Interview Series: Tina Lain (Forgotten Parks/Upemba National Park)

by fairfrontiersInterviewPosted on Comments are Disabled

Tina Lain is currently the Director and Site Manager at Upemba National Park, which is located in the southern part of DR Congo. She has worked in DRC for over 15 years, collaborating with conservation initiatives and local civil society organizations that focus on communities and conflict resolution. How do you see the frontiers? What does it mean to you?First, I always see the frontiers as a whole landscape, and not just the park. The frontiers are where the last habitats for wildlife are still intact, and ecosystems are still functioning. I also see, very visibly, that “development” is closing in towards these frontiers at a rapid pace. Every week, …

Read more “Interview Series: Tina Lain (Forgotten Parks/Upemba National Park)”

Interview series: Anne Lasimbang (PACOS Trust)

by fairfrontiersInterviewPosted on Comments are Disabled

Since learning about social issues as a university student, Anne Lasimbang has been involved in community organising for more than thirty years. These activities eventually led to the formation of PACOS Trust. As founder and head of PACOS Trust, Anne was invited to speak at the 2024 RIHN International Symposium to talk about the organisation’s involvement with indigenous communities in Sabah. How did you become involved in what you are doing today? I first started through student movements when I was in university. At university, you have the opportunity to learn about social issues and injustices, especially those in rural areas. The movement made me became more aware of issues …

Read more “Interview series: Anne Lasimbang (PACOS Trust)”

Interview series: Aristide Chacgom (Green Development Advocates)

by fairfrontiersInterviewPosted on Comments are Disabled

Since 2009, Green Development Advocates (GDA) has been advocating for local community and indigenous people’s rights in Southwest Cameroon, where the development of large-scale plantations as well as a conservation area have created various environmental and socio-economic pressures on these communities. During the project’s annual meeting in January 2023, we interviewed GDA’s coordinator, Aristide Chacgom. How did you get involved in GDA? I am an environmental lawyer and joined GDA after graduating from school, and I have been coordinating the activities in GDA since 2015…so that means it has been more than six years! What does GDA do? Beside advocacy work for local communities, we support them by introducing them …

Read more “Interview series: Aristide Chacgom (Green Development Advocates)”