Back in 2020 I read an amazing book that I have constantly reflected upon: Wilding, by Isabella Tree. It was covid lockdown, and I was lucky enough to be spending it in the Swiss mountains. Every morning, rain or shine, I would do a hike through what I thought was a corner of Switzerland’s pristine forest. After reading Wilding, it hit me. I wasn’t hiking through forests, I was walking in a pine plantation. Let me explain to you why.

In the West the difference between a forest and a plantation isn’t taught in school. The fact that the UK was home to a temperate rainforest, has been conveniently forgotten, replaced by the idea of the English countryside being “beautiful” rolling moores. In Germany and Switzerland every tree is numbered by the government. Most rivers in Europe are channeled, the fact that salmon used to migrate up them to most sounds like a long-lost fantasy. European bison used to criss-cross the plains of Belgium and Germany, while beavers naturally dammed the rivers. Deforestation in Europe happened so long ago, that culturally we don’t even know what our primary forests looked like, which animals roamed and what plant medicines our ancestors foraged.

What I find even more troublesome, is what we interpret as “nature.” We can easily recognise agricultural land, but many still confuse a plantation for a forest. Right now, as wildfires ravage central and northern Portugal, experts are finally pointing the finger to Portugal’s paper and timber industries that dominate the area with eucalyptus and pine plantations. Did you know that eucalyptus is now the primary tree species in Portugal, despite being native to Australia?

“Eucalyptus covers 845,000 hectares in the Iberian countryside, or 26 percent of forests. Technically these are cultivations that feed the paper and cellulose sectors, with eucalyptus grown exclusively for pulp, which is used to make various paper products.”

Monocultures are highly flammable, you can imagine matchsticks being planted next to each other. This is why, when a fire starts, it can quickly spread across hectares and hectares of land, from one plantation to the other, creating monstrous human-made disasters.

In 2017, northern Portugal suffered similar wildfires in Pedrogrão Grande area, the fires killed 66 people and burned through 50,000 hectares of land. Many of the remaining pockets of native forests survived through those fires. Since then the local community has started to question the government’s plan to increase eucalyptus plantations, looking for an economic alternative to paper production in this rural area.

Just last week, seven firefighters lost their lives trying to quell the wildfires. When will justice prevail against the culprits of these disasters? 
A local NGO, Quercus, that has been active in the area since 1985, is highly critical of the paper industry’s destruction of native flora, and has been working hard to restore and maintain what’s left of Portugal’s diverse biome.

“The pulp industry depends on eucalyptus plantations in this area. Together with the pressure on the government to expand eucalyptus acreage in Portugal, this means that there is no meaningful promotion of a diverse landscape that is more resilient to fires. When such landscapes are planted, or at least experimented with, it is in small areas near watercourses. There is nothing being done at scale to reduce the risk of fires.” says Domingos Patacho, director of Quercus.

We hope after this last two weeks where Portugal officially declared a state of calamity, the government will listen to Quercus’ pleas and finally support the regeneration of native forests and put an end to the paper domination of the Iberian coast.

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I was watching a news report on the historic drought and recently declared state of emergency in Barcelona and greater Catalonia. During the report, a university lecturer is interviewed and explains how most people haven’t noticed the water restrictions, they turn on a tap and water comes out with minimal difference, referring to the government reducing water pressure in particular areas. When I was informed of the situation in Barcelona by a friend, I mentioned the recent drought in Mexico and how 1,546 of the country’s 2,463 municipalities were also confronted by water shortages. She told me she did not hear about it, which doesn’t surprise me as we rarely discuss issues that do not impact our lives in some way. As they say, out of sight, out of mind.

Just last week I mentioned my surprise that water was not a central talking point at the World Economic Forum. We might speak of rain when it’s falling from the sky, the size of the swell at a nearby beach, or a friend may suggest a bath if we’re feeling stressed. Water is in us, it is around us, without it there is no life, yet unless we are in a drought we rarely discuss its importance.

75 percent of Spain is battling weather conditions that may lead to desertification and there’s a belief the Sahara Desert will extend across its territory by the end of this century. According to Spain’s Meteorological Agency, desertification consumes 1,500 square kilometres of land each year, which is concerning as its the EU’s biggest producer of fruit and vegetables. The thousands of tonnes of produce it grows throughout the year requires a substantial amount of water, which has depleted Spain’s aquifers and has seen soil degradation triple in the past decade. This degradation means the soil struggles to retain water, a significant problem in this time of climate change, when the amount of rainfall shifts between extremes of drought and deluge.

