CDWD have a unique, and yet varied, relationship to the land;

victims of forced labor and slavery, the land has often been the site of their oppression. They have been forced to work upon it as laborers, growing crops on soil that they have been denied any right to. On the other hand, it has, for some, been a site of liberation, as they have attempted to claim ownership over territories that can sustain them and allow them to form strong communities with some degree of independence from the dominant social groups. In any scenario, CDWD are uniquely dependent on the land for survival – they live in intimate relationship to it, and any changes it undergoes will inevitably change them. As such, they are uniquely vulnerable to the environmental destruction our world is witnessing. Yet, they have been denied the right of access to land as well as the support and safety nets that would ensure their survival.
If true progress towards SDG 15 is to be made, then CDWD must be made a priority within policymaking.

CDWD’s Unique Relationship to Land

The land that CDWD live and depend upon has experienced horrific degradation over recent years, degradation that shows every sign of worsening as the effects of climate change continue, practically unabated. It must be acknowledged, however, that the circumstances which have led to CDWD’s unique vulnerability to environmental degradation is not merely an accident of history. Rather, it the result of policy decisions and cultural biases that has segregated them to the most unlivable land and has treated the land that they live on – and the people who live upon it — as less worthy of protection than other spaces.

While the specific manifestations of this discrimination varies, it is a shared experience of all CDWD across the world. The Haratin of Mauritania are forced to work as slaves upon the land and are suffering from malnutrition as a result of desertification of the soil. Families, forced to devote all their time and resources to providing for themselves and adapting to the change environment, can no longer to afford educations for their children. The Roma in Europe face eviction and have been forced to live in ramshackle shelters on rubbish dumps, where they scavenge for plastics and metals to sell. They get sick from the pollution and harmful gases that permeate their homes, and yet are denied access to basic healthcare. The Dalits of South Asia, who primarily work as agricultural laborers on land that they are denied ownership of, have seen their livelihoods threatened by climate change. In Maharashtra, droughts have left them without food or access to water, and yet they have been denied access to community water wells, forcing women to walk long distances to fetch water, enduring harassment and other forms of gender- based violence in the process. In Bangladesh, meanwhile, flooding from increasingly frequent storms has resulted in salination of the soil, making cultivation of crops which Dalits have relied upon for generations impossible. In a clear demonstration of the cruelty that underlies much of public planning in response to climate change, community storm shelters are often built away from Dalit communities, thus leaving their very lives at risk as a result of climate change.

These many examples strike home the reality that policymakers must confront as they pursue a more sustainable future. Creating a sustainable world for everybody is not merely a matter of finding innovative new technologies, investing in environmental renewal programs, or decreasing carbon footprints. It is equally necessary to enact policies that specifically target discrimination against CDWD and empower them to help create and share in our collective sustainable future.

Perhaps no case more aptly demonstrates the need to incorporate CDWD voices into the decision-making process surrounding sustainability than that of Brazil’s Quilombo community. Unlike the majority of CDWD, the Quilombo have, after centuries of struggle, established territories for themselves that are legally protected by Brazil’s constitution. These territories are often in the Amazon or other relatively undeveloped spaces and have been managed by the Quilombo with traditional agricultural practices that are sustainable and holistic. They view themselves as caretakers of the land they live on and undertake this role with a great sense of responsibility.

In recent years, however, the legal protections that are meant to guarantee Quilombo the right to their land have been ignored and trampled upon as hundreds of large industrial projects, such as roads, railways, and mines, have been constructed in their territories. These projects have resulted in environmental degradation, causing deforestation and erosion, and have led to the displacement of many Quilombo families who have had to migrate to the outskirts of urban centers, where they live in poverty and face daily abuse and discrimination.