Indigenous Leader, Tashka Yawanawá, To Speak At 12th World Wilderness Congress In August

The organizers and hosts of the 12th World Wilderness Congress are excited to announce that Tashka Yawanawá will speak at the Congress on Monday, August 26th!

Tashka Yawanawá has been leading the Yawanawá People for nearly twenty years.

During his leadership, the community has grown significantly. The population has quadrupled to around 1,600 members, spread across several villages, with Novo Esperanza (New Hope) as the central unifying location.

Additionally, the Yawanawá territory has doubled, now covering 187,000 hectares of protected rainforest, roughly half the size of Rhode Island. Together with his wife, Laura Soriano, Tashka developed a unique Yawanawá Life Plan to strengthen their culture, promote sustainability, and safeguard their forest from the increasing threats of illegal logging, mining, and ranching.

The 12th World Wilderness Congress (WILD12) is a global forum to coordinate and mobilize the protection of Earth’s remaining wilderness and wild places. It convenes thousands of delegates from around the world approximately every 4 years to seek and agree upon new actions and principles in the stewardship of Earth. WILD12 is hosted by the Oceti Sakowin on behalf of the Sicangu Lakota Treaty Council, and will place a special emphasis on reinterpreting wilderness through Indigenous perspectives.

To register for WILD12, please visit the link below.