Environmentalism is the movement to protect the natural environment and critical earth systems from pollution and climate change. It is linked to climate action, sustainability, and climate justice. It is a very important cause — without which our planet will not survive. 

However, a crucial element to campaigning for a safer future is recognising the importance of Indigenous voices and decolonisation. 

It is important to recognise how the climate crisis started and what is going to be the best method to fix it. The reasons for climate change can be connected back to the ethos and impact of colonisation. 

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) most recent report on the impacts of climate change echoed what their scientific reports have been calling for since the 1990s — that the crisis is here and we need to act. 

However, one new and very powerful line was added to their sixth call to action:

“Vulnerability of ecosystems and people to climate change differs substantially among and within regions… driven by… ongoing patterns of inequity such as colonialism.”

The IPCC’s inclusion of this one word ‘colonialism’ is very important in the fight to stop climate change. Colonialism has worked, and continues to work, to worsen the effects of the climate crisis. There are three important : 

1. Colonialism was key to creating the climate crisis
2. Colonialism is ongoing
3. Decolonisation is central to climate action

Let’s take a look at these ideas: 

Colonialism was key to creating the climate crisis

Colonialism is a policy or practice of domination involving the subjugation of one people to the power of another group. This is achieved through colonisation, where one country violently invades and takes control of another country, claiming it as its own and exploiting its people. You can learn more about colonialism here and in this video. 

This process relies on a flawed colonial logic, which involves ways of thinking that make the stealing of land, the murder of Indigenous people, and the erasure of culture seem like an ok, even a necessary, thing to do. 

So what does colonial logic have to do with the environment?

Colonial logic understands nature as something distinct and separate from humans. In this understanding, the ‘wilderness’ of ‘the environment’ will always stand in opposition to the managed space of ‘civilisation’. 

Therefore, the chaos of unimproved nature should be developed (alarm bells!) into something more cultivated through the domination and control of humans. Once nature is dominated and controlled it can serve its fundamental purpose to colonial logic — something to profit from. Learn more about the links between colonisation and present-day development in this Ted Talk. 

Colonial logic views nature as something to be extracted from, not as something that we must live in a symbiotic relationship with.  

By following this logic, colonial forces have damaged lands around the world. They enforced strict environmental management and introduced species that didn’t align with the local knowledge and ecosystem with devastating results. 

What does the historical creation of climate change actually look like? 

Forests in Aotearoa/New Zealand

The forceful confiscation of land from Māori tribes in Aotearoa/New Zealand by European settlers led to the mass destruction of forests. Forests were either turned into grassland for sheep and cattle, or subject to timber extraction. This resulted in the extinction of dozens of native bird species key to ecological regeneration — present-day Aotearoa has 60 per cent fewer forests than there were before European colonisation. See maps of the forest that cover Aotearoa (New Zealand) from 1840 to present day. 

To learn how important Indigenous people are reviving stewardship in the Emerald Edge Forest in Western Canada in this video.

Fire management in Australia 

In the late 1700s, British colonists in South Australia banned the First Nations fire management practice of controlled burning. This practice effectively removes thick layers of dry vegetation that otherwise risk igniting into damaging, widespread bushfires and in turn, enhance biodiversity. As this article explains, the suppression of First Nations fire management has been “the single most impactful change to the landscape within the last 10,000 years,” leading the impact of fires in Australia to increase tenfold.  

Colonialism is ongoing

While most colonial empires have technically collapsed, colonialism still continues today. ‘Colonial logic’ influences what we value – meaning profits are often placed above care for the environment. Moreover, many of the most powerful countries today are that way because of their history of colonisation, such as the UK, the US, France, and Germany. And many of the world’s most disadvantaged countries were previously colonised.

This skewed value system and history is important to remember when we are seeing how climate activism is being practised. Are the countries being praised for climate action actually creating a better future for all? Or is it just colonialism in disguise?

What does this ongoing colonialism within environmentalism look like on the ground?

Germany was named as the world’s top recycler

In 2018, Germany was named the world’s top recycler by the World Economic Forum. Woohoo! Sounds good right? But if we dig deeper, Germany was only able to achieve this title by exporting 1 million tonnes of plastic waste annually — more than any other EU nation. 

The international trading of plastic waste — what some call ‘waste colonialism’ — is the ugly cogs that keep the Global North’s title as ‘recycling leader’ alive. As Germany continues to rapidly consume plastic, it sells this plastic to low GDP countries without effective waste management systems or environmental legislation and regulation to deal with… ahem, ‘recycle’… their waste.

