Indigenous People, the Most at Risk of the Rest of the World's Over Consumerism

The human population is rapidly heading towards 7 billion and is predicted to reach 9 to12 billion by 2050. In an already overpopulated world with billions of impoverished people how will the world support such an enormous global population? Indigenous people, who live simply lives, are most at risk of the rest of the world’s high consumerism as the earth’s limited resources are reaped for short term gains both by the developed and ever increasingly the developing world as the human population expands.

As well as habitat loss and development, over-consumption of fossil fuels in jets, cars, in homes and industries is leading to high carbon emissions and climate change which is having a direct effect upon indigenous people throughout the world. There are many different types of indigenous people found in every inhabited continent of the world. It is believed that there are at least 5000 distinct peoples in over 72 countries.  It is estimated that there are some 300 million to 350 million indigenous people that is just under 6% of the total world population.

Indigenous people are those who inhabit a geographic region with which they have the earliest known historical connection. Examples of indigenous people include the aboriginal people of Australia, the Kayapo tribe from Brazil and the Sami or Lapp people from Norway and the Veddah people from Sri Lanka.  People from the civilized world have so much to learn from the society and way of life of indigenous tribes.

Many live in a predominantly natural habitat whereby they settle in a given region or exhibit a nomadic lifestyle across a large territory. Furthermore, indigenous societies possess an often unique body of cultural and environmental knowledge such as identifying new resources and benefits of biological extracts from vegetation in the Amazon rainforests. Many indigenous populations have undergone a dramatic decline and even extinction, and remain threatened in many parts of the world due to human expansion and development leading to migration, relocation and forced resettlement. Some tribes have now permanently lost their language, their lands and had their traditional territories encroachment upon. Furthermore, their traditional lifestyles have been damaged due to climate change related flooding, contamination and pollution of waters and lands.

Indigenous peoples have contributed the least to the global problem of climate change but will almost certainly bear the greatest brunt of its impact. In Papua New Guinea indigenous people are being forced to relocate due to a combination of population growth and the inundation of coastal land due to sea level rise. In Borneo, The Dayak have documented climate variations based on observations of bird species, rising water levels, and the loss of traditional medicinal plants and in the Andean Region temperature changes have had a drastic impact on agriculture, health and biodiversity, evidenced by an increase in respiratory illnesses, a decrease in alpaca farming and a shortened growing season. In some areas where indigenous people depend on Alpine flora for medicines, grazing and food, the growing season could be cut in half should the loss of glaciers continue and agriculture become dependent solely on rainfall.

In Kenya protracted droughts are killing livestock on which the Samburu people depend for food and economic survival. The first climate change-related relocation of an Inuit village of Newtok has already taken place earlier this year due to intensifying river flow and melting permafrost which was destroying homes and infrastructure, forcing 320 residents to relocate to a higher site 15 km west, at a financial cost in the tens of millions of dollars. Dozens of similar settlements are considered threatened.

Indigenous people need to be protected and in April 2009, for the first time, indigenous peoples sought greater recognition in the Kyoto agreement to discuss ways in which traditional knowledge can be used to both mitigate and adapt to climate change.  At the Summit, Indigenous Peoples from every world region shared observations and experiences of early impacts in their part of the planet, as well as traditional practices that could both ease climate change and help all humanity adapt to its anticipated consequences. Their traditional knowledge contributes to understanding climate change – observations and interpretations by Indigenous Peoples of changing Arctic sea ice, for example, has proven important across a wide range of economic and scientific interests. Interestingly, the aborigines of Western Arnhem Land have used traditional fire practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, they have sold $17 million worth of carbon credits to industry, generating significant new income for the local community.

Over millennia, Indigenous Peoples have developed a large arsenal of practices of potential benefit in the climate change context, including traditional methods of shoreline reinforcement, land stabilization and reclamation; fostering biodiversity and the growth of useful species through planting and traditional drought-related practices used to hedge against normal climate variation including sophisticated small dam systems to capture and store rainfall. In Hondura where there are increasing hurricanes and drastic weather changes, the Quezungal people have developed a farming method which involves planting crops under trees so the roots anchor the soil and reduce the loss of crops during natural disasters.  So, indigenous people are most at risk to climate change and human development due to the ongoing human population growth. We have so much to learn from tribes about flood and drought protection, medicines and biological resources as well as gaining insights from their lifestyles which have economic and societal benefits. We have a duty to protect and care for indigenous tribes around the world and it is their human right to be protected. What are your views?  Add your comment below. We welcome your thoughts and proposals. Not a Planetary Citizen? Sign up

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