In 2023, Spain experienced its worst drought in almost a century. In the southern city of Almería, where a significant proportion of the country’s agricultural industry exists, the average annual precipitation is 400 millimeters. Last year, there was no rain until May when more than 200mm fell in a single week.

Early last year, there was already fear of water shortages across Spain, and as the drought intensified through the summer’s heatwave, wildfires swept through the country, yet another symptom of the land’s desertification.

Water restrictions were first imposed on Catalonia in November 2022, prohibiting residents from washing the exterior of their houses and cars or filling their swimming pools, while reductions were also imposed on the irrigation of industrial crops. Barcelona City Council also stopped using drinking water to fill public fountains and clean the streets. In February 2023 further restrictions were imposed that were tightened again in May, August and November. Throughout this period, a state of emergency was declared in different parts of Catalonia, which was extended to Barcelona this past week, as reservoirs dropped to an historic low.

What happens when there is no more water? 

Some Spaniards are focusing their energy on regenerative techniques that support soil health, while others are moving to Spain’s north coast for its lower temperatures and higher rainfall. Some residents have turned to prayer, which reminds me of the Mamos and the Zagas, the spiritual guides of the Arhuaco, Kankuamo, Kogi and Wiwa peoples of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Colombia. 

The Mamos and the Zagas believe that humanity must return to the Law of Origin, the instructions that guide humanity to live harmoniously with all living beings. If we don’t, they believe we will be subjected to crises of increasing severity. To support the natural balance of life, the Mamos and the Zagas offer pagamentos, or payments, to settle our bills with the Earth for what we take to survive. 

Through the climate crisis, Western society is slowly expanding its awareness of the natural systems that have perpetually supported humanity to live and thrive. Whether it’s through spiritual payments, prayer or planting we need to acknowledge the forces and the delicate systems that Indigenous Peoples have perpetually stated humanity needs to respect. The situation in Barcelona is a reminder that we are running out of time to do so.

Anton Rivette is a writer and photographer. He leads storytelling at eco-nnect.

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It is with a heavy heart that I again sit down to write about Marco Temporal and the laws surrounding the demarcation of Indigenous Territories in Brazil, particularly PL 2903.

We first published a story in July, chronicling Marco Temporal’s long history in Brazil’s political and legislative systems. In October, we returned to the topic after the Supreme Court’s decision on Marco Temporal in September, which was swiftly followed by the Senate’s approval of PL 2903. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva then exercised presidential veto powers on 47 provisions of PL 2903 that removed protections of Indigenous Territories, allowed the revocation of Territories already demarcated, and made the demarcation of new Territories near impossible.

Two weeks ago, on December 14, the Federal Congress of Brazil, led by the ruralist caucus representing agribusiness and mining interests, voted to reject the President’s veto, bringing into law 41 of the previously disapproved provisions of PL 2903, including those focused on Marco Temporal. An absolute majority is required to reject a presidential veto, and this was achieved with Congress voting 321 in favour and 137 against, which was followed by a vote in the Senate with 53 in favour and 19 against.

The new law — known as 14.701/2023 — contains several measures that have been labelled “anti-Indigenous” and that NGO Survival International stated are “the most serious and vicious attack on Indigenous rights in decades”. These include permitting non-Indigenous occupants of Indigenous Territories — including illegal loggers and miners — to remain there until the territory is demarcated; enabling a loophole that allows mining, the installation of military equipment, and construction of roads on Indigenous Territories without prior consultation of the Indigenous population or the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (FUNAI); and the immediate nullification of Indigenous Territories that currently do not comply with the new laws.

In an article published on December 15, the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) stated the new law is “legislated genocide” and that they will file a Direct Action of Unconstitutionality (ADI) with the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil to request the annulment of law 14.701/2023. Dinamam Tuxá, the Executive Coordinator of APIB, explained that until the ADI is ruled upon by Supreme Court Justices, the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil will remain in a vulnerable position. Congresswoman Célia Xakriabá stated in Congress that “the overturning of these vetoes, which are so crucial, is not only a defeat for Brazil but for all of humanity.”

We agree, which is why we continue to follow this story. It is crucial to the future of our world that we continue to put pressure on the people who hold power within the political and legislative systems of Brazil to protect the Amazon rain forest, as well as all of the nation’s precious ecosystems.

Anton Rivette is a writer and photographer. He leads storytelling at eco-nnect.

