I met Anil at a Jesuit conference that was held just before the World Social Forum this year in Belem in Brazil. Anil is an Amerindian and lives in the savannah area of Guyana, above the rainforest. I talked to him about his life, his traditions, the way Guyana is changing and his fears for the future. What this podcast shows is that conservation can sometimes seem exclusive and anti-people. But unless we learn to live together, people and nature side by side, then something or someone will lose out (see my fox blogs!) Of course we have to protect rainforest, but we also have to protect the native peoples who have lived there for generations and who have invaluable knowledge that we can't learn through books. I'll soon have another podcast which is a follow up conversation I had with an English Jesuit priest who lives with the Amerindians, you can hear his thoughts on his role as a Catholic priest in this fast changing world. His thoughts on faith and the future are insightful and timely.
A huge and big thank you to James Broscombe for really wonderful photos, the latest is the one above. His blogspot: - 2009 - A Picture a Day - well worth looking at.
Thanks very much also to ARC (Alliance of Religions and Conservation) who sent me to Brazil for the Jesuit conference.
