{"id":684368,"date":"2025-08-10T22:25:16","date_gmt":"2025-08-10T19:25:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/indigenous-communities-plead-for-action-at-plastic-pollution-talks\/"},"modified":"2025-08-10T22:25:16","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T19:25:16","slug":"indigenous-communities-plead-for-action-at-plastic-pollution-talks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/indigenous-communities-plead-for-action-at-plastic-pollution-talks\/","title":{"rendered":"Indigenous communities plead for action at plastic pollution talks"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a26935ed95e2\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a26935ed95e2\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/indigenous-communities-plead-for-action-at-plastic-pollution-talks\/#%E2%80%98We_carry_knowledge\" >&#8216;We carry knowledge&#8217;<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/indigenous-communities-plead-for-action-at-plastic-pollution-talks\/#Car_tires_and_salmon\" >Car tires and salmon<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/indigenous-communities-plead-for-action-at-plastic-pollution-talks\/#%E2%80%98If_animals_die_we_die\" >&#8216;If animals die, we die&#8217;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2025\/delegates-are-meeting.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2025\/delegates-are-meeting.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Delegates are meeting in the main assembly hall at the UN Palais des Nations in Geneva.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img\">\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2025\/delegates-are-meeting.jpg\" alt=\"Delegates are meeting in the main assembly hall at the UN Palais des Nations in Geneva\" title=\"Delegates are meeting in the main assembly hall at the UN Palais des Nations in Geneva.\" width=\"800\" height=\"530\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up text-truncate-js text-truncate mt-3\">\n                Delegates are meeting in the main assembly hall at the UN Palais des Nations in Geneva.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Indigenous communities from North America are at talks on a global treaty on plastic pollution in Geneva, pleading the case for the environment they depend upon, which is slowly being choked by microplastics.<\/p>\n<p>In the grounds of the United Nations headquarters, overlooking Lake Geneva and the Alps beyond, a chant suddenly drifted through the humid summer air: a &#8220;water song.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Standing barefoot in a circle, six women and a young man from multiple North American Indigenous communities decided to do a spontaneous purification ritual.<\/p>\n<p>A melancholic second chant follows, dedicated to the well-being &#8220;until the seventh generation&#8221; of &#8220;all the delegates&#8221; from the 184 countries attempting to thrash out what would be the first international treaty on tackling the worldwide ever-growing scourge of plastic pollution.<\/p>\n<p>The UN-hosted talks, which began last Tuesday, resume on Monday for four more days, with oil-producing states and the so-called ambitious group of nations still far apart on what the treaty should encompass.<\/p>\n<p>The young man in the middle of the circle, wearing a hat with two feathers attached, hands each of the six women a bowl containing burning seal fat and plant powders.<\/p>\n<p>With both hands, Suzanne Smoke, from the Williams Treaties First Nations in Ontario, Canada, moved as if to catch the rising smoke, rubbing it on her face and body.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2025\/countries-are-trying-t.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2025\/countries-are-trying-t.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Countries are trying to negotiate a groundbreaking international treaty on combating plastic pollution.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2025\/countries-are-trying-t.jpg\" alt=\"Countries are trying to negotiate a groundbreaking international treaty on combating plastic pollution\" title=\"Countries are trying to negotiate a groundbreaking international treaty on combating plastic pollution.\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-truncate text-low-up mt-3\">\n                Countries are trying to negotiate a groundbreaking international treaty on combating plastic pollution.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%98We_carry_knowledge\"><\/span>&#8216;We carry knowledge&#8217;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Panganga Pungowiyi, an activist with the Indigenous Environmental Network, was also in the circle. She comes from Alaska, near the Bering Strait.<\/p>\n<p>She is asking negotiators to craft a plastic pollution treaty that ensures justice, particularly for the most vulnerable communities, she told AFP.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We carry knowledge; it&#8217;s our responsibility &#8212; our duty &#8212; to share the information given to us by the ecosystems,&#8221; Pungowiyi said, explaining her presence at the talks.<\/p>\n<p>Alaska is affected by toxic chemicals, some of which come from plastic or from oil exploration.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Toxic products <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a> to the north, through ocean currents and air currents,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p>Henri Bourgeois Costa, an environmental and plastic pollution expert at the Tara Ocean Foundation, explained Alaska&#8217;s predicament.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Given the functioning of the major ecosystem cycles, Alaskan populations are already the most affected by mercury and PCB (polychlorinated biphenyl) pollution &#8212; industrial heavy metals now banned in developed countries &#8212; even though Alaska doesn&#8217;t use them,&#8221; he told AFP.