On June 21st, major international artists will join in solidarity with indigenous peoples for a livestream concert to raise awareness and support for indigenous forest guardians under extreme threat from the coronavirus. Participating artists including Sting, Gilberto Gil, Caetano, Veloso, Milton Nascimento, Cafe Tacuba, Carlinhos Brown, Aurora, Jorge Drexler, Ana Vitoria, Manu Gavassi, Anitta, Sandy, Maná, Seu Jorge, Manu Chao, Gaby Amarantos, Tony Garrido and Maria Gadú . They will be joined by indigenous leaders, environmental defenders and others.
All net proceeds from the event will go directly towards the COVID-19 relief effort in rainforest areas and on projects and advocacy to support indigenous and local communities in their efforts to protect their environment.
Background: With destruction of tropical rainforests a key driver of global emissions, biodiversity loss and increasingly linked to disease outbreaks, protecting these forests is more critical than ever. The evidence is building that the best way to achieve this is to empower indigenous peoples and other forest guardians to secure, manage and protect their rainforest home.
Indigenous peoples are particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus due to lower immunity to diseases and lack of access to adequate health care. But while the world is looking elsewhere, many areas are witnessing a surge of forest destruction and land invasions from illegal miners and loggers – further exposing local communities to the virus and exacerbating the climate crisis.
To raise awareness of the challenges that indigenous peoples and the planet’s rainforests are facing, renowned names of national and international music scenes are uniting for the global livestream event, SOS Rainforest LIVE organized by Rainforest Foundation Norway, UK and the US.
Suzanne Pelletier, Executive Director of Rainforest Foundation US, said “Indigenous peoples are among the most vulnerable to the novel coronavirus due to their greater susceptibility to respiratory and viral diseases and poor access to adequate medical facilities. Yet they are the ones protecting the ecosystems that safeguard the world from the rise of major pandemics in the first place. We must join together to support Indigenous peoples now.”
The livestream will be broadcast on YouTube and other platforms in Brazil and around the world: 15h New York City, 16h São Paulo, 20h London and 21h Oslo.
More info HERE
