Dear Jack,

Some good news for a change. We’ve had some extremely important successes - which wouldn’t have been possible without you, our supporters.

“Conservation” funds stopped because of abuse

One of Survival’s controversial campaigns is to stop the theft of tribal lands in the name of conservation. This crime has been going on for 150 years, displacing and destroying millions of people particularly in Africa and Asia, and it’s now set to increase massively. Although many environmentalists agree that this must end, and that it harms biodiversity as well as people, Survival remains the only international NGO making an uncompromised stand against it.

We’ve had a major breakthrough. Some of the biggest funders of destructive colonial conservation have been made to suspend funding and to insist on what was supposed to be happening anyway – that projects can’t take place on tribal land without the proper agreement of the people.

WWF has been pushing for a new park in Congo (called Messok Dja) and has been backed with millions of euros from EU taxpayers. Since the project started years ago, park rangers have beaten, sexually abused, imprisoned and even killed the local Baka (so-called “Pygmies”). WWF knows this but always pretended the park had local agreement. We know that’s not true. It’s hardly surprising, why would Baka agree, given that WWF wants to stop them living on their own land?

It’s not just the Baka, many others have also lost their lands to conservation throughout the Congo Basin, and have been reduced to abject poverty, living alongside roads and eking a living as best they can. They repeatedly ask us to get this stopped. It’s not an isolated example, it’s been the pattern of national parks throughout Africa for 100 years, and Survival’s been working hard against it.

We met with Messok Dja’s funders last February, shortly before lockdown, and now the EU has suspended grants and insisted on the issue of local consent being examined yet again. WWF will try and push on regardless, but it’s the first time ever that EU money for “conservation” has been halted for violating tribal peoples’ rights. It gives the Baka around Messok Dja a chance of survival.

It’s part of the battle to decolonize conservation everywhere. We believe that big NGOs should approach indigenous and tribal peoples with humility, stop trying to take their land from them, and offer support when it’s asked. Conservation initiatives should be controlled by those who’ve long been caring for the land. They are the best conservationists, as Survival has been saying for 50 years.

In another piece of good news, Survival’s president, Robin Hanbury-Tenison (84), is home after spending weeks in hospital with Covid-19. His life was saved by National Health Service staff. You can see the messages left for him at svlint.org/Robin and can still leave one yourself. He found your support enormously encouraging and has asked me to thank you all very much indeed.

Yet more good news as I write this – from Brazil. I’ll update later.

Stay safe and please keeping fighting for tribal peoples’ survival – we can make a real difference.