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ABEG at Cop 27
ABEG attended this years COP as part of Land Body Ecologies and Wellcome Trust delegation. Sylvia Kokundu spoke at the side event Forest as Medicine at the Health Pavilion.
It is well recognised that human health relies on thriving and healthy ecosystems, yet biodiversity loss is occurring at an unprecedented scale. While indigenous peoples make up less than five per cent of the total human population, they steward about 80% of global biodiversity.
For indigenous communities, changes to their ecosystems are more than a matter of material survival. They share a deep, layered connection with land and biodiversity on which their health, cultures and central identities rely.
Drawing on an entirely indigenous panel with spokespeople and wisdom from across the