Indigenous peoples safeguard nearly 80 percent of the world’s remaining biodiversity, yet scientists, governments, and NGOs continue to advocate for conservation models that remove or kill Indigenous communities. Fortress Conservation, a model of environmental protection that is based on the belief that biodiversity is best protected when isolated from human presence, remains a major facet of global conservation efforts, especially in the context of 30X30. During the 22nd session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in April, Grist Indigenous Affairs Editor Tristan Ahtone, joined by a panel of experts, journalists, and indigenous leaders, will explore the impact that fortress conservation efforts have on Indigenous populations around the world. They’ll address ways in which international actors strip Indigenous people of rights and territory, and ways in which world leaders can safeguard biodiversity without sacrificing human rights.
The conversation and reception was held in-person in the Ford Family Auditorium at the Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice.
Joseph Lee is a member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head/Aquinnah and is a former Senior Indigenous Affairs Fellow at Grist. His work has also been published by The Guardian, High Country News, BuzzFeed News, Indian Country Today, and more. He has been a fellow at the Asian American Writers Workshop and NPR Next Generation Radio.
Tristan Ahtone is a member of the Kiowa Tribe and is Editor at Large at Grist. He previously served as Editor in Chief at the Texas Observer and Indigenous Affairs editor at High Country News. He has reported for Al Jazeera America, PBS NewsHour, Indian Country Today, and NPR to name a few. Ahtone’s stories have won multiple honors, including a George Polk Award, a National Magazine Award nomination, and investigative awards from the Gannett Foundation and IRE: Investigative Reporters and Editors. A past president of the Native American Journalists Association, Ahtone is a 2017 Nieman Fellow.
Dr. Aby Sène is a Senegalese national, researcher and professor in natural resource management at Clemson University. She is a trained biodiversity conservation scientist whose work informs strategy and policy development for socially and ecologically just governance of conservation areas, natural and cultural resources in Africa and the US. Her research lies at the intersections of protected area governance, indigenous land and resource sovereignty, rural livelihoods, and community-based conservation. For over a decade, Dr. Sène has worked closely with government agencies, rural communities, and NGOs in the US and West Africa to inform and design integrated management plans for large scale conservation areas of international importance for biodiversity and socio-economic development (i.e., RAMSAR designated Wetlands; World Heritage Sites, National Parks). Dr. Sène work appears in in academic journals, technical report and reputable news outlets. She has appeared in major international news networks including MSNBC and France 24. Her writings and public appearances cover the topics of conservation issues and resource sovereignty particularly in the African context.
Andrea Carmen, Yaqui Nation, became a staff member of the International Indian Treaty Council in 1983 and its Executive Director in 1992. Andrea was IITC’s team leader for work on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and in 1997 was one of two Indigenous representatives to formally address the UN General Assembly for the first time at the UN Earth Summit +5. In 2006, Andrea was selected as Rapporteur for the UN Expert Seminar on Indigenous Peoples’ Permanent Sovereignty over Natural Resources and their Relationship to Land”, the first Indigenous woman to serve as a Rapporteur for an UN Expert Seminar. Andrea has been an expert presenter at many UN bodies and seminars addressing a wide range of issues and in February 2019, she was selected to represent North America Indigenous Peoples on the new Facilitative Working Group for the development of the UNFCCC Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform for its first three years of operation, and in 2021 served as co-chair. She is currently a member of the IUCN Climate Crisis Commission.
