Name: Meet our planet's hidden defenders
Uploaded: 2024-08-23T14:58:45Z
Duration: 9 min 52 s
Description: Small Indigenous communities make up only five percent of the world's population, but they defend 80 percent of the biodiversity that remains on Earth, says war reporter Anjan Sundaram. He paints a picture of Mexico's embattled ecological frontlines, where invisible heroes are fighting corporations and cartels alike to save our planet's last natural ecosystems.

Small Indigenous communities make up only five percent of the world's population, but they defend 80 percent of the biodiversity that remains on Earth, says war reporter Anjan Sundaram. He paints a picture of Mexico's embattled ecological frontlines, where invisible heroes are fighting corporations and cartels alike to save our planet's last natural ecosystems.

Meet our planet's hidden defenders

Indigenous defenders, though only five percent of the global population, safeguard 80 percent of the planet’s remaining biodiversity. In Mexico and across Latin America, they face violence from cartels and multinational corporations while trying to save forests, mountains, and rivers. More than 1,700 defenders have been killed in the past decade, yet their struggles often go unnoticed. Their stories reveal a hidden war for our planet’s future, fought one ecosystem at a time.

Invisible Warriors Risk Everything To Protect Earth’s Last Wild Places

A hidden battle is raging across Latin America, where Indigenous communities—just five percent of the global population—protect 80 percent of the planet’s remaining biodiversity. In Mexico alone, over 1,700 environmental defenders have been killed in a decade, facing threats from corporations, governments, and violent cartels. These defenders blockade highways, risk imprisonment, and even arm themselves to safeguard forests, rivers, and rare wildlife. Their stories rarely make headlines, yet their courage sustains the natural world we all depend on.