The World's fight for the rainforests has been long and tiresome. But I think we can all agree that we still must continue to do our respective parts to save the rainforests. The rainforests are an intricate part of the planet's ecosystem and livelihood, as well as the home to hundreds of tribes of indigenous peoples. The Earth's rainforests are responsible for 28 percent of the world's oxygen turnover and byway of this turnover, the millions of trees found in rainforests consume some of the carbon dioxide we humans produce, effectively reducing the affects of global warming.
The Amazon Rainforest in South America is the biggest rainforest in the world, but manmade devastation of this rainforest has been steadily increasing as each year passes. Fortunately, the indigenous peoples of South America are relentless in protecting what many consider to be the lungs of the Earth and of course, what they consider to be home. The latest people to do so are members of an Amazon tribe-The Waorani. The Waorani people are native to Ecuador and have lived there for centuries. In recent years, they have been fighting a legal battle against big oil that nobody even began to consider that they could win.
The Ecuadorian government had been planning to drill for oil over an area of seven million acres of rainforest. However, the people of the Waorani tribe who live in Pastaza-an area that would have been affected-have reportedly made enormous steps towards putting an end to the destruction. They have successfully stalled the auction of the area where 16 oil blocks were planned to be placed. What's more important, they have protected nearly half a million more acres of their territory from potential drilling.
A spokesperson for the Waorani of Pastaza, Oswando Nenquimo, made a statement. "Today we have protected our forest from oil drilling; we have protected our water from contamination; we have protected our children from sickness. This is a legal precedent for indigenous rights, but the fight is far from over. The government will appeal because they still want the oil beneath our land. Indigenous Nations across the Amazon and the world must band together to protect our homes."
This ruling is important for the safety of the rainforest, the preservation of the environment, and the rights of native peoples. However, like Oswando Nenquimo said, this fight is far from over.
