Relief efforts by the Council of World Elders
Forest Fires in Turkey – Karin Tag's Aid Project
Karin Tag's Charity Project in Turkey
‘Help for Nepal’ Campaign by Karin Tag (earthquake relief)
‘Building Bridges to Help Children in Africa’ Karin Tag’s Project in Ghana
Campaign: ‘Save the Guarani Indigenous People’
Campaign: ‘Help Australia's Indigenous People’
Campaign: ‘Save Peru’s (Uncontacted) Indigenous Peoples’
Campaign: Support of the UN Convention on the Protection of Indigenous Peoples
Mongolia Project: ‘Planting 1 Million Trees’
Campaign: ‘Help the Terena Indigenous People’
The wildfires in Greece and Turkey, as well as those in other countries, are having devastating consequences for the families directly affected. The Earth is changing and renewing itself. Our compassion and our drive to take action at every level are vital building blocks for a shift towards positivity and the healing of the Earth.
For those directly affected, it has cost them their livelihoods. The photo shows 86-year-old Ümmügülsüm Gülcelik sitting in front of the ruins of her house, having lost everything – not only her home, but also the vegetable garden from which she and her family had previously made their living. Karin Tag is on the ground in Turkey herself and is helping wherever she can. Through this relief effort, the Council of World Elders aims to provide concrete help to this family. Whilst many more people need help, here on the ground we can personally ensure that donations reach their intended recipients and are used effectively.
This initiative symbolises our compassion for all those affected worldwide!
We are grateful for any support!
Please contact Karin Tag at [email protected]
Karin Tag's Charity Project in Turkey
Karin Tag Charity Project in Turkey in the Summer of 2015
This Turkish family lives in very poor conditions. They do not have a house but live in shacks made of plastic tarps. Karin Tag has been providing this family with basic necessities for years—clothing, food, and toys for the children. Karin Tag is buying the Turkish family a mobile home to improve their living situation and give the children a better life. The seller transports the house to the family's property. A septic tank is dug for the toilet and wastewater. The house is delivered. The house is in place!
Aid for Nepal by Karin Tag
Immediately after the first earthquake, Karin Tag assembled a team of local volunteers who proactively and independently provided rapid, unbureaucratic relief using the simplest of means.
After an earthquake of horrendous magnitude in Nepal at the end of April 2015, followed by strong aftershocks, living conditions have become unbearable for the population of Nepal. Most houses have been destroyed, the ones left over badly damaged, threatened to collapse. People are living in the open, some share tends to find provisory shelter from the monsoon which regularly covers the country in June with flooding rains. A vast majority of the people has lost everything, they desperately need tends, blankets, food and drinking water.
Immediately after the first earthquake Karin Tag has set up a local team to help actively and independently in available unbureaucratic ways. From money Karin Tag donated, the team of helpers from Kathmandu buys what is needed in Nepal to be dispersed among the needy: tends, tarpaulins, rice, corn, pasta, salt, oil, and drinking water.
Used water for sanitary needs is scarce in the camps of Kathmandu thus worsening even further existing health problems. Karin Tag helped the camps set up by the local people themselves which were in dire needs by supplying water tanks with fresh and used water.
Much help is still needed, however. Too many people have to share a tend, causing heart diseases, insomnia, colds, etc.
‘Building Bridges to Help Children in Africa’ Karin Tag’s Project in Ghana
Karin Tag is building a bridge in Hohoe, Ghana, to provide humanitarian aid to the children of Africa.
Karin Tag is building a bridge in Hohoe, Ghana, to provide humanitarian aid to the children of Africa.
In collaboration with His Majesty King Chepás Bansah, the King of Hohoe Gbi Traditional Ghana, a bridge is being built here to enable the village of Kpoeta to be supplied with medicines and essential goods. As the river there swells into a raging torrent several times a year and dangerous animals live in the water, the bridge is vital for safe crossing. The bridge is particularly important for the children of Hohoe, as it ensures a safer and shorter journey to school. Karin Tag is funding this project from her own budget. The first images documenting the bridge construction this month mark the start of this major project.
