Without strong conservation action, nearly half of the world’s remaining uncontacted Indigenous groups could vanish within the next decade. This alarming warning comes from a report released on October 27 by the nonprofit advocacy organization Survival International.
The report identifies at least 196 uncontacted Indigenous groups across 10 countries—most of them located in the Amazon region of South America. It estimates that nearly 65% of these groups are threatened by logging, around 40% by mining, and approximately 20% by agribusiness.
Indigenous peoples are distinct social and cultural groups that share ancestral ties to the lands they live, or once lived, on. Throughout history, from the Americas to Asia, they have been marginalized and denied their right to control their land and their own development, which is something that still happens to this day. But even facing so much adversity, Indigenous peoples around the world still fight for their rights and recognition.
Want to know more about their extraordinarily diverse cultures? Then click through the gallery.