The Unintended Consequences of the Colombian Peace Agreement

Deforestation and violence aimed at those protecting the environment have increased in the post-conflict period following the 2016 permanent ceasefire agreement in Colombia. Photo: Katie Rodriguez / Unsplash

Of: Eleonora Moen

Deforestation is harmful in tropical areas, and most of the tropical regions of the world are located in conflict-ridden countries. Thus there is an often unexplored relationship between deforestation and conflict zones. In the case of Colombia, the peace process has led to an increase in deforestation, as well as an increase in violence on those who aim to protect the environment.

June 23, 2021, English, Long read, Magazine

Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities struggle in Ecuador

The northernwestern Esmeraldas Province, a highly marginalized and invisibilized region, is home to the Chachi, Awá, and Épera Indigenous peoples, traditional Afro-descendant communities, and Mestizo people. Photo: Julianne Hazlewood

Of: Eleonora Moen and Leni Lindemann

Palm oil companies are detrimentally impacting rural livelihoods and biodiversity in northwestern Ecuador by extracting resources and polluting ancestral lands and rivers. Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and health hazards posed by these companies. As an act of resistance, the communities, supported by the organization Roots & Routes IC, have filed the world's first constitutionally-based Rights of Nature Lawsuit to demand justice.

May 3, 2021, English, Interview, Magazine