How Traditional Indigenous Laws Can Benefit Ecosystems and the Climate

Indigenous guards: The shield of Colombia’s Amazon

In early February, in downtown Bogotá, Colombia, Luis Alfredo Acosta recited a line in a book from memory: “I am from the rainforest because I smell like the rainforest; I smell like the mountains. And when I smell like the mountains and I smell like the trees, I can touch the forehead of a wild deer in the afternoon.” Acosta, the national coordinator of the Indigenous guard within the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC), is from…

How traditional Indigenous laws can benefit ecosystems and the climate

In this issue of our environmental newsletter, we explore Indigenous people implementing their traditional laws can impact ecosystems and the climate, see how the night sky has changed due to light pollution, and find out how a bit of vice can give virtue a boost when it comes to recycling.

Indigenous Peoples’ lands are threatened by industrial development; conversion risk assessment reveals need to support Indigenous stewardship

Indigenous Peoples are custodians of many of the world’s least-exploited natural areas. These places of local and global socio-ecological importance f…

The Indigenous guardians shielding Colombia’s Amazon

In early February, in downtown Bogotá, Colombia, Luis Alfredo Acosta recited a line in a book from memory: "I am from the rainforest because I smell like the rainforest; I smell like the mountains. And when I smell like the mountains and I smell like the trees, I can touch the forehead of a wild deer in the afternoon." Acosta, the national coordinator of the Indigenous guard within the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC), is from…

How community paramedicine impacts Indigenous elders

Tucked along the edge of the frigid James Bay, Moosonee stands as one of Northern Ontario’s most remote and storied communities—a place often referred to as the “Gateway to the Arctic.” While towns like Thunder Bay or Rainy River echo similar titles, Moosonee carries its own unique distinctions. This isolated town of about 3,000 people Read more… How community paramedicine impacts Indigenous elders originally appeared in KevinMD.com.