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Methane bubbles popping on the river’s surface, sewage clogged pipes, and the smell of faeces lingering in the air. These scenes are everyday realities for residents of Emfuleni – a municipality southwest of Johannesburg, South Africa – as the breakdown of the area’s pipes, pumps and wastewater treatment plants causes sewage to overflow into one of South Africa’s largest rivers, resulting in water and air contamination. (…)

Stella Gama is a climate diplomat and gender advocate at the UN Climate talks. She helped create a gender action plan as part of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). (…)

The Mapuche people comprise the largest indigenous group in Chile. In their native language, Mapuche means ‘people of the land’, and they consider forests, rivers, and animals as their brothers. (…)

Sacred Rainforest – Te Urewera is one of the most isolated and largest rainforests in New Zealand. (…)

Titus Onesmus is a climate change activist from Tanzania dedicated to advocate for renewable energy adoption. (…)

‘The Black Line’: OGT  is an indigenous organization gathering different indigenous communities living in a shared territory in the ‘Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta’, Colombia. It represents the Kogui, Arahuaco, Wiwa, Malayo, and Kankuamo communities. (…)

Omot Agwa Okwoy is a church leader in Ethiopia’s Gambela region and a human rights defender who works to promote the rights of indigenous peoples and people living in the Gambela region. (…)

‘Defensores Ambientales del Río Marañón’: The Marañón River is one of the most important water sources in Peru and a key Amazon tributary. In late April 2011, former Peruvian President Alan Garcia declared that the construction of 20 dams on the Marañón River was “in the national interest.” (…)

Virunga National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Situated in a region which has been deeply impacted by the effects of war and armed conflict for over 20 years, Virunga is protected by the more than 700 Park Rangers team. These local men and women go through intensive training, risking their lives in a daily basis to safeguard the park´s wildlife. (…)

Pedro Uc Be is a Mayan land rights defender, writer, translator, teacher, and promoter of Mayan culture and the protector of its land. (…)