In September, the Regional Federal Court (TRF1) suspended a May 2012 ruling that mandated the removal of illegal occupants from the Marawãitsede Xavante Indigenous Reserve in Mato Grosso state, the epicenter of Brazil’s booming soy agroindustry. This reversal came just days before the October 1 deadline for beginning the removal of invaders occupying the area.
On September 22nd, Ethiopia’s new prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn was sworn into office, one month after the death of former prime minister Meles Zenawi, who had ruled the country for over two decades. Hailemariam, a close ally of Meles as deputy prime minister and foreign minister since 2010, pledged to continue in the footsteps of his predecessor.
TransCanada, the company that wants to build an oil pipeline from Canada to Gulf Coast refineries, said Wednesday it has revised its proposed route through Nebraska to avoid environmentally sensitive areas, reported Huffington Post.
New Zealand’s Whanganui River Gets Personhood Status (via Environment News Service)
WELLINGTON, New Zealand, September 13, 2012 (ENS) – New Zealand’s longest navigable river, the Whanganui, has been given “legal standing and an independent voice” under a framework agreement to settle the historical claims of indigenous people, the Whanganui Iwi. Although the agreement does…
An Ethiopian farmer could sue the British government after being evicted violently from his home as part of a villagization project that receives funding from a UK development institution.
Herakles Farms has withdrawn their application to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) for their palm oil plantation in the Southwest region of Cameroon. The RSPO is a group that certifies palm oil plantations as fulfilling rules for basic environmental sustainability and responsibility towards stakeholders.
By Matthew Gilbert
Winds whistling through abandoned houses where Native families once lived. Village schools are closing down due to low student numbers. Over the last few years, a surge in energy costs in rural Alaska caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, has made it nearly impossible for many Native families to pay electrical and heating bills, and as a result, outmigration increased. Alaska Native leaders worry about the futures of their villages.
In a great victory, four Economic Land concessions that had been authorized in the Prey Lang forest of Cambodia have been cancelled. The concessions, totaling 40,618 hectares, would have allowed for the clear-cutting of pristine primary forests in order to grow rubber plantations, adding to a long list of other concessions that threaten the Prey Lang forest.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that we are headquartered on Massachusett land, in Cambridge, MA, and we thank the past, current, and future Indigenous stewards of this territory.
