KawemhakanWayana villagers in Suriname hold no legal title to their land.
Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project counted 25,000 hectares lost to mining on the French Guiana border from 2021 to 2024.
Miners outnumber Wayana residents, and the capital sometimes grants concessions without consulting Chief Ipomadi Toko Pelenapïn.
“I would like to stop the situation because they destroy our area,” said Marciano Pelenapïn, the chief’s son.
The Mulokot Foundation is helping the Wayana map their ancestral territory.
How each outlet framed it
- Mongabay leans critical
- emphasises Wayana land rights: no official land title, mercury contamination, and the Mulokot Foundation's mapping of ancestral territory
Sources: Mongabay