This collection highlights just a few stories about our work in this area. To find out more about how AJWS supports organizations that work to defend the natural resource rights of communities, visit our Land, Water and Climate Justice issue page.
Land, Water and Climate Justice: Story Collection
We aid communities and movements organizing to protect the land, water and natural resources that people depend on for their survival.
The anti-dam movement goes global
While hydroelectric dams can seem like a clean and renewable energy source, they cause greenhouse…
How a dozen Thai women fought the coal industry — and saved their tropical home
Guardians of Zoka: Inside the Fight to Save a Ugandan Rainforest
In the Adjumani district of Northern Uganda stands the Zoka Forest Reserve, one of the…
Legal Aid, Spiritual Healing: Meet Guatemala’s Indigenous Law Firm
The Guatemala City office of AJWS grantee Bufete para Pueblas Indígenas (BPI), or the Indigenous…
In Thailand, Indigenous fishing communities prepare their return to sacred waters
For decades, Aon Changnam has dreamt of the open waters of his childhood. Aon was…
For Indigenous Guatemalans, Mother Earth is not just a concept
Isabel Chen Ical and her husband, Agustín Chocooj, live with their two children and members…
Kenyan court shuts down proposed coal plant — a win for environmental justice!
Amidst so many devastating headlines around the world, I’m writing from Nairobi about an important…
Nourishing stories for World Food Day
Today marks World Food Day, when people across the globe celebrate the foods that are…
Kenya’s Indigenous Women’s Council celebrates its first decade
Paradise is all around us: Indigenous Peoples’ fight for clean water in Guatemala
Advocating for human rights, while responding to natural disasters in Haiti
In Haiti, the struggles of the capital, Port-au-Prince, radiate outwards. Though the city is the…
A victory for villagers in Thailand, years in the making
I am so happy to write you today with exciting news from Thailand. Just last…
Inspiration from Kenya on World Indigenous Peoples Day
This week, leading up to World Day for Indigenous Peoples, representatives from 14 AJWS partner…
Indigenous Kenyan activists successfully fend off evictions from their ancestral lands
The Embobut forest in Kenya is misty during the rainy season, filled with fresh, sweet…
Women to the front: Gender equality in the fight for Indigenous land in Guatemala
For nearly two decades, AJWS grantee the Association of Communities for the Development, Defense of…
What “accompaniment” really means: A letter from our climate justice expert in Kenya
For more than a decade, I have been working in Kenya as one of AJWS’s…
A win for Indigenous rights in Mexico with a major constitutional reform
When Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821, there were many different groups living on…
The long, slow march for justice after a genocide in Guatemala
Suffer Together, Celebrate Together: How Farmers Fight for Survival in Thailand
Girls and Young Women Take the Lead on Climate Action in Rural Kenya
Ten-year old Magret lives in coastal Kenya, a rural region currently devastated by drought and…
“That’s not the world I want to live in”: Slow and steady, El Salvador’s climate monitors take action
Lucy Medina Serrano grew up with nine siblings in El Castaño, a tiny village along…
Activists Up Close: Meet Misael, a Water Defender in Mexico
Misael was born into a family of Indigenous farmers in Oaxaca, Mexico — his connection…
Shuttering a Major Corporate Project in Mexico, ProDESC Scores a Victory for Indigenous Communities
After a five-year struggle, AJWS grantee Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Project (ProDESC) secured a…
A 13-year legal battle culminates in an historic victory for the Ogiek People
“Our food is in the forest. Our medicine is in the forest. The forest takes…
I saw COP26 fail firsthand—here’s what we need for climate justice
Late last year, I flew from my home in Uganda to Scotland to attend the…
Mobilizing Latin America’s Indigenous Communities on International Day of Action for Rivers
“What these water companies do not want to understand, is that for us, water has…
Land Rights Are Women’s Rights
According to the UN, women in the developing world make up 43% of the agricultural…
On World Environment Day, We Honor AJWS Grantees Fighting to Protect the Environment
AJWS is proud to support activists fighting to protect the environment in countries around the…
“Our vision is for a more just and equitable society”: Reflections from Guatemala
Lesbia Morales is in her early 30s. She was the first woman president of AJWS…
Defending Land Rights in Cambodia’s Highlands: Indigenous Communities take a Rubber Company to Task
In a remote province of northeastern Cambodia sandwiched between Laos and Vietnam, a war is…
Women Lead the Struggle for Land: Reflections from Guatemala
Maria Magdalena Xalcut is in her 60s, but she has more energy than most women…
Women Reaching New Horizons: Reflections from Guatemala
I recently met with Maria Auxiliadora Gualim López, the founder and general coordinator of AJWS…
Working Together to Save the Chixoy River: Reflections from Guatemala
The day began early. We left at dawn to pick up Eridania “Eri” Martinez, founder…
Mayan communities advocate for their land: Reflections from Guatemala
"The Time of Suffering"—what the Q'eqchi' Mayans call the 30 plus years of conflict that…
“I want my children to have our land back”: Reflections from Guatemala
Sandra Caled was born on a day believed to be special on the Mayan calendar:…
The fisherwomen of Nyakakoma: Reflections from the Democratic Republic of Congo
“I came here 23 years ago from Goma to visit my friend, and never left,”…
Safeguarding the Waters in Nyakakoma: Reflections From the Democratic Republic of Congo
Charles Mukandirwa, my colleague in the DRC, had warned me that travel inside the country…
The Movement and the Mine
In 2012, Bernardo was shot and killed. Locals allege that he was assassinated by supporters…
Indigenous communities defend their land and way of life
Indigenous communities work together to defend their land and way of life. In Guatemala, indigenous…
Defending Land for Rural Farmers in Burma
Although the majority of Burma’s people live off the land, few Burmese laws give them…