua activist from Peru; Jorge Andrés Forero-González, a Muisca activist from Colombia; and Darien Andres Castro Recalde, an Ecuadorian activist working alongside Indigenous communities, spoke to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee about their perspectives on what climate justice means for Indigenous youth. They are members of the Loss and Damage Youth Coalition, a global network of youth activists committed to driving action to mitigate loss and damage due to climate change.
How does it feel to be an Indigenous youth today? Roxana Borda Mamani: Being an Indigenous youth is not a privilege. During the pandemic we have been forgotten. We are not the priority of the government when it should be important for them to protect the Native Peoples of their nation. And as if that were not enough, during the pandemic, they’ve taken advantage of illegal logging and timber extraction while murdering environmental defenders. But as Indigenous youth, we will lead and stand in defense of our lands and our identity. In that way, we are a strategic ally in the fight against climate change. Darien Andres Castro Recalde: The young future leaders of Indigenous communities represent a segment of the population that is always marginalized by the whole economic and political system, even though we contribute to the development of the country. But youth will lead and we will defend our lands and communities. Jorge Andrés Forero-González: I am a campesino son and grandson and my ancestors are Muisca from the territory of Boyaca in Colombia. Being an Indigenous youth means learning from our traditions and nature as to how to protect Mother Earth. It is a responsibility of our people to do so and to protect all the
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species on this beautiful planet. It means preparing ourselves to fight against the capitalist system and the destructive values of economic, political, and social systems. How does climate change affect your community? Roxana Borda Mamani: Ten years ago, my community used only rain to water our corn crops. Now, due to climate change, we must rely on irrigation. The temperature is increasing and the rain cycles are affected. Rain has become more sporadic; some rainy seasons get little rain if any at all, some rains are so strong that the plants cannot withstand it and die. In those situations the community does not produce corn, which is a staple food in our diet. Diseases and pests have become more prevalent. The sporadic nature of our crops is one reason that we have to emigrate. Last year, there were frosts for the first time that killed potato and corn seedlings on land that families cultivated for their food and livelihood. These damages are mostly affecting small farmers, people who do not have [access to] information, so they are not attributing these changes to climate change but just to abnormal weather. If basic food is not produced in the countryside, cities are also affected by the increase in prices. Climate change is affecting the most vulnerable zones, rural communities, and Indigenous villages. When there is a lack of wind and prolonged droughts, the water levels in rivers drop, making it difficult for fisherfolk to fish. Here where I live, we don’t have access to basic services like energy. I can only access the internet now because an effort was made to install a solar panel and internet satellite. We collect the rain in buckets and care for it as if it is something precious because it is what we have. There is a river, but it is very polluted. Nothing is being done to protect it. They know it is exploited, they know they are cutting down trees, they know they are using chemicals, but are doing nothing about it. Laws exist to protect the land, but they are not enforced. Now, where
Top: Intag Cloud Forest, Natural Reserve of Intag, Imbabura Ecuador. Photo by Darien Castro. Middle: Meeting with Indigenous Communities of Orellana and Pastaza. L-R: Silvana Nihua (Wao), Darien Castro, Alicia Salazar (Sarayaku), Alexa Narvaez (Siona) at Pontifical Catholic University Social Sciences Auditorium. Photo by Darien Castro. Bottom: Roxana Borda Mamani (Quechua) in FESC-4 UNAM, México, collecting field samples of agricultural crops: corn, sunflower, and beans that present phytopathological signs. Photo by Marcos Espadas Reséndiz.
