Indigenous communities in the northern Republic of the Congo are observing climate change even though they have no knowledge of the science, according to a unique collaboration between the Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK) and local communities. The environmental changes witnessed by the locals in the Congo rainforest include increased temperature, less rainfall and alterations to the seasons, much as expected under global climate change.
“Indigenous peoples in the Congo Basin rainforests face many challenges including severe discrimination, and degradation of their homelands by timber, mining, palm oil and other companies,” said Francesca Thornberry, Head of Programmes at RFUK. “Environmental change due to climate change could worsen their plight unless special measures are taken. A first step in helping indigenous peoples adapt to the effects of climate change will be to secure their rights to land and resources.”
the Ngonaka in the southwest (where deforestation is prominent) and the Boucy Boucy in the north (where logging has intensified recently). Although the communities had no prior knowledge of climate change, many identified similar phenomena, including “the rains have come late this year” and “we no longer know when to plant crops.”
Extreme floods in the Ecuadoran Amazon have left hundreds of indigenous people homeless.
Such events have become more frequent, partly as a result of human-driven climate change.
These communities have little to no access to basic services, which leaves them in an extremely vulnerable situation.
Further complicating their plight is the global COVID-19 pandemic that has now made its way into Ecuador, one of the Latin American countries hit hardest by the coronavirus so far.
30 families lost their homes, and the flooding destroyed many schools near the river. As the pandemic has forced the world into a global sabbatical, shaken by an atmosphere of all-embracing uncertainty, one thing is for sure: the likely effects of climate change stop for nothing.
there are no roads; to get there, you must go by river or air. As a consequence, in this time of intense devastation with an urgent need for aid, these communities are extremely vulnerable.