Indigenous leader takes her people’s fight for survival to biodiversity summit

She is a member of the indigenous Yukpa people, who for centuries have lived in the Serranía del Perijá, a forested mountain range at the far north of the Andes, spanning the borders of Colombia and Venezuela. But in recent decades, a combination of conflict, forced displacement, exploitation of natural resources and climate change has threatened their way of life. 

Born in the Sokorpa reserve in Colombia – one of several communities inhabited by the roughly 15,000 Yukpa people – Esneda's activism was shaped from a young age by her mother, a traditional Yukpa authority. “I was always by her side as a child. I became a leader because it was necessary,” she recalled. “I was born to defend our land and people.” 

Since colonial times, violence has repeatedly forced the Yukpa to flee the land on which their physical and cultural survival depends. When she was just eight, Esneda’s father was murdered by non-state armed groups who, along with other actors, have repeatedly exploited swathes of their ancestral territory. She herself has been targeted for speaking out. 

A culture on the brink 

The Yukpa’s way of life is deeply connected to nature, but that connection is under threat. Lowland forests have been cleared for livestock, monoculture, mining, and illegal crops, turning once fertile land into barren soil and reducing the Maracas River to little more than a stream.  

“Surface mining pollutes the air and rivers, which are drying up,” Esneda explained. Traditional fishing, hunting, and farming have become nearly impossible as communities are forcibly displaced to the highest and driest areas of the Serranía del Perijá, where they struggle to survive growing beans, corn, and cassava. Isolated and cut off from access to water and fertile land, malnutrition and respiratory diseases have become rife, claiming the lives of 15 to 20 children each year. 

“Nature’s degradation affects my people’s food security, health, and culture,” Esneda said, adding that the plants they use to treat gastrointestinal and other diseases are becoming scarce. The depletion of natural resources has also harmed their cultural practices. “Our craftwork – baskets and mats – has disappeared because the materials we need are gone.”  

The growing effects of climate change are compounding an already dire situation. Unpredictable weather has disrupted agricultural cycles, with droughts and heavy rains becoming more frequent. “Our calendar tells us when to sow and harvest, but the weather is chaotic, and the land no longer produces enough food,” Esneda said. 

Restoring what was lost 

In recent years, the Yukpa have been working to restore their rivers and forests. “We’re trying to recover the biodiversity of our land because it’s unique,” said Luis Uribe, an indigenous leader and Esneda’s partner. 

In 2017, the Yukpa secured a court order suspending mining in their territory, but threats persist. Esneda – the first woman to be elected governor of the Yukpa – emphasized the need to protect the region’s rich natural heritage and maintain a harmonious relationship with nature. “Sokorpa is protected for its environmental value. Hundreds of birds, animals, and plants - some of them endangered - live in these woods,” she stressed. 

On 1 November, Esneda will address the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16) in the Colombian city of Cali, where she will share her story and her people’s efforts to protect nature and their way of life. She will also be representing millions of other people around the world beset by forced displacement and the growing climate and biodiversity emergencies. 

“The most important thing for me, as a Yukpa woman, has been to raise awareness about the Yukpa people and our territory,” she said. “We continue to resist, but we are also going to help the whole world continue resisting and protecting the environment, the land and the air.” 

Global threat 

Esneda’s work already extends beyond her own community. As a human rights advisor for the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC), representing 57 organizations, and as a spokesperson for indigenous women in the Armed Conflict Victims National Working Group, she advocates for indigenous rights at a national level.