Later this month, the Grimaldi Forum will welcome the public to a free screening of the Brazil episode of the ‘Gardiens de la Forêt’ documentary series that will be followed by a conference featuring the stories and experiences of indigenous activists.
The world’s forests are in dire need of preservation. Experts estimate that, at the current rate of deforestation, rainforests will cease to exist by 2100. Already the planet loses 26 million hectares of forest each year, and it is believed that 42 million trees are chopped down each and every day globally.
A new documentary series co-produced by Arte France and Lato Sensu Productions called ‘Gardiens de la Forêt’, or ‘Guardians of the Forest’ in English, explores the state of the world’s woodlands as well as the damaging impacts our collective ‘consumption’ of forests is having on the indigenous people who live and work in these precarious regions.
Deforestation a threat to the “ecological balance of Earth”
The series has been filmed through the eyes of five leaders from Amazonia, West Africa, Oceania, Central Asia and North America, and they lend their voices to a mission of raising awareness on how these vital and biodiverse ecosystems, which are crucial to planetary health, are being degraded and destroyed on a daily basis.
These “vital ambassadors” express the burdens placed on their communities by the loss of the forests, and also hit home with strong messages on how this loss also affects the planet as a whole, urging the public to “recognise their rights and their role as bulwarks against the destruction of forests, which threatens the ecological balance of the Earth”.
About the Monaco screening
On 21st November at 7pm, Monaco’s Grimaldi Forum will be hosting a screening of one episode from the landmark series, Brazil: Replanting the Amazon, which will be shown for free.
After the show, there will be a roundtable discussion with the series’ producer Muriel Barra and indigenous leaders including Hilarion Kassa Moussavou Mambongo from Gabon, Benki Piyako from Brazil, Canada’s Twyla Edgi Masuzumi, Mundiya Kepanga from Papua New Guinea and Tumursukh Jal from Mongolia.
For tickets to this important event, click here.
The Forests and Communities Initiative
The event ties in with the Forests and Communities Initiative championed by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law, the International Ranger Federation, the Global Forest Coalition and the International Indigenous Forum on Environmental Biodiversity since 2022.
The shared goal of these associations and organisations is to back the preservation of the forests by connecting local communities and native people with the scientists and decision-makers who can help realise conservation and reforestation projects.
The Initiative’s work takes place in the Congo Basin, the Amazon, South and Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.
Make sure you’re never left out of the conversation. Sign up for the Monaco Life newsletter, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Main photo source: Jessica Anderson, Unsplash
