Background briefings

Davi Kopenawa Yanomami


Davi Kopenawa Yanomami is a shaman and spokesman for the Yanomami people. He led the long-running international campaign to secure Yanomami land rights, for which he gained recognition in Brazil and around the world. He is central to the ongoing f...

Awá & Amazon Guardians


Collection of videos of the Awá and Guajajara peoples.

Blood carbon explained by Simon Counsell


Simon Counsell, researcher and author of the report "Blood Carbon: how a carbon offset scheme makes millions from Indigenous land in Northern Kenya" answers to the most commonly asked questions.

A guide to decolonize language in conservation


It is essential to think about the words and concepts we use when writing or talking about environmental issues. The violence and land grabs faced by millions of Indigenous and other local people in the name of conservation stem in large part from...

#DearHumanity


Dear Humanity, World leaders are pushing a plan to turn 30% of Earth into Protected Areas by 2030. They say it will mitigate climate change, reduce wildlife loss, enhance biodiversity and so save our environment, but they're wrong. It will make ...

Survival International condemns campaign to “protect half the planet”


Survival's statement against Avaaz's new campaign to protect half the planet, which will cause catastrophic harm to millions of people if enacted.

Keep evangelical missionaries away from uncontacted tribes


A page dedicated to explaining the role of missionaries in the decimation of uncontacted tribes around the world.

Hunters or poachers? Survival, the Baka and WWF


Survival’s recent press release denouncing the brutal persecution of Baka “Pygmies” by anti-poaching squads in Cameroon, and calling on WWF to stop funding them, has elicited a huge public response. WWF has reacted angrily, denouncing Survival’s...

Threats


Uncontacted tribes are the most vulnerable peoples on earth. A vast array of powerful forces are ranged against them; these are just some of them.

Contact


Parojnai’s wife, Ibore, tells how, on 11 June 1998, their family risked everything and made contact.

Before contact


An unknown number of Ayoreo Indians live isolated in the Paraguayan Chaco, the vast scrub forest that extends south of the Amazon basin. Parojnai [pronounced Pow-hai] Picanerai, his wife Ibore and their five children had been on the run for many y...

The outsiders' view


The outsider’s usual view of uncontacted tribal people is a mixture of fear, suspicion and racism. The tribes’ efforts to protect their lives and homes, often stemming from memories of violent persecution in the past, are interpreted by those livi...