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In July, we published a story on the Marco Temporal thesis, a political argument that was first articulated among the 19 conditions of the Raposa-Serra do Sol judgement in 2009 in the Supreme Court of Brazil. These conditions, called “institutional safeguards“, gave Brazilian states the right to be involved in the demarcation process of Indigenous territories.

The discussion of Marco Temporal relates to Indigenous Rights to land, as referenced within the Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil, and specifically the land they “traditionally occupy”. The Raposa-Serra do Sol judgement arose from the tensions between the different perceptions of the territory of Raposa-Serra do Sol — between Indigenous Peoples, rice producers, farmers and miners, as well as the State and Federal Governments — and this necessitated a specific articulation of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the laws that uphold them. The thesis can be found in the judgement, and is articulated in full in our aforementioned story.

The Marco Temporal thesis is a shift from the belief that the Rights of Indigenous Peoples predate the conception of the Brazilian State, fixing the date of occupation to the Constitution. Unfortunately the attempt to create clarity generated doubt and confusion around the demarcation of Indigenous territories in Brazil, exemplified by a dispute over the Ibirama-Laklãnõ Indigenous Territory between the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (FUNAI) and the Foundation for Technological Support to the Environment (FATMA) in Santa Catarina, which led to another case in the Supreme Court in 2016. This case had a “general repercussion” unanimously recognised by the Supreme Court on April 11 2019, meaning its judgement — referred to as Extraordinary Appeal 1,017,365 — would act as a precedent for all cases involving the demarcation of Indigenous territories at all levels of the Brazilian judicial system.

The development of this case occurred alongside the progression of Bill (PL) 490/2007. The Bill, filed by the Federal Deputy of Mato Grasso Homero Pereira in 2007, was archived and unarchived three times until June 23 2021, when PL 490 was approved by the Constitution and Justice Committee and moved into the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Federal Congress. The political process of PL 490 is connected to the legislative process of Marco Temporal, as both seek to change the legal interpretation of the Constitution, specifically the rules for demarcating Indigenous territories. The Bill’s reintroduction meant there were simultaneous processes focused on Indigenous territories in both the legislative and political systems of Brazil.

On September 9 2021, the Federal Supreme Court began its judgement of Extraordinary Appeal 1,017,365. Minister Edson Fachin, Rapporteur of the process, voted against Marco Temporal and the definition of the Raposa-Serra do Sol judgement, and its conditions, as precedent for future demarcations of Indigenous territories. The case adjourned for a week, recommencing on September 15 2021, when Minister Nunes Marques voted in favour of Marco Temporal. Minister Alexandre de Moraes was next to vote and asked to see the case records, once again delaying the process until June 7 2023, when he voted against the Marco Temporal thesis before proceedings were again halted, this time by Justice André Mendonça. This occurred a week after the Chamber of Deputies approved PL 490 on May 24, which led to a vote in the Federal Congress on May 30, with the Bill passing 283 votes to 155. The Bill thus entered into the Senate, where it was given a new number, PL 2903.

On August 30, the voting on Extraordinary Appeal 1,017,365 resumed in Brazil’s Supreme Court and André Mendonça voted in favour of Marco Temporal. The following day, Cristiano Zanin and Luís Roberto Barroso voted against, before the session was adjourned. Proceedings recommenced on September 20 and by the following morning, the remaining five judges had voted and the Marco Temporal thesis was finally declared unconstitutional, with nine judges against and two in favour.

Unfortunately this victory for Indigenous Peoples was short-lived, as the Federal Senate approved PL 2903 on September 27, with 43 votes in favour and 21 against. PL 2903 will uphold the vision of Marco Temporal for the demarcation of Indigenous territories by transferring the authority for land demarcation from Executive Power (or the President) to the legislative system. It will also allow any person to question demarcation procedures in any phase of the process, including those already approved; the construction of state infrastructure inside Indigenous territories without free, prior and informed consultation with the affected community; and will recognise the legitimacy of titles, possessions and domains taking place over traditional territories, thus increasing the possibility of land grabbing.

Since its approval, PL 2903 is in the hands of President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva who has 15 business days from the publication of the bill to decide on its approval or veto. Independent Senator Randolfe Rodrigues, emphasised the unconstitutionality of the bill, speaking of a possible pathway towards the rejection of PL 2903: “the text should be vetoed by President Lula. Even if the Nacional Congress overrides the presidential veto, the Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF) will be convened again. That is why the Supreme Court exists, to be called upon when the Constitution is not respected.”

