Cosmic #33 – Atossa Soltani

Facing an Unprecedented Attack on the Amazon

It’s a positive story.

Across the Amazon, alliances of indigenous people are becoming more and more effective. Infrastructure projects are being opposed, international law is being harnessed and we even see governments facilitating a more sustainable vision for the sacred lands that hold so much of the Earth’s biodiversity and vital functions.

We all felt a sense of progress when Brazil  significantly slowed down the rate of deforestation over the last decade via better monitoring, tighter laws and their enforcement… but…

The current attack on the Amazon is unprecedented.

Aggressive companies from the oil & gas sector, mining, and industrial agriculture are directly or indirectly intimidating (or assassinating) those resisting infrastructure projects. More road and dam projects are silently paving the way for further degradation of the Amazon while the Bolsonaro regime boosted the deforestation rate by 30% since he is in the office. In short, much more mobilisation, organizing and creativity is going to be necessary.

Joining me this week is a changemaker who played a prominent role over the last 25 years with Amazon Watch and the Amazon Sacred Headwaters Initiative. Atossa shares an update on the latest happenings in the region and opens her advocate toolbox to help us understand how change moves in that part of the world.

Looking forward to receiving your thoughts at hello@becosmic.org.

Thank you to ICEERS for making this interview possible.

Dance, do more, be cosmic. 🕺💫💫

Camille.

Links related to the discussion:

• Amazon Watch – protecting the rainforest and our climate by supporting indigenous peoples
• Amazon Sacred Headwaters Initiative – aimed at permanently protecting 60 million acres of tropical rainforests in the mighty Amazon River’s headwaters – the Napo, Pastaza, and Marañon River Basins of Ecuador and Peru – an area referred to as the Sacred Headwaters of the Amazon.

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