<\/p>\n<p>The currents, which brought plenty of nutrients and schools of fish to the northwestern US state&#8217;s residents, are now also bringing vast quantities of microplastics, he said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2025\/global-plastic-product.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2025\/global-plastic-product.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Global plastic production in one year.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2025\/global-plastic-product.jpg\" alt=\"Global plastic production in one year\" title=\"Global plastic production in one year.\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-truncate text-low-up mt-3\">\n                Global plastic production in one year.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Car_tires_and_salmon\"><\/span>Car tires and salmon<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A 2020 study from Washington State University demonstrated that a chemical additive used in the manufacture of car tires, 6PPD, had &#8220;deleterious effects on the reproduction of salmon,&#8221; one of the most widespread fish in Alaska, Bourgeois Costa said.<\/p>\n<p>A compound derived from 6PPD &#8212; a preservative used to slow tire degradation &#8212; comes off the rubber onto the roads, and gets into the water cycle, the study showed.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;No more fish &#8212; no more seals: no more food,&#8221; Pungowiyi said.<\/p>\n<p>People can see the diseases suffered by birds and mammals in the surrounding environment, which ultimately go on to affect their own children, she said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are exposed through food, water and forages, because we forage for our food,&#8221; said Pungowiyi.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%98If_animals_die_we_die\"><\/span>&#8216;If animals die, we die&#8217;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Aakaluk Adrienne Blatchford, an activist from a small Alaskan village, who came to the Geneva talks with financial support from an association, put it bluntly: &#8220;If animals die, we die.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2025\/the-chugach-mountains.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2025\/the-chugach-mountains.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"The Chugach Mountains and Alaska's biggest city Anchorage seen from across the waters of the Knik Arm.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2025\/the-chugach-mountains.jpg\" alt=\"The Chugach Mountains and Alaska's biggest city Anchorage seen from across the waters of the Knik Arm\" title=\"The Chugach Mountains and Alaska's biggest city Anchorage seen from across the waters of the Knik Arm.\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-truncate text-low-up mt-3\">\n                The Chugach Mountains and Alaska&#8217;s biggest city Anchorage seen from across the waters of the Knik Arm.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>She spoke at a conference staged on the sidelines of the negotiations, which are struggling to find a consensus that would stop the amount of plastic pollution from growing.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We rely on unhealthy products,&#8221; Blatchford said, adding: &#8220;It&#8217;s becoming harder and harder to maintain our food security.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>And &#8220;there is no alternative,&#8221; she added, with prices as high as &#8220;$76 for an imported frozen chicken&#8221; at the supermarket.<\/p>\n<p>This is a trap for economically fragile populations living in &#8220;a symbiotic relationship with the world,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We need a collective decision on how to handle this crisis,&#8221; she insisted, hoping that the treaty will include a list of banned chemical additives.<\/p>\n<p>The plastics treaty talks are being held inside the UN&#8217;s Palais des Nations complex.<\/p>\n<p>During the ritual, held beneath a tree in the grounds outside, Blatchford stood with her eyes closed, tears rolling down her face.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-main__note mt-4\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \u00a9 2025 AFP\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- print only --><\/p>\n<div class=\"d-none d-print-block\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Citation<\/strong>:<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIndigenous communities plead for action at plastic pollution talks (2025, August 10)<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tretrieved 10 August 2025<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfrom https:\/\/phys.org\/<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>\/2025-08-indigenous-communities-action-plastic-pollution.html\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t This document is subject to copyright. 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Indigenous communities from North America are at talks on a global treaty on plastic pollution in Geneva, pleading the case for the environment they depend upon, which is slowly being choked by microplastics. In the grounds of the United&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":684369,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2025\/delegates-are-meeting.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-684368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sciencee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=684368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684368\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/684369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=684368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=684368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=684368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}