affected peoples and impacted communities

The peoples of the global South and Indigenous Peoples worldwide are most vulnerable to climate change. This is because their livelihoods are intimately tied to the land and water, to the diversity of their ecosystems and to their traditional knowledge about these resources. This knowledge is a fundamental element of the sustainable societies we need to build, and are now severely threatened by the climate crisis.

Climate change is already impacting access to water and food, exacerbating extreme weather, droughts and disasters, all of which is fostering more hunger, thirst, disease and displacement. The climate crisis facing the planet today has already caused irreversible damage to many ecosystems; these impacts will only become more severe, intensifying social and economical conflicts.

The reality is that not only is climate change threatening lives and livelihoods, but the false solutions to what is called as the energy and development crisis is also making communities more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Friends of the Earth International member groups are supporting communities to resist false solutions to climate change including oil and gas pipelines, coal mines, uranium extraction, large hydro, agrofuel plantations, and carbon offset projects such as monoculture tree plantations.

Friends of the Earth International believes that a diverse and effective global movement is necessary to stop climate change and ensure climate and energy justice. Linking communities to share experience and build a political identity of affected communities is an essential element of this goal. To do this Friends of the Earth International is committed to provide public and political spaces for affected peoples to share their experiences and demand climate justice for their communities. Friends of the Earth International is also committed to supporting affected communities secure their rights through legal means.

climate litigation

The Climate Justice Programme is an international and collaborative project that encourages enforcement of the law to combat climate change and to right associated human rights injustices. Climate liability and litigation is an increasingly common campaign tool to enforce the law to combat climate change. The Climate Justice Programme is directed by Peter Roderick and Roda Verheyen, under the auspices of Friends of the Earth International. More information

snapshots of grassroots affected peoples campaigning from across the friends of the earth international federation:

australia: climate justice for pacific islanders - recognition of rights of climate refugees

The Pacific Region will be one of the worst affected by climate change due to their extreme geographic vulnerability. In November 2005, the 1000 residents of the Carteret atolls in the Pacific became the first people in the world to be officially evacuated due to climate change. Starting as soon as money is available to the Papuan New Guinean regional government, 10 families at a time will be moved to Bougainville, a larger island 62 miles away. Friends of the Earth Australia is activity campaigning for the culturally-sensitive relocation of Carteret Islanders, financed by regional historical polluters such as the Australian government.

malaysia: mangrove restoration for fisherfolk livelihood protection

SAM/Friends of the Earth Malaysia has a long-standing collaboration with fisherfolk in Penang working with them to protect marine areas and ensure their livelihoods. The impacts of climate change on marine resources and increase in extreme weather events has lead SAM to take practical action to support local Penang communities in mangrove restoration as well as undertake an education and awareness raising campaign on climate change causes and it´s projected impacts.

haiti: building resilience to water shortages and supporting food sovereignty

Haiti Survive/Friends of the Earth Haiti has been working on training and research on climate change impacts for a number of years and from this has been able to identify adaptation actions to help communities cope with the effects of climate changes. A priority project that Haiti Survive is currently implementing is a community rainwater harvesting adaptation project to collect and store water for the dry season. This project is reinforcing food sovereingty activities in the local communities, increasing their resiliance to impacts of climate change on food systems.

swaziland: education and resistance to vulnerability

Yonge Nawe/Friends of the Earth Swaziland runs a creative education and popular communication campaign to provide rural and urban communities in Swaziland with information about climate change and impacts. Yonge Nawe is also actively campaigning against inequitable development that threatens the resilience of those vulnerable to climate risks, such as timber plantations and processing plants that dry up the water resources of communities and the effluent has polluted the remaining rivers – destroying fisheries and increasing water stress.

´voices of the peoples affected by climate change´

Friends of the Earth International produced a testimonial publication with 9 case studies from communities from across the world documenting the way in which climate change is impacting on their lives and the resilience of communities to protect themselves from these impacts through co-operation and organisation. Download the publication in english, french and spanish.