The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) has also called on President Lula to veto PL 2903, and Célia Xakriabá, Member of Brazil’s Federal Congress, initiated a petition to put pressure on the President. We stand with them with the hope that President Lula makes the necessary decision to veto PL 2903, to protect the environment and the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil.

Anton Rivette is a writer and photographer. He leads storytelling at eco-nnect.

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The sea, for me, is the place I go to for deep contemplation and connection. It’s where I feel suspended in time, as one with the elements, in touch with the deeper layers of my soul. Saltwater washes away my doubts, it heals my wounds, it quells my fears. Nothing compares to the sense of peace that pervades my senses when I’m submerged and surrounded by the graceful creatures of the mysterious blue.

I grew up with the Mediterranean Sea. It envelops every shore of Italy, and my childhood is etched with memories of the sun disappearing into its depths. Our family would look for a type of vongole in shallow waters, and collect the plastic lollipop sticks on the beach. I remember when I was ten, a dermatologist prescribed me the sea for my dry skin, and my parents made sure every once in a while my feet touched the Med to heal.

In my 20s my passion for the deep deepened, and I was very privileged to witness the beauty of several other seas. From the volcanic islands of the Pacific, to the mystic force of the Atlantic, and the abundant coral reefs in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. As I traveled abroad in search of the euphoria I felt from a pod of dolphins swimming around me, I realised a disturbing truth: the Mediterranean is dying. The monk seals left, the whales rarely visit, the turtles avoid it, the coral has become jewellery, the schools of fish a by-gone memory, and its sharks are killed every day. Meanwhile, everyone in Europe happily refers to it as a swimming pool (including my past self).

A deep sadness overwhelms me now when I swim the empty blues of the Mediterranean Sea, longing for a creature to swim with me. Perhaps it’s time Mediterraneans took responsibility for their dying Sea. Perhaps it’s time it was officially recognised as a swimming pool, a place of recreation devoid of the ecosystems that support life. Maybe then its human inhabitants will start regenerating what was once the enchanted sea of sirens.

Isabella Cavalletti is a storyteller and co-founded eco-nnect.

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The Deception of Deep Sea Mining

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A key part of the European Union’s Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the Nature Restoration Law, is “the first continent-wide, comprehensive law of its kind.” The EU first published the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 in May 2020, part of what it called the “Green Deal”, which is also referred to as Sustainable Europe Investment Plan (SEIP), a series of proposals and policies with the ambition of no net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050 and for economic growth to be decoupled from resource use. In the face of over half of Europe’s endemic trees being threatened with extinction , and 81% of protected habitats and 63% of species in the EU having a poor or bad conservation status, as well as the extreme weather events of the deepening climate crisis, the EU felt the need to sanctify climate action through policy.

On June 22 2022, the European Commission published the Nature Restoration Law, a proposal for legally binding targets to revive forests, wetlands, sea and landscapes that have been adversely affected by human development, with emphasis on those with the most potential to capture and store carbon, and that prevent and reduce the impact of natural disasters. The focus is to safeguard at least 30% of EU land and 30% of EU seas designated as protected areas. At least a third of these protected areas — including all remaining primary and old-growth forests — will be under, what it terms, “strict protection”. The Law has seven key goals: increase pollinator populations by 2030; maintain green urban areas; protect biodiversity in agroecosystems; restore and rewet drained peatlands; protect marine habitats; improve river systems; and regulate forestry activities. The United Nations Environment Programme stated the proposal comes at a “crucial time”, highlighting that “since 1970, wetlands in western, central and eastern Europe have shrunk by 50 per cent”, and in the last decade, “71 per cent of fish and 60 per cent of amphibian populations have declined.”

As the proposal was reviewed and amended by EU States and Members of the European Parliament, opposition emerged through agricultural, fishing and forestry lobby groups. The centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), the largest group within the Parliament, called for the Law to be scrapped due to potential negative impacts on farmers. They also claimed the Law would require the destruction of small towns to restore ecosystems. This led to CEOs and executives from over 80 companies — including H&M Group, IKEA, L’Occitane en Provence, Nestlé, Salesforce and Unilever — to urge the EU to “adopt regulations that promote nature protection, restoration, and sustainable use of natural resources” and to “uphold, strengthen, and enforce existing environmental legislation to address the nature and climate crises together.” They also stated how “businesses and financial institutions depend on nature” and the importance of their role in the transition to an economy that supports and nurtures our environment. This stance was echoed by the World Economic Forum, who believe implementation of these policies will lead to $10 trillion in new annual business value and create 395 million jobs by 2030.

