The environmental movement is strongest when it supports
the empowerment of local communities to improve their environment. In many
parts of the world this is tantamount to revolution: it presents a direct
challenge to the wealthy elite’s
control of the development process.
Too often, the environmental movement has isolated itself from the broader
goals of social justice and democracy. In the name of conservation, people
are relocated from their ancestral homelands, and traditional sustainable
fishing or hunting practices are outlawed. Indeed, a recent article in
World Watch magazine specifically challenged the practices of the world’s
four largest conservation organizations. It argued that they exclude local
communities from decision-making about their own ecosystems, often assuming
control over protected areas themselves rather than letting local people
choose their destiny. This often serves to create a refugee population
at odds with conservation efforts.
Indigenous communities often find themselves, willingly or not, at the
center of this controversy. Much of the world’s natural resources
are in territories inhabited by indigenous peoples, but they are often
powerless to protect their land from global demand for those resources.
Building local capacity to conserve resources
is complicated, but it is the only viable long-term solution. In the long
run, democracy and equality are the most important resources for saving
the environment
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