Support Our 25 in '25 Campaign
Equip Indigenous Peoples to Defend the Forest Before It’s Too Late
Every day, over 75,000 hectares of forest are destroyed. Indigenous Peoples - who protect the world’s biodiversity - are displaced, threatened, and silenced.
Help put cameras, maps, and evidence in their hands.
25 in '25: The Campaign Explained
In the absence of formal land titles, Indigenous peoples' ancestral territories are left vulnerable to exploitation by industries seeking access to forests, minerals, and other natural resources. These communities, who have served for generations as protectors of some of the world’s most fragile ecosystems, are often left without legal grounds to defend their lands from deforestation, extractive projects, and land grabbing.
That’s why People’s Planet Project exists: to equip Indigenous communities with the tools they need to protect what is theirs. Through filmmaking, geospatial mapping, and legal training, we help put powerful instruments, like cameras, maps, and evidence, directly into their hands. By doing so, we support their struggle for justice and land recognition, and work toward a future where Indigenous peoples have the agency to halt environmental destruction and reclaim stewardship of their territories.
We Need Your Support Now!
Through our 25 in '25 campaign, we aim to raise €25,000 in 2025 to equip Indigenous communities with the tools and training they need to defend their lands. Your contribution will help provide cameras, mapping tools, and hands-on training so that local community members can document land rights violations and environmental destruction. With these skills, they can produce powerful visual evidence to be used in legal proceedings - turning stories of injustice into action that protects forests and territories under threat.
Choose Your Contribution
€50 - Capture the Frontline
Supports the purchase of camera accessories like batteries and memory cards - vital for uninterrupted documentation.
€250 - Train a Storyteller
Funds a full-day workshop for one Indigenous youth, combining filmmaking, mapping, and rights-based training.
€25 - Equip a Voice
Helps provide basic audio gear like a mic or windscreen, ensuring Indigenous storytellers are heard loud and clear.
€100 - Map to Protect
Covers training materials and access to mapping software so communities can map their territories and log violations.
€500 - Power Legal Action
Supports expert guidance in legal strategy, transforming stories and maps into evidence that protects land rights in court.
Support Our Upcoming Engagement: The Yanomami People
The Yanomami Indigenous Territory, spanning over 9.6 million hectares in Brazil's Amazon, stands as one of the world's most significant forested Indigenous regions. Historically, the Yanomami have faced numerous challenges, including invasions by illegal miners, leading to environmental degradation and health crises.
In recent years, the Brazilian government has intensified efforts to combat illegal mining activities. Notably, between March and August 2024, illegal mining in the Yanomami territory decreased by 91.6% compared to the same period in 2022. This progress is attributed to coordinated operations involving agencies like IBAMA (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources), which have been instrumental in supporting Indigenous communities in reclaiming their lands.
Building on this momentum, our initiative aims to equip the Yanomami with the tools and skills necessary to monitor and protect their territory proactively.
By integrating filmmaking and geospatial mapping, the project seeks to empower the community to document environmental threats and collaborate effectively with governmental agencies.Through this program, we aim to combine cutting-edge technology, community-led storytelling, and legal collaboration to monitor and preserve 2 million hectares of forestland - an area already cleared of illegal miners through recent efforts - and to lay the groundwork for the protection of the remaining 7 million hectares of Yanomami territory.
Evidence of Success
Recently, several Indigenous communities have won court cases regarding their rights and successfully protected their forest territories from land invaders. For example, the Sejotang and Subah communities from Indonesia used drone footage as legal evidence in a Constitutional Court trial to demonstrate that mineral and coal mining companies weren’t complying with free, prior, and informed consent.
Another successful example is the case of the Ogiek community from Kenya who won a court case in 2017 and was marked as the first time storytelling was accepted in court. The government was cutting down the forest and selling it in the name of ‘conservation’. The community used storytelling to prove that the Ogiek community relies upon these territories for food, shelter, identity, and their very survival, and that the Ogiek people have a conservation role, thereby helping to mitigate climate change.
Watch Our Work in Action:
Our Grandparents Hunted Here
Watch how Indigenous land defenders use drones to protect the Amazon rainforest from transition into an open savannah.
By renting this film, you’re directly supporting Indigenous land defenders with the tools and training they need to protect the rainforest.