Earlier this year, the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee met on May 23, and its Fisheries Committee on May 24, where members of the Identity and Democracy Group; European Conservatives and Reformists Group; Renew Europe; and the EPP rejected the entire legislative text of the Restoration Law. During the final round of negotiations on May 31, where amendments to the legislation were discussed, this coalition of critics succeeded in weakening the text of the Law around the non-deterioration of ecosystems and the definition of “strict protection” areas.

The vote for the Nature Restoration Law began on June 15 in the European Parliament’s Environment Committee and after three hours of discussion, votes were tied at 44 for and 44 against, with a final vote being scheduled for June 27.

On June 20, the European Council reached an agreement on a proposal for the Nature Restoration Law. The revised text balances the ambition of the initial proposal with the amendments pushed for by critics. It was agreed a lack of data of the condition of some habitats created a difficulty to quantify their need for improvement, so quantitative restoration measures would only apply to areas where the condition of habitats is known. This led to the creation of a timeframe for the unknown habitats where member states will have until 2030 to determine 90% of the area of terrestrial habitats, and 50% of marine habitats. The condition of all habitats would need to be known by 2040.

The revised Law was voted on by the European Parliament’s Environment Committee, as scheduled, on June 27. Once again, votes were tied at 44 for and 44 against, and the legislation was sent to plenary, as proposed by the European Commission, with a recommendation to be scrapped in its entirety.

On July 11, the European Parliament debated the Nature Restoration Law, and on July 12 a vote, on whether to reject the proposal outright, had 312 votes for, 324 against and 12 abstentions, so discussions continued and a final vote resulted in 336 votes in favour of the Law, 300 against and 13 abstentions. The Parliament stated that the Law should apply once the European Commission has provided data on “necessary conditions to guarantee long-term food security and when EU countries have quantified the area that needs to be restored to reach the restoration targets for each habitat type.” This amendment was criticised by Green groups.

While the success of the vote is important for the health of the environment, the amendments pose a question: does the added timeframe create a necessary delay to gather information on unknown habitats or to allow for further inaction? The commitment to protect and restore known habitats still inspires belief in the possibility of the Nature Restoration Law, and we hope its adoption leads to significant action across the European Union.

Anton Rivette is a writer and photographer. He leads storytelling at eco-nnect.

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The International Seabed Authority (ISA) was founded in 1994 as an autonomous organisation established through the implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). It became operational in 1996 to safeguard what we know as the “deep sea” — an area considered the “common heritage of all mankind“ — by protecting the ecosystems of the seabed, ocean floor and subsoil in areas beyond national jurisdiction. The ISA’s focus includes controlling the development of deep sea mining, which was debated last month through two of the five arms of the ISA, the Council and the Assembly.

On July 21, the ISA Council concluded two weeks of intense negotiations. Discussions were focused on a deep sea mining code, which was not agreed nor adopted. The mining industry interested in the sea floor were hopeful of starting their operations this year. This was led by one of the attendees, The Metals Company, who was sponsored by the Government of Nauru in creating the Nauru Ocean Resources, Inc. (NORI). NORI has engaged in comprehensive research of seabed rocks, or polymetallic nodules, which they say are packed with cobalt, copper and nickel, and could power 280 million electric vehicles. It was Nauru, on behalf of The Metals Company, who triggered the current push for deep sea mining in 2021. 

The CEO and Chairman of The Metals Company, Gerard Barron was previously the Founder and CEO of Adstream, an international advertising management and distribution company, which provided services to assist with the production, management and distribution of advertisements for all forms of media. On his LinkedIn profile he states he is on “a mission to help transition our planet away from fossil fuels and toward a circular-resource economy.” If you continue scrolling down his profile, Barron articulates his skills, most of which connect to his time in advertising and marketing, skills he now applies to his interest in deep sea mining, framing it as a process that will support a healthy planet.

The Metals Company is not the only organisation focused on deep sea mining that Barron has been associated with. The first, Nautilus Minerals, was steeped in controversy that stemmed from an environmental and social benchmarking report, which was based on information provided by Nautilius Minerals, rather than through an objective body. A coalition of environmental organisations questioned the legitimacy of the report, stating it was “clearly an attempt to downplay the risks posed by the Solwara 1 project”, which was the proposed site for Nautilius Minerals’ first mining operation, in the Bismarck Sea, near the coast of Papua New Guinea.

