Indigenous leaders from the Amazon have joined UK conservationists in Dartmoor, offering a message of hope for rainforest restoration
Indigenous leaders from the Amazon have journeyed to the UK’s Dartmoor in an act of global solidarity for rainforest restoration.
Staff from the Woodland Trust were joined by representatives from communities including the Asháninka and Guarani in Buckland Wood, a 100-hectare (247-acre) swathe of temperate rainforest in Devon’s Dart Valley.
The trust has announced a £2.8m appeal to buy the forest and fund its restoration. The habitat is one of two locations in the UK that are home to an internationally rare lichen, and has the potential to support threatened species such as bats, otters and dormice.
Discussions of hope and solidarity were the main themes of the transcontinental visit, which began with traditional prayers from the Asháninka people, who live on the Brazilian-Peruvian border. The group also found common ground in issues such as fragmentation facing UK rainforests as well as their counterparts in South America.
Alexandrina Piyãko, a spiritual leader from the Asháninka, emphasised that restoring the land must go hand-in-hand with restoring people’s relationships with nature, cautioning that no environmental movement can succeed without that deeper connection.
Speaking after the visit at the end of April, Sam Manning, Woodland Trust’s rainforest recovery project officer, said: “As a forest conservationist, today was one of the most emotionally moving days of my life, and listening to the wisdom of the Guarani and Asháninka on the river bank was, in particular, deeply moving and inspiring.”
Piyãko added: “Restoring nature is not easy. I believe this is the first step, and a good one.”
Images: Lee Magpie Photography
