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E-Sak Ka Ou Declaration underscores Indigenous rights as a conservation solution (commentary)

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It was a sunny day in Koh Lanta, an island known for tourism in Krabi Province, Thailand. Surrounding us were calming shades of blue and green, a white sandy beach with endless coconut trees and a salty breeze that ruffled the crystal-clear waters. But for the first time, I was here not as a tourist but to visit what turned out to be E-Sak Ka Ou. I was here to attend the Regional Conference on Indigenous People’s Rights, Biodiversity and Climate Change, convened by the Asia Indigenous Peoples’ Pact (AIPP) last November, a few weeks before COP28. E-Sak Ka Ou means the gill of the manta ray. It is also the name given to the land on the southernmost tip of Lanta Island by the ancestors of the Urak Lawoi when they first settled there. Urak Lawoi – meaning “people of the sea” – is one of the three sea-based Indigenous groups, besides the Moklen and Moken, in the Andaman Sea. Mr. Kittisak Rattanakrajangsri, Chair of Asia Indigenous Peoples’ Pact, facilitating a recent group discussion of the declaration. Image courtesy of Lakpa Nuri/AIPP. The Urak Lawoi are finding it increasingly difficult to maintain their nomadic sea life and traditional ways of living. This is due to the impacts of a national marine park, competition with commercial trawler fisheries, and the expansion of tourism to the smaller islands. Pointing at a long-tailed, wooden boat that was lying unused, a local community person said that this traditional vehicle can no longer be…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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