The second organisation, DeepGreen Metals, was scrutinised for its “green” positioning. It was the first time that Barron had framed his projects with an environmental focus through the belief that mining the seabed would lead to less environmental destruction than mining on land. When this belief was questioned, DeepGreen released a statement saying it doesn’t view mining on land or underwater as sustainable, and that “the only path to sustainable metals is to build up enough metal stock to shift away from mined to recycled metals.”

DeepGreen Metals then combined their operations with those of the Sustainable Opportunities Acquisition Corporation, “a special purpose acquisition company with a dedicated ESG focus”, to form The Metals Company, the third iteration of Barron’s deep sea journey. With The Metals Company, Barron continues to flex his marketing muscles with their website stating that “polymetallic nodules are the cleanest path toward electric vehicles.” It also states The Metals Company’s belief that “polymetallic nodules may provide an opportunity to compress lifecycle environmental and social impacts of producing critical metals as compared to many land-based projects, and may potentially offer the lightest planetary touch”, echoing the previous refuted claims of DeepGreen Metals.

The Metals Company’s beliefs centre on rocks found on the ocean floor, within their primary exploration area the Clarion Clipperton Zone, which is located in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Mexico. The company asserts that these nodules “do not contain toxic levels of heavy elements”. These views go against independent reports that highlight the lack of knowledge of the risks, which is echoed by Sir David Attenborough, who criticises the disregard for the impacts of deep sea mining.

769 marine science and policy experts from over 44 countries issued a joint statement calling for a pause to deep sea mining, yet Gerard Barron said they were misguided, once again comparing mining of the ocean floor to terrestrial mining practices. These critics say that harvesting these nodules will affect whale and tuna migration, interrupt important ecological processes, extinguish newly discovered species and potentially accelerate climate change by impacting undisturbed carbon stores.

According to the New York Times, The Metals Company’s progress has been supported by a close relationship with the ISA, which led to the company’s presence in negotiations at the recent meetings of both the ISA Council and Assembly. The ISA Council agreed on 2025 as an indicative timeline to develop a mining code, but it failed to close the legal loophole that will allow the industry to begin, so the threat of deep sea mining remains. Although resistance is strong, with a growing number of governments pushing against industry pressure, calling for a precautionary pause, moratorium or ban within international waters. Supporting their resistance was the UN Commissioner on Human Rights, members of  the seafood industry and a group of 36 financial institutions. 

The focus then turned to the ISA Assembly. Negotiations took place from July 24th and 28th, and no approval was offered to begin deep sea mining, despite pressure from the industry, including The Metals Company, who have since stated they intend to submit an application to the ISA for an exploitation contract for NORI Area D following the July 2024 meeting of the ISA, and they expect to be in production in the fourth quarter of 2025.

This discussion inspires the question of what a true climate solution looks like? The Metals Company will tell you it is through the electrification of the world facilitated by their work with polymetallic nodules. We prefer to listen to the independent experts and their research that suggests otherwise.

Anton Rivette is a writer and photographer. He leads storytelling at eco-nnect.

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Vivien Vivela started working with Rudy Randa in 2015.

“This is when we met Ninawa, from the Huni Kuin people, the first leader we started working with. The BOA Foundation was born doing projects in indigenous communities, we were focusing on water wells, schools and cultural centres, always with the dream to do the land buyback projects which we are focused on today.”

The BOA Foundation works with indigenous communities to regenerate degraded ecosystems and protect biodiversity. They support strategic land buybacks, reforestation projects and a range of initiatives that increase the capacity of land and the indigenous communities that live with it.

Back in 2016, Vivien was introduced to a possible donor of funds to BOA. The friend who introduced Vivien to this donor knew she had a lot of relationships in Ibiza — the donor wanted to do an event there — and asked Vivien if she could introduce him to her connections there. 

“So I went for a meeting with this guy. I had never planned Aniwa Gathering, I never dreamed of it, but as I was talking with him and a new idea flowed through me, so I said to the guy why don’t you do a meeting of indigenous leaders, like a cultural gathering? He had nothing to do with spirituality but he was taken by my vision that came from so much love and excitement, and he said I don’t understand anything about this, would you be willing to help and work with me? 

“And so this was how Aniwa Gathering was born, at first I was going to be working for this guy, but then, a long story short, he had a spiritual experience and he went back into his life and decided this had nothing to do with what he does, so he said, you know what Vivien, I am going to donate the money for you to do this and he donated the money into BOA, and so I said to Rudy, let’s do this.”

Rudy explained how in that moment, he and Vivien were focused on creating an online community.

