These people are demanding direct financial support, one of the points discussed at COP29. Benki Piyako, political and spiritual leader of the Ashaninka in Brazil, is currently touring Europe to convey his message: the whole world is concerned by climate change.
“It does not only impact indigenous peoples. We can clearly see that today, the rivers are drying up, the water is deteriorating, the fish and animals are dying,” Benki Piyako underlines Friday in Tout un monde. This political and spiritual leader sees himself as a guardian of the forest and ancestral knowledge, an awakener of conscience, to fight against climatic upheavals.
“We love the waters, we love the forest and we love them as a people, as people,” explains Benki Piyako. “It is this love that allows survival, this love for the forest and for everything that surrounds us.”
For us, every being is sacred
Recently, at COP16, indigenous peoples spoke with one voice. They got a victory. They will officially participate in future UN discussions on biodiversity.
>> Also listen: Indigenous peoples obtain enhanced status in biodiversity COPs
Main problem: drought
Benki Piyako reminds us: the Ashaninka people are pioneers in protecting the forest. For these people, transmitting their vision to states and governments is essential. American President Joe Biden, on a historic visit to the Amazon on November 17, promised to double the United States’ contribution to the Amazon Fund to bring it to $100 million.
>> Read on this subject: Joe Biden in the Amazon, a symbolic visit for the climate before the return of Donald Trump
But for Benki Piyako, this will be insufficient to fight against the danger he fears the most, drought. “There are more fires and reforestation is becoming more difficult,” describes Benki Piyako. He fears for food production and water supplies. “Humanity must take responsibility for the problem,” he insists.
Benki Piyako notes a disruption of the seasons, because currently, in Brazil, the ground remains dry in the middle of the rainy season. Consequence: “fires today are spreading much more than they should because the forest is dried out,” he emphasizes. This causes “a rise in temperatures which is very serious and everything burns”.
Stay optimistic
Benki Piyako, however, remains optimistic. “Nothing is too late. Everything always has the opportunity to be reborn,” images the political and spiritual leader. He suggests we pay more attention to our actions, stop polluting and throw trash into nature. By taking responsibility, Benki Piyako is certain that we could have “another world”. Concretely, with its Yorenka Tasorentsi InstituteBenki Piyako plants trees in the Amazon, but also in Europe.
Benki Piyako wishes for an alliance of science, ancestral wisdom and spirituality in order to obtain more consciousness for humanity. His fight is risky. Many environmentalists have been murdered. But Benki Piyako is not afraid to be the spokesperson for a forest that has no voice.
Radio subject: Manuela Salvi
Adaptation web: Julie Liardet
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