Further projects are planned here, such as a well for clean drinking water.
Campaign: ‘Save the Guarani Indigenous People’
A humanitarian crisis in the heart of Brazil
For the Guarani-Kaiowá, the land is the source of all life. But violent ranchers have ravaged the Guarani’s territory and seized almost everything. Their children are dying and their leaders are being shot. Hundreds of Guarani have taken their own lives.
Who are the Guarani-Kaiowá?
The Guarani-Kaiowá are one of Brazil’s largest indigenous peoples. Around 45,000 people live in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul in the south-west of the country – in an area that their ancestors have inhabited for centuries. Their land once stretched across large parts of this region. Today, they are crammed into tiny reserves, whilst all around them sugar cane and soya fields owned by large landowners are being cultivated. The bare figures show what this means for the people: in the Dourados reserve, over 15,000 people live on just 3,500 hectares – that is less than a quarter of a hectare per person. By way of comparison: an average farm in Germany covers around 65 hectares.
Living on the brink of survival
On this barren patch of land, no one can practise agriculture on a scale that feeds a family. The consequences are dramatic. An independent study conducted by the Federal University of Grande Dourados in 2023 found, across five Guarani-Kaiowá communities, that 77 per cent of households suffer from food insecurity – meaning they regularly do not have enough to eat. A third of families (33.6 per cent) are unable to feed their children adequately. According to FUNAI, the state indigenous affairs agency, 80 per cent of children under the age of five in particularly affected territories suffer from severe malnutrition.
Those who do not starve to death are poisoned by contaminated water: 60 per cent of water samples from Guarani-Kaiowá communities show alarming levels of pesticide residues – carried in by the agrochemicals used on the surrounding large-scale farms. Cancer and respiratory diseases have become widespread in these communities.
The highest suicide rate in the world
The worst aspect, however, is the psychological devastation. No other people in the world take their own lives in such large numbers as the Guarani-Kaiowá. The suicide rate is 34 times the Brazilian national average – and is considered one of the highest ever documented for any population group. Between 2000 and 2019, 834 indigenous suicides were recorded in Mato Grosso do Sul alone; that is 63.7 per cent of all indigenous suicides in the whole of Brazil. Young people aged between 15 and 29 in particular are choosing death. Psychiatrists and anthropologists agree: the loss of land, culture and prospects is the main cause. Those who have no land have no identity, no future.
Violence instead of protection
Instead of protection, the Guarani-Kaiowá are increasingly subjected to brutal violence. When communities attempt to reclaim parts of their ancestral land – so-called ‘retomadas’ – they are attacked by armed men paid by large landowners. Between 2022 and 2024, 38 murders of Indigenous people were recorded in Mato Grosso do Sul.
In November 2025, an incident occurred that attracted global attention: around 20 heavily armed men attacked the Pyelito Kue Indigenous camp. They shot Vicente Fernandes Vilhalva, aged 36, in the head. Four other people were injured, and houses were set on fire. It was the fourth attack in this region within a matter of weeks. UN human rights experts publicly condemned the attack and called on Brazil to take action. The perpetrators remain at large to this day.
What the law says and what reality is
The Brazilian Constitution of 1988 expressly recognises the right of indigenous peoples to their ancestral lands. And in 2023, the indigenous movement achieved a historic victory: the Federal Supreme Court (STF) ruled, by 9 votes to 2, that the so-called ‘Marco Temporal’ doctrine was unconstitutional. This doctrine would have deprived indigenous peoples of their land rights if they could not prove they had been living on their land on the exact day the Constitution came into force, 5 October 1988 – an arbitrary cut-off date which, in practice, meant that anyone who had previously been displaced also lost their right to return. In January 2026, the court upheld this ruling and also struck down the parliamentary bill that sought to reintroduce the doctrine through the back door.