“The concept for Aniwa was initially predicated on amplifying indigenous wisdom across the globe, creating a point of accessibility for people in the west who had interest but didn’t have the opportunity to meet any of these leaders, didn’t know how to go about it but knew they wanted to engage more with the spiritual world, to learn how to be better stewards for the planet and to heal some of their own traumas that they had been through. So the idea was to create content and documentaries, things of that nature, short films, music videos and talks.

“Then Vivien brought the idea to me, why don’t we do a gathering, you know like a festival where we invite all these different Elders and we create one big opportunity to meet many of them at the same time. I could see this would be an opportunity to bring all of these Elders together to create one place where people could be introduced to many different lines of wisdom, but that it was also going to be special for the Elders, who are separated by thousands upon thousands of miles, who have differences in how they pray and heal and sing, yet have a shared focus of living in right relation with Mother Earth and all beings everywhere. So creating this opportunity for indigenous leaders to meet each other from across the world, so they might have a point of connection and an opportunity to talk to each other about many of the issues they are facing today, that completely resonated with me.”

Vivien connected with a prophecy that speaks to a time when the rivers will be dry, the oceans will be empty of fish, the people will be fighting, the forests will be burning and people will come together looking to Elders for guidance.

“These people will spread around the world as one great swirling rainbow bringing peace and understanding and healing everywhere they go, and at that time a lot of animals that were extinct would come back to life. And you know, in the past few years, a lot of animals that haven’t been seen in forty plus years have appeared again, and so we see this prophecy is being fulfilled. All around the world we see many more spiritual gatherings appearing and there is a great movement spreading through the Earth.”

From June 8 to 11 the Aniwa Gathering will be held for the fifth time, on the land of the Yuhaaviatam people in Big Bear, California. Over 40 Elders will be present representing indigenous nations from territories in so-called Africa, the Americas, New Zealand and Australia. At last year’s event, Rasu Yawanawa spoke of the Gathering’s importance.

“I see that Aniwa is this bridge that is bringing this new moment for a lot of people, for a lot of lives. Here I am today like a little baby in the midst of great men, very strong men, very spirtualised. The Elders for us, we don’t forget them when they get old. When we see an Elder we say here we have a treasure, all this wisdom, all this knowledge, everything they have lived, for us, this is very precious. And to be here in the midst of these men like this, they become my teachers here so I can join and add myself and learn something and continue my day, my time here, and it seems that the doors are opening, more and more, for me to become one of these men as well.”

Another Elder in attendance was Mona Polacca of the Hopi, Havasupai and Tewa people.

“I think Aniwa is the fulfillment of bringing people together, creating a community of unity. I think it’s good to come together and to acknowledge our similarities rather than our differences, as well as to awaken this memory that we as human beings all have about our sacred relationship with the four basic foundations of life — the water, the air, the fire, the earth. And then from that our relationship with our mothers, our fathers, our family, our bloodlines and all of our community, our tribe, our nations, and the world, to make a relationship to acknowledge each other, you know, instead of constantly allowing these artificial boundaries, artificial borders to keep us separate.

“If you were to fly like a bird and take a bird’s eye view down at our mother the earth, you wouldn’t see any kind of divisions, borders, boundaries, you wouldn’t see those things, you would see oneness. And so these gatherings give us that opportunity to come together as one, to come together in a way that helps us to grow.“

Last year’s Gathering was the first time a Waurá family, from the Xingu region of Brazil attended. It was also the first time they had left Brazil. Elewoká, who is the chief of Ulupuene Village in the Upper Xingu in Mato Grosso, shared what this Gathering means to him.

“I am happy to be attending with my brothers and sisters that are indigenous, we are representing our culture and they are representing their culture and we are making an exchange of culture… We are trading objects, the things we brought from our village, they are taking my objects and we are taking their objects, and we are swapping like that, this makes me very happy… 

“I am very emotional to see everybody representing their culture, I’m happy to hear and get to know the point of how they live and how they speak. Whenever they speak I listen and I am learning how they live in their villages and this makes me very happy also. And getting to know the people who aren’t indigenous as well, who are here with us and learning from our cultures, I am very touched by this.“

In a world with so much division, it is powerful to hear these stories celebrating our shared humanity, which echoes in the words of Mayan Elder Nana Amalia.

“I feel like Aniwa has opened a lot of people’s minds and have given a lot of opportunities to people so that they can return to the environment and to the ancestral ways, because everywhere there are indigenous people, and Aniwa invites us so that we can practice our spirituality, our culture, our language so we can help other people that need it.