Environmental action groups, NGOs and government bodies

In recent years, environmental groups and organisations have gained increasing public significance. However, Green 2.0 released a report about diversity in US environmental institutions and found that 88% of staff and 95% of boards were white. This will seriously hinder their ability to understand all the myriad ways the climate crisis is impacting different communities. As well as hinder the ability for these organisations to connect with all of the different and innovative ways one can respond to the crisis that comes from Frist Nations’s knowledge systems.

All of these examples show notable efforts in trying to protect nature, but they have some major decolonial work to do!

Decolonisation is central to climate action

So! This shows us that climate action must involve decolonial action. Taking climate action also means dismantling structures that sustain colonialism, challenging colonial logic, and amplifying historically marginalised ways of living and knowing to make them an essential part of environmental activism.

AKA: we need to decolonise environmentalism

Decolonial environmental activism looks like amplifying First Nations’ voices, knowledge, and practices. It means restructuring power systems and reimagining Westernised organisations to ensure First Nations leadership. 

So, what does decolonised environmentalism look like on the ground?

Allesandra Korap Munduruku shuts down mining in the Amazon

In a bid to protect a critically threatened area of the Amazon, human rights activist and leader of the Munduruku people, Allessandra Korap Munduruku, organised community efforts in Brazil to shut down mining applications by the British company Anglo American. Alessandra developed a campaign strategy that involved publishing an open letter against further mining and deforestation activity. In 2021, after months of pressure from Alessandra’s coalition, the company withdrew all of its 27 research applications to mine in Indigenous territories. This marked a historic shift in holding big companies accountable for environmental destruction.

James Cook University academics and Yuku Baja Muliku elders show the necessity of working together

James Cook University academics partnered with Yuku Baja Muliku elders to understand the climate crisis impacts on the country. This involved looking at the First Nations’ seasonal calendar and how it is responding to changing weather conditions. 

This partnership has led to adaptive management techniques being amplified in a powerful institution of knowledge – one that was named after the coloniser who first invaded this land. Talk about important steps in decolonisation!

So… What can you do to decolonise environmentalism? 

Now that we have learnt about how colonialism started climate change and that decolonialisation is key to stopping it. It is important to ask, how can we take decolonial action?

• Respect the land you’re on 

If you don’t already know, find out whose Country you are on here, then search up [Country Name] seasonal calendar and try looking around for and learning the seasonal markers of the land.  You can look at The AIATSIS Map of Indigenous Australia to see all the different Countries that make up this land mass. 

• Respect and amplify Indigenous leadership 

Indigenous people across the world are leading the fight against the climate crisis. Their knowledge about the land and what needs to be done to protect and restore it comes from a long history and culture of lived knowledge and experience. Therefore, their perspectives are vital in decolonising environmentalism and creating climate justice. 

You can help by amplifying these voices and making sure the organisations you are involved with have Indigenous leadership and embrace Indigenous knowledges. 

This video: How Indigenous People Lead the Fight Against Climate Change by NowThis Impact Climate justice advocate Michelle Cook talks about the ways in which Indigenous peoples are essential to solving the climate crisis.

And this video: Indigenous activists on tackling the climate crisis by The Guardian Talks about Indigenous activists about re-centring particular knowledge in how we talk about environmentalism.

• Keep learning 

Head over to our ‘First Nations _____’ page to learn more about decolonisation, to our’ What is Climate Justice?’ page to learn more about the overlapping patterns of climate vulnerability and colonialism, and to our ‘Taking Climate Action’ page to figure out what your path to decolonial environmental activism might look like. You can also check out our list of further resources below. 

Further resources:

Videos

• Traditional Ecological Knowledge & Place-based Learning Communities by Humboldt PBLC 

A discussion on the adaptability, sustainability and innovation of place-based knowledge. 

• Indigenous activists on tackling the climate crisis by The Guardian 

Indigenous activists talk about re-centring particular knowledge in how we talk about environmentalism

• WWF-Australia Conversations: Tyson Yunkaporta by WWF-Australia 

Tyson Yunkaporta talks about what climate crisis responsiveness can look like with Indigenous knowledges at the forefront

• How Indigenous People Lead the Fight Against Climate Change by NowThis Impact Climate justice advocate Michelle Cook talks about the ways in which Indigenous peoples are essential to solving the climate crisis
• Private landowners give land back to Tasmania’s traditional owners by ABC News

A discussion of the Land Back movement’s activism. 

• How Indigenous People are Reviving Traditional Stewardship by The Nature Conservancy 

An explanation of the reintegration of Indigenous stewardship of native lands in response to the history of fortress conservation

Links

• Indigenous knowledge leads the way in tech — infographic by the Intersectional Environmentalist
• Indigenous Environmentalism: The Rights of Manoomin — Toolkit by Intersectional Environmentalist