Under President Lula, new indigenous territories were officially demarcated for the first time since 2018 – including, at the UN Climate Summit COP30 in November 2025, territories affecting the Guarani-Kaiowá. These are important steps. However, over 240 indigenous territories across Brazil are still awaiting the completion of their recognition procedures, and for most Guarani-Kaiowá communities in Mato Grosso do Sul, nothing has changed in their daily reality.
A new threat: plans to amend the Constitution
In this very situation, in December 2025, the Brazilian Senate passed the so-called constitutional amendment proposal PEC 48 under an expedited procedure, by 52 votes to 14. This proposal aims to permanently enshrine the Marco Temporal – precisely the provision that the Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional – in the Constitution. Should the Chamber of Deputies also approve the amendment and President Lula sign it into law, the land rights of Brazil’s indigenous peoples would be almost irrevocably undermined. The leaders of Brazil’s largest indigenous organisations describe PEC 48 as the greatest threat to their existence in decades.
Why your letter matters
Brazil is not a failed state. It has functioning institutions, an independent judiciary and a government that, at least officially, is committed to the rights of indigenous peoples. This is precisely what makes external public pressure so effective: Brazilian politicians respond to international attention, particularly from Europe. Letter-writing campaigns such as this one have, in the past, demonstrably helped to halt evictions, trigger criminal prosecutions and influence political decisions.
The demands set out in the letter, reproduced below, are specific and legally grounded: the full demarcation of the claimed Guarani-Kaiowá territories, protection against armed attacks, and a ‘no’ to PEC 48. You don’t need a law degree or any special local knowledge to write this letter – it only takes a few minutes and a willingness to stand up for people who have been waiting to be heard for decades.
Wellington César Lima e Silva
Minister of Justice and Public Security
Esplanada dos Ministérios, Bloco T
Brasília – DF, CEP 70064-900
Brazil
[Date]
Subject: Urgent measures to protect the Guarani-Kaiowá in Mato Grosso do Sul
Dear Minister,
I am writing to you with great concern regarding the ongoing and worsening situation of the Guarani-Kaiowá in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul.
Despite positive steps taken by the Brazilian government – including the demarcation of some indigenous territories under the Lula administration, as well as the historic ruling by the Federal Supreme Court (STF) declaring the Marco Temporal unconstitutional in September 2023 and again in January 2026 – the humanitarian situation of the Guarani-Kaiowá remains catastrophic. Over 15,000 people live in the Dourados reserve on just 3,500 hectares – far too little land to be self-sufficient. Studies from 2023 show that 77% of households in Guarani-Kaiowá communities suffer from food insecurity. The suicide rate is 34 times the Brazilian national average and one of the highest in the world.
Violence perpetrated by agricultural militias and large landowners has escalated dramatically in recent years. In November 2025, Vicente Fernandes Vilhalva, a 36-year-old Guarani-Kaiowá, was shot dead during the fourth armed attack in a matter of weeks in the Iguatemipeguá Indigenous Territory. UN experts publicly condemned this attack. The perpetrators continue to act with impunity because, although the areas are recognised as indigenous land, they have still not been physically demarcated and are therefore not legally protected.
Furthermore, the constitutional amendment proposal PEC 48, which the Senate passed in December 2025, threatens a historic setback: should the Chamber of Deputies adopt this amendment, the Marco Temporal would be enshrined in the constitution, thereby permanently and irreversibly undermining the land rights of the Guarani-Kaiowá and all other indigenous peoples of Brazil.
I urge you to:
Ensure the full and immediate demarcation of all claimed Guarani-Kaiowá territories in Mato Grosso do Sul – in particular the areas already recognised but not yet demarcated, such as Guyraroka and Pyelito Kue/Mbarakay.
To ensure the protection of indigenous communities from armed attacks by agrarian militias and to prosecute the perpetrators.
To support the German Government and President Lula in rejecting PEC 48 or in exercising a presidential veto, in order to safeguard the constitutional rights of indigenous peoples.
To introduce immediate measures to improve the food and health situation in the overcrowded reserves, including protection against pesticide contamination from surrounding farms.
The Brazilian Constitution of 1988, the STF ruling and international law oblige the state to protect the rights of the Guarani-Kaiowá. I ask you to fulfil this obligation through concrete action.
Yours faithfully,
[Signature]
[Name]
Copy to the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples:
Minister Sônia Guajajara
Ministry of Indigenous Peoples
Esplanada dos Ministérios, Bloco C
Brasília – DF, CEP 70.050-000
Brazil
Copy to the Brazilian Embassy, country of origin, for example:
Botschaft der Föderativen Republik Brasilien
Wallstraße 57
10179 Berlin
Inhalte von YouTube werden aufgrund deiner aktuellen Cookie-Einstellungen nicht angezeigt. Klicke auf “Zustimmen & anzeigen”, um zuzustimmen, dass die erforderlichen Daten an YouTube weitergeleitet werden, und den Inhalt anzusehen. Mehr dazu erfährst du in unserer Datenschutz. Du kannst deine Zustimmung jederzeit widerrufen. Gehe dazu einfach in deine eigenen Cookie-Einstellungen.
Video appeal: ‘Save the Guarani’
In a moving video appeal, Harald Glööckler is asking for signatures to support the Guarani.
Harald Glööckler is a German fashion designer and entrepreneur who, with his label “POMPÖÖS” and his social commitment to children, animals and aid projects, has become one of the most prominent figures in the German fashion and media landscape.
The Council of World Elders would like to thank Harald Glööckler for his support of the “Save the Guaraní” campaign!
Inhalte von YouTube werden aufgrund deiner aktuellen Cookie-Einstellungen nicht angezeigt. Klicke auf “Zustimmen & anzeigen”, um zuzustimmen, dass die erforderlichen Daten an YouTube weitergeleitet werden, und den Inhalt anzusehen. Mehr dazu erfährst du in unserer Datenschutz. Du kannst deine Zustimmung jederzeit widerrufen. Gehe dazu einfach in deine eigenen Cookie-Einstellungen.
Aufruf "Rettet die Guarani" von Nina Hagen (Global Advisor) unAppeal “Save the Guarani” by Nina Hagen (Global Advisor) and Karin Tag on radioeins Berlin
Nina Hagen is celebrated internationally as the pioneering “Godmother of Punk” and an exceptional talent with a powerful voice. Her work combines eccentric artistry, a rebellious free spirit and a deep sense of compassion.
Nina Hagen is actively involved in child and youth protection, healthcare, civil rights and support for the homeless.
The Council of World Elders would like to thank Nina Hagen and radioeins Berlin for their support of the “Save the Guarani” campaign!
Campaign: ‘Help Australia's Indigenous People’
Australia’s First Nations: The struggle for self-determination and equality.
Australia’s First Nations: The Struggle for Self-Determination and Equality
In some countries, Australia’s indigenous peoples were long referred to as ‘Aborigines’. In English-speaking countries, this term is now considered to be colonial in origin and derogatory. Instead, the terms ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’, ‘First Nations’ or ‘Indigenous Australians’ are used. The word “Aboriginal” is used only as an adjective.
Until colonisation, the First Nations lived as hunter-gatherers. Due to introduced diseases and extremely violent conflicts, their numbers fell from an estimated 1,000,000 to as few as 60,000 at times. The main cause of the conflicts was access to resources: Because settlers and their livestock destroyed waterholes and grasslands, the indigenous peoples lost their means of subsistence. Furthermore, they had no concept of private land ownership; to this day, they see themselves as custodians of the land, living in harmony with nature. Today, the population has recovered: over 810,000 people identify as indigenous, with around three-quarters of them living in cities. The Western Desert was one of the last regions to be rigorously cleared in the 1950s and 1960s. The people were forced to give up their nomadic way of life so that the military could conduct nuclear weapons tests in the Maralinga Tjarutja area.
Despite progress, the social divide remains deep: unemployment among Indigenous Australians remains drastically higher, and their average level of education is lower. Infant mortality is twice as high and life expectancy is – depending on the region – around 8 to 10 years lower than that of the non-Indigenous population. The situation in prisons is particularly alarming: although First Nations people make up just under 3.8% of the population, they account for more than a third (over 32%) of all prisoners in the country.
The policy of the ‘Stolen Generations’ (approx. 1900 to 1970), under which Indigenous children were systematically and often forcibly torn from their families to be assimilated into care homes or white adoptive families, is regarded as the deep-rooted historical cause of this trauma.
In 2007, an inquiry report on abuses in the Northern Territory led to the controversial “Northern Territory National Emergency Response”. This brought with it alcohol bans and state-imposed administration of social welfare funds, but also largely abolished the hard-won self-governance of Indigenous communities. Although these special laws officially expired in 2022, the consequences of this paternalism are still felt today. Following the failure of the 2023 referendum, which was intended to guarantee First Nations a permanent advisory role in Parliament, the demand for genuine self-governance, land rights and political participation remains the central issue for the future of the indigenous population.
The Hon Anthony Albanese MP
Prime Minister
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600
Australia
[Place, Date]
Dear Prime Minister Albanese,
I am deeply concerned that, in a prosperous country such as Australia, the Indigenous population continues to suffer from serious health and social disadvantages.
Historical experience clearly shows that chronic health problems, lower life expectancy and high infant mortality can only be resolved in the long term if Australia’s First Nations regain genuine control over their lives, their communities and their traditional lands.
The path to a just future lies not in state paternalism or the withdrawal of rights, but in strengthened self-governance. To close the gap in living standards in a sustainable way (‘Closing the Gap’), there must be genuine, far-reaching participation by Indigenous peoples in all political decisions that directly affect their future.
Yours sincerely,
[Your name]
Just 100 km from Machu Picchu, uncontacted tribes are under threat!
A consortium of companies – including the US firm Hunt Oil, the Spanish company Repsol and the Argentine oil group Pluspetrol – is operating the controversial Camisea gas project in the Peruvian Amazon. This project involves seismic surveys, blasting and exploratory drilling in areas inhabited by uncontacted indigenous peoples. Since 2012, plans for expansion have even extended into the protected area for uncontacted peoples.
As early as 2003, a ruling by the highest court determined that no permits for the exploration of mineral resources within the protected area for uncontacted peoples should be granted. Nevertheless, the Peruvian authorities approved the expansion of the Camisea project – the Peruvian Ministry of Culture agreed to extend the project into the protected area provided that just three conditions were met. The UN Special Rapporteur subsequently recommended that ‘exhaustive studies’ into the situation of uncontacted peoples be carried out before any further expansion.
Today, Peru officially recognises the existence of at least 20 to 25 uncontacted tribes in the Amazon region. They live in seven legally protected reserves, yet more than 70% of the Peruvian Amazon has already been leased to oil companies – large parts of which are in regions where uncontacted tribes live.
The current situation (as of 2025/2026)
The threats have intensified since 2012. In 2024, dozens of members of the Mashco Piro people – estimated to be the world’s largest uncontacted tribe, numbering around 750 people – appeared on the riverbank near the village of Monte Salvado. Experts see this as a direct sign that logging in their territory is driving them out of the forest. A logging company has built roads totalling 200 kilometres in length there to transport timber.
In 2025, leading Peruvian indigenous organisations denounced a veritable “campaign of extermination” and wrote letters to the governments of Germany, the United Kingdom, Norway and the USA, as well as to the German Development Bank (KfW) and the World Bank. The background to this is two new draft bills that have been tabled in the Peruvian Congress:
• Bill 12215/2025-CR (“Abolition Bill”): Provides for the “review” of all existing protected areas for uncontacted peoples every six months, with the risk of their complete dissolution.
• Bill No. 11822/2024-CR: Would open up all protected areas to oil and gas exploration – around 18 of these areas are currently home to uncontacted peoples.
An earlier similar bill (No. 3518) was rejected by congressional committees following massive pressure from indigenous organisations and international NGOs.
According to a comprehensive study by Survival International from 2025, there are at least 196 uncontacted peoples worldwide, 188 of whom are in South America. The authors warn that almost half of these peoples could be wiped out within ten years if governments and companies fail to act.
Presidente de la República del Perú
[Name des neuen Präsidenten / Presidente de la República]
Jr. de la Unión s/n 1ra. Cuadra Lima
Lima
PERU
[Ort], [Datum] 2026
Sehr geehrter Herr Präsident,
ich wende mich als besorgte Bürgerin / besorgter Bürger aus Deutschland an Sie und möchte Ihre Aufmerksamkeit auf die Situation der unkontaktierten indigenen Völker in Peru lenken.
Selbst in den Reservaten bedrohen illegale Holzfäller, der Straßenbau sowie die Erkundung und Förderung von Gas, Öl und anderen Bodenschätzen die unkontaktierten indigenen Völker in ihrer Existenz. Die Expansion des Camisea-Gasprojekts in das Lebensgebiet unkontaktierter Völker sowie aktuelle Gesetzentwürfe, die Schutzgebiete öffnen oder abschaffen würden, verschärfen diese Bedrohung dramatisch.
Bitte stoppen Sie in den Gebieten, die von unkontaktierten indigenen Völkern bewohnt werden:
- die Erkundung und die Förderung von Gas, Öl und anderen Bodenschätzen,
- die Abholzung,
- den Bau von Straßen.
Andernfalls werden die unkontaktierten Völker sehr großes Leid erfahren. Möglicherweise werden die indigenen Stämme nach und nach vollständig ausgelöscht.
Bitte unterstützen Sie das Recht dieser Menschen, in Frieden und Sicherheit zu leben, und verbieten Sie den Holzfällern und Ölunternehmen den Zugang zum Gebiet der unkontaktierten indigenen Völker. Lehnen Sie die Gesetzentwürfe ab, die Schutzgebiete zur Disposition stellen (insbesondere Proyecto de Ley 12215/2025-CR und Proyecto de Ley N° 11822/2024-CR).
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
[Ihr Name]
The aim of the letter to the Chancellor dated 2012, reproduced below, has been fully achieved! Germany has ratified the UN Convention.
On 23 June 2022, ILO Convention No. 169 on the recognition of a wide range of fundamental rights of indigenous peoples officially came into force in Germany.
October 2012
German Federal Government rejects international convention on the rights of indigenous peoples!
The ratification of the Convention, which had been proposed by the German Bundestag, was rejected by the Federal Government. The CDU/CSU parliamentary group sees Convention No. 169 of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), a UN agency, as disadvantageous for German companies in developing countries. A spokesperson for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group points out that the responsibility for upholding human rights lies with the respective home countries.
In fact, there are cases where German companies are in breach of ILO Convention No. 169. This includes the joint venture between Siemens and Voith, which is involved in the construction of the Belo Monte dam, a project that threatens the livelihoods of thousands of indigenous people, including uncontacted tribes.
In contrast, Spain, the Netherlands and 20 other countries have already ratified ILO Convention No. 169. It is intended to guarantee a wide range of fundamental rights. It includes the protection and recognition of indigenous peoples’ land rights, as well as UN minimum standards on consultation and participation in projects that affect them.
How can I help?
The aim of the letter to the Chancellor dated 2012, reproduced below, has been fully achieved! Germany has ratified the UN Convention!
Please write a letter to the Chancellor, Ms Angela Merkel.
Max Mustermann
Musterstraße 1
12345 Musterstadt
Musterland – Please also adjust the date (below the address)
Chancellor Angela Merkel Federal Chancellery Willy-Brandt-Straße 1 10557 Berlin
6 November 2012
Dear Chancellor Angela Merkel,
I hereby urge you to facilitate the ratification of Convention No. 169 of the International Labour Organisation (ILO 169), as this is the only international agreement that bindingly regulates the rights of indigenous peoples.
Recognising these rights is crucial for the survival of millions of people. It can help protect them from oppression, discrimination and displacement.
Germany has so far rejected the Convention on the grounds that there is no indigenous population in Germany within the meaning of Convention No. 169. However, ILO 169 contains no indication that the Convention is relevant only to states that have an indigenous population. The Netherlands and Spain also recognised this when they ratified the Convention.
Furthermore, the claim that ratifying ILO 169 runs counter to German policy by recognising specific rights for certain groups is difficult to understand. The Convention recognises the collective rights of indigenous peoples, which correspond to their specific needs and without which they cannot realise their fundamental human rights. ILO 169 would never conflict with international human rights; on the contrary, the Convention is an integral part of them.
Last but not least, the argument that German companies would face disadvantages as a result of ratification is alarming. The activities of German companies and German foreign and development policy also have an impact on indigenous peoples. Ratification of ILO 169 would ensure minimum standards against which these projects would have to be measured.
I very much hope that you will advocate for the ratification of ILO 169 and look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely
Mongolia Reforestation Project: “One Million Trees” Target Achieved!
Galsan Chinaag's tree-planting project has inspired Mongolia's campaign to plant 1 billion trees by 2030!
Due to illegal logging, uncontrolled forest fires and decades of overexploitation, Mongolia has seen a drastic decline in its forest cover: Hundreds of rivers, springs and lakes have since disappeared. To counteract the resulting desertification and drying up of the land, the Galsan Chingag Foundation launched the “One Million Trees for Mongolia” project in April 2009 – a key contribution to the renewal of nature and the climate.
The Council of World Elders supported this project from the very beginning. Karin Tag, founder and president of the Council of World Elders, contributed significantly to the financing of the tree-planting efforts as an early sponsor, thereby supporting Galsan Tschinag – tribal leader of the Tuva nomads, writer, shaman and member of the Council of World Elders – in realising his vision.
Milestone achieved
The trees planted are mainly native species such as larch, pine, fir, poplar, river willow, elm, maple and acacia. The number of trees planted grew steadily: from over 300,000 trees at the end of 2012 to 408,000 in 2014, 700,000 in 2017 and finally 902,000 in 2019. On 15 October 2021, the millionth tree was planted – after twelve years of work, the vision had been fully realised. To mark this milestone, Galsan Tschinag was awarded the “Order of Labour as a Leading Environmentalist” by the Mongolian Minister for the Environment. In December 2023 – on the occasion of his 80th birthday – the President of Mongolia awarded him Mongolia’s highest state honour, the Order of Sukhbaatar with the title “Hero of Labour”, also in explicit recognition of the tree-planting project.
National and international influence
The project has had an impact far beyond the initiative itself: inspired by Galsan Tschinag’s project, the Mongolian government launched a national campaign in October 2021 with the aim of planting 1 billion trees by 2030. By October 2023, around 41.5 million trees had already been planted as part of this national campaign.
Having taken over his father’s chieftaincy, he is continuing this work and serves as Chairman of the Mongolian Environmental Coalition (MECC), which represents over 200 environmental NGOs across all 21 provinces of Mongolia.
The project lives on
The Galsan Chingag Foundation is continuing its work even after reaching its million-tree target. The tree nursery near Ulaanbaatar has developed into a recognised centre of excellence for reforestation in Mongolia. New sub-projects such as the ‘Garden of Life’ (2022) and the ‘Eternal Garden’ (2023) are carrying on the work. Galsan Tschinag’s son, Galtaikhuu Galsan, who succeeded his father as chieftain in 2024, is carrying on this work and serves as chairman of the Mongolian Environmental Coalition (MECC), which represents over 200 environmental NGOs across all 21 provinces of Mongolia.
Terena: Unfulfilled land rights are being systematically blocked
For more than a decade, the Terena people in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul have been fighting for what the Brazilian Constitution expressly guarantees them: their ancestral land. The result so far: a leader shot dead, unpunished police violence, blocked land proceedings – and a parliament that is actively undermining the legal protection of indigenous rights.
In May 2013, federal police officers shot and killed Terena leader Oziel Gabriel and injured other community members during an eviction at the Fazenda Buriti near Sidrolândia. In 2016, the Brazilian Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office concluded that the federal police were responsible for his death. The criminal case remains unresolved to this day. The occupied area, which FUNAI had already recognised as Terena land in 2010, was never fully handed over. This is a case that exemplifies how official promises in Brazil can become worthless in the face of large-scale landowning interests.
The figures speak for themselves: according to the Brazilian Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI), 211 Indigenous people were murdered across the country in 2024 – with Mato Grosso do Sul being one of the main hotspots (33 killings, the third-highest figure of all states). In just three years (2022–2024), 38 Indigenous people were killed in the state, predominantly in the context of unresolved land disputes. Armed militias and capangas working for the agribusiness sector are intimidating the Terena and other Indigenous communities who are reclaiming their lands – with the tacit acquiescence of local authorities. The Terena themselves put it in no uncertain terms at their 18th Grand Assembly in August 2025: “Our lives are worth more than agribusiness profits.”
The political structure of the problem is clear: the federal government under President Lula is attempting to change course — by establishing a Ministry for Indigenous Peoples, recognising 21 territories since 2023, and vetoing parts of the Marco Temporal Act. However, the National Congress, which is heavily influenced by the agricultural lobby (Bancada Ruralista), is systematically sabotaging this progress: In 2023, it overruled Lula’s veto and passed Law 14.701/2023, which effectively ties indigenous land claims to the cut-off date of 5 October 1988 – thereby excluding all those communities that had previously been driven from their land by violence and coercion. At the end of 2025, the Senate even attempted to enshrine this provision permanently in the Constitution through PEC 48/2023; it voted in favour by 52 votes to 14. For Eloy Terena, Deputy Minister for Indigenous Peoples, this shows that the government, too, has for too long failed to seek sufficient dialogue with Congress. At UN level, the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples delivered an unequivocal verdict in June 2025: Brazil must ‘abandon the Marco Temporal doctrine once and for all’ – otherwise many communities face a ‘slow, painful extinction’.
For the Terena in Mato Grosso do Sul, this means that their land rights are recognised under the constitution, confirmed by the courts – and politically blocked. That is precisely why international public pressure remains essential.
President of the Federative Republic of Brazil
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Palácio do Planalto
Praça dos Três Poderes
Brasília – DF, CEP 70150-900
BRAZIL
[Place], [Date]
Dear President Lula da Silva,
I am writing to you with great concern regarding the ongoing situation of Brazil’s indigenous peoples, in particular the Terena in Mato Grosso do Sul.
For years, the Terena have been fighting for legal recognition of their ancestral territories. The tragedy of 2013, when a Terena leader was shot dead by the Federal Police during the eviction from the Fazenda Buriti, is symptomatic of a structural failure on the part of the Brazilian state towards indigenous communities. Despite the demonstrable progress made by your government on demarcation — for which I commend you — numerous Terena territories remain unrecognised to this day.
I am deeply concerned about Bill 14.701/2023 (the ‘Cut-off Date Bill’), which effectively excludes peoples who have endured decades of forced displacement from their constitutional land rights. I urge you to veto the Act in its entirety, and I support the ruling of the Supremo Tribunal Federal, which declared the ‘Marco Temporal’ doctrine to be unconstitutional.
With regard to the completed Belo Monte power station, I also ask you to ensure that the commitments made to the Xingu riverine communities during the 2010 licensing process are honoured without delay — particularly with regard to the minimum flow of the Xingu River and the livelihoods of the indigenous communities dependent on the Volta Grande.
I call on you to fully implement the Brazilian Constitution and ILO Convention 169: through free, prior and informed consultation with all indigenous communities regarding infrastructure projects on their territory; by expediting all pending land demarcation processes; and by actively protecting indigenous communities from violence perpetrated by large landowners and their private militias.
Yours faithfully,
[Your name]
Please also write to:
Ministry of Indigenous Peoples
Ministério dos Povos Indígenas
Minister Sônia Guajajara
Brasília, DF
BRAZIL