Climate Partnership: Protecting the Rainforest
The state capital Munich maintains a partnership with the Asháninka people in Peru to promote local environmental protection and human rights.
The climate partnership
The state capital Munich has been part of the European Climate Alliance network since 1991. Over 1,800 member municipalities, federal states and other organizations from 27 European countries aim to take local measures for global climate protection.
Since 1997, Munich has maintained a climate partnership with the Peruvian Asháninka people in context of the Climate Alliance. It is based on the following three pillars:
- Education and information work to sensitize the people in Munich to the global importance of the rainforest
- Support of specific projects in the Peruvian rainforest according to the priorities set by the Asháninka
- Political support for the protection of the rainforest and its inhabitants
The Asháninka people
With around 80,000 people, the Asháninka are the largest indigenous people in the Peruvian rainforest.
"Asháninka" means "siblings, people with the same language". The small settlements are mostly located near a river. The most important organizational unit is the village community, which is characterized by self-sufficiency.
A cooperative of Asháninka women finances the family's livelihood by selling jewelry made from rainforest materials. This jewelry is also sold in Munich. A very big problem is the defense of land rights. Where there is a lack of official land titles, the Asháninka are increasingly at the mercy of economic interests.
The consequences of deforestation in the rainforest are devastating: organic carbon escapes, which combines with oxygen to form the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2).
The state capital of Munich therefore supports the Asháninka people both on a political level and in realizing specific educational and environmental projects.