Sami and Maasai: indigenous communities in defense of nature

The Norwegian Sami people are against the construction of the planned 54 km long power line that will power Hammerfest LNG, Western Europe’s largest liquefied natural gas power plant. The reason behind their opposition is that the power line will be built on reindeer pastures that are used by shepherds during the summer. The line is expected to help Norway reduce its carbon dioxide emissions since Hammerfest LNG is currently the country’s second-largest single source of emissions. However, the Sami people believe that we cannot save the climate by destroying nature.

In the hopes of attracting five million tourists to the Ngorongoro Protected Area by 2025 to witness the Great Migration of African animals, the Tanzanian government plans to change the legal status of Ngorongoro. This change will prohibit people from settling in and around the area, and the authorities will have to remove almost 100,000 people from the protected area, mainly Maasai shepherds. The Maasai have used the Ngorongoro meadows to lead a semi-nomadic lifestyle of breeding cattle for generations. The Tanzanian government argues that the move is necessary to protect the land and biodiversity, whereas the Maasai people argue that the move threatens their lives and cultural survival.

The nonprofit Pure Earth is working with communities in the Global South to address environmental problems created by largely illegal mining. The most significant challenge is environmental contamination with mercury and lead during gold mining. Pure Earth works with legal miners in the Madre de Dios basin in the Peruvian Amazon to prepare suitable soil, plant trees, and regenerate the rainforest.