“In the communities and society today, a lot of people are disconnected from nature, and so through Aniwa, with all of these networks and these events that they do, they’re making a call for the awakening of a lot of people, so that they can believe in their own capacities and abilities as people, and also their purpose on the Earth.”

Nana Amalia’s husband, Tata Mario, expands on this. 

“All of the people who gather have their gifts and brilliance, and also they have their weaknesses, and I think that Aniwa has been this light for people to be able to learn and discern what we are good for, and also learn where we have erred as people, because as people we commit mistakes. Aniwa is calling for this transformation for this deep change we all need so much, because the world is confusing, it is confused and there is a lot of fear, and Aniwa, this work that has been developed over many years, the organisers have been born with this light, with this mission to bring this light to this Earth, and we take part with a lot of joy, as descendants of our Mayan ancestors, we have come to share and we have come to learn.”

Listening to all of these Elders speak, it is very clear how the Gathering creates connection between cultures while also sparking creativity and collaborations between all who attend. Vivien expands on this.

“To us the purpose of Aniwa Gathering is to ignite more people that want to be agents for Mother Earth, agents of change, to give people a sense of purpose, a sense of responsibility to self, to community, to the Earth. Aniwa Gathering is such a magical event because it goes beyond just listening to a talk, it is receiving sacred codes, ancestral codes that open doors within our subconscious, that open doors in our hearts to allow us to move from the mind into the heart to allow spirit to be our guide from that moment onwards, to teach participants to listen to the wisdom of the water, to rely on the intuition, to be guided by the heart and have a sense of community, a sense of purpose, and to live a connected and fulfilled life. That’s the purpose of this Gathering and the platform that we are putting online, that we can come together and tell a new story for our planet.”

It’s a powerful and important vision that reminds me of the murmurations of starlings, highlighting the importance of Gatherings like this, where people come together to connect with and learn from one another. While knowledge is something we read, wisdom is something we experience, and it is crucial to the transmission of the ancient ways of ancestral cultures to be in shared time and space, to feel the truth in the spoken words of the Elders’ lived experiences, which Mona Polacca speaks to.

“As I was growing up, when I was about 14 years old I began to attend gatherings of Elders. The Elders took me under their wing, as they did with anyone who came to these gatherings, and they would share their wisdom, their knowledge, the teachings about how to be in good relationship with all of life. What I carry is what they shared with me. I always say that this is my way of honouring and respecting the time, the energy, the effort, the thoughtfulness and the bit of their life that they gave to me, to sit with me and share and talk with me. So in respect and honour of that, their life, that little bit they gave to me, I’m carrying that. These things I am talking about, they’re not mine, I didn’t make ‘em up, they’re things that were told to me throughout my lifetime, and that’s how I walk this path of being a Grandmother, being a relative in this world.“

In an increasingly destructive world, it is important for people to gather, connect and celebrate the natural world and Aniwa is a profound opportunity to relate to the ancient cultures who have long been custodians of the delicate energies that nourish and cultivate life. Tickets are still available.

Anton Rivette is a writer and photographer. He leads storytelling at eco-nnect.

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The post Gathering Life appeared first on eco-nnect.

In 2009 Ecuador and Bolivia changed their constitutions to include the notion of Sumak Kawsay* and officially recognise nature as an entity in need of legal standing. Since then legal battles against extractive corporations have been won thanks to this change to their respective constitutions.

In 2009 the leaders of Ecuador and Bolivia also campaigned to the United Nations General Assembly to officially recognise April 22nd as International Mother Earth Day. This change might seem superfluous to some, seeing as Earth Day has been celebrated across the USA since 1970, yet words hold meaning and Ecuador and Bolivia’s leaders knew that.

Adding the word mother changes the entire relationship we hold with nature, acknowledging her importance, her nurturing role and our dependence on her health. All of a sudden we are not fighting for a rock we call Earth, which we can extract and exploit at our leisure, rather we are respecting Mother Earth’s intelligence, acknowledging the symbiotic relationship between all living things including with the planet we inhabit.

Bolivia and Ecuador gifted the world a word, but in reality they gifted the world their cosmovision. The climate is not in “crisis”, the west’s relationship with nature is. Shifting Earth Day to International Mother Earth Day was a subtle yet symbolic message to the West: heal your relationship with Mother Earth, listen to her and live in harmony with the natural world. That’s how we can really honor life, today and every day.

*A Quechuan system of knowledge and living based on the communion of humans and nature and on the harmonious totality of existence with all living beings.

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