News: Shivu J.A. and Thimma J.K. from Karnataka's Jenu Kuruba community represented their indigenous group at the 'Our Land, Our Nature' global gathering in Nairobi, Kenya, protesting against forced evictions and commercial exploitation under the guise of conservation.

ABOUT

• The gathering included indigenous representatives from 16 countries across Africa, Asia, and the Americas, organized by Conservation Action Trust and other groups.
• The Jenu Kuruba community inhabits the Nagarahole forest belt across the Kodagu and Mysuru districts in Karnataka.
• Participants highlighted how big NGOs and companies use carbon credits and conservation projects to occupy indigenous lands and promote commercial tourism.
• The Nairobi Declaration was issued on September 25 by the newly formed Indigenous Lands Alliance, opposing market systems, land grabbing, and financialisation of nature.

Key Targets

• Demand the return of ancestral lands, including areas grabbed for national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.
• Ensure conservation is led by Indigenous Peoples rather than corporate interests or colonial fortress conservation models.
• Stop interference by NGOs and external third parties, emphasizing that forests are ancestral motherlands ("thayi naadu") rather than government or corporate property.
• Challenge market-based mechanisms like REDD+, biodiversity offsets, and geoengineering that create new pressures on indigenous territories.

SIGNIFICANCE

• Brings international attention to the historical injustices and forced evictions faced by Adivasis in India since British rule, which have continued post-independence.
• Highlights how climate change problems affecting Adivasis, forests, and animals are worsened by declaring eco-sensitive areas and tiger reserves without consulting traditional forest dwellers.
• Draws solidarity across global indigenous communities facing similar struggles against greenwashing, false nature-based solutions, and carbon trading.