Environmental Nakba - a First Nations forum on the effects of colonisation on Indigenous Lands

Hosted by Friends of the Earth Asia-Pacifc, Friends of the Earth Melbourne, and Black Spark on the unceded lands of the Wurrundjeri Woi Wurrung First Nations Peoples of the Kulin Nation.This was a special event with a panel of First Peoples speakers from Palestine, so-called Chile, Argentina, Malaysia, and Wurundjeri Country here in so-called Victoria. Facilitated by Syrian/Palestinian activist, writer, and advocate Nathalie Farah, the panelists discussed the impacts of colonisation and occupation on Indigenous lands and in Palestine, including forests, soil, biodiversity, and water, followed by a Q&A.  Speakers touched on international solidarity movements and the intersection of environmental issues and colonisation.  Speakers: Marisol Salinas Caicheo: A Mapuche Huilliche Indigenous from the WallMapu/PuelMapu so called Chile Argentina and member of LASNET. Jasper Cohen-Hunter: A Gunung-Willam-Balluk man of the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung people with ancestral ties to the Ngurai-Illum peoples of the Kulin Nation. He is a podcaster focusing on the study of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cinemas on his platform Mirring Yalingwa. Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh: Palestinian scientist and author. He is a founder and director of the Palestine Museum of Natural History (PMNH) and the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability (PIBS) and teaches at the University of Bethlehem and Birzeit University. He has spent his career writing and advocating for environmental protection, cultural heritage, climate justice, health, and human rights, particularly in his home of Palestine, amidst ongoing war, violence, and occupation. Meenakshi “Meena” Raman: The President of Sahabat Alam Malaysia, Legal Advisor to Consumers Association of Penang and Coordinator of Third World Network’s Climate Change Programme. Meena practiced public interest law for over 25 years, representing grassroots communities taking on big corporations in Malaysia. She was a co-founder of Environmental Lawyers Alliance Worldwide (ELAW) and Chair of Friends of the Earth International, which has 75 member groups around the world. Meena served as an “Active Observer: of the Green Climate Fund from 2012 to 2015, and has actively participated in the UNFCCC negotiations since 2007. Abeer M. Butmeh: A water and environmental engineer, and the coordinator of PENGON - FOE Palestine. She is a leading woman activist in Palestine and an alliance of environmental justice organisations in Palestine. Abeer works closely with affected communities, the youth sector and with local government councils in addressing the environmental problems faced by the Palestinian people. She has various skills in campaigning, coordination, communication and facilitation between different bodies with more than 10 years’ experience in this area. She is a researcher in different environmental topics mainly in water and climate change, she is a trainer in different environmental subjects; water, wastewater and environmental issues. She also is an active member in many social and environmental networks at local and international levels.  To support our work please visit http://foe.org.au/donate