Rainforest rescue camp

'Around the world, an area of forest the size of a football pitch is destroyed every two seconds. Deforestation adds to all of the industrial pollution we pump into the atmosphere – not only by releasing the carbon that's stored in trees and ecosystems, but also by destroying the natural carbon cycling capacity of the planet'

Greenpeace have set up a protest camp in Sumatra to stop rainforest destruction.

Good for them.

However hundreds of thousands of indigenous people permanently camp, I think we use the expression 'live', in the rainforests and protect them.

I sometimes wonder if the only non indigenous people who talk about how important it is to recognise their role are myself and Elinor Ostrom.


Well, of course, there are great groups like Survival International but in the rush to make a lot of noise and not do much of any great effect to tackle climate change, we forget the indigenous.

In the Amazon, despite horrendous repression from Alan Garcia's government, the Peruvian indigenous have won victories and saved the forest. But do environmentalists even know about this?

I wish the Awajun and Wampi could send out representatives, perhaps we could call them missionaires, to environmental groups and get them a bit more organised and strategic.

I do think the websites from the indigenous are better than a lot of UK environmentalists, have a click here and here.

I am slightly shocked that in London emergency climate forum there is no indigenous speaker or discussion, Climate Camp are certainly much better and work with the Indigenous Environmental Network.