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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Ruairí Casey, Lisa Mirella Corti, Maria Cristina Fraddosio and Abby Young-Powell. Photographs by Sara Aliaga Ticona

‘Carbon fever’ threatens hard-won Indigenous rights in Bolivian Amazon

A member of an Indigenous nation places their open palm against a tree trunk where chevrons has been incised
The Tacana, Ese Ejja and Cabineño nations secured their collective title to the 400,000-hectare Multi-ethnic Indigenous Territory II in northern Bolivia in 2001 Photograph: Sara Aliaga

In the village plazas of Pando, a remote northern Amazonian region of Bolivia, the main talk is no longer just about the next harvest. One pressing issue is the “invisible air” being sold to foreigners who regularly visit their communities.

In June 2024, the country’s constitutional court struck down the ban on a funding mechanism linked to carbon markets. Since then, Indigenous leaders of three ethnic groups – the Tacana, Ese Ejja and Cabineño – have complained about companies and foundations that arrive with offers of “climate solutions”, often during the ever more frequent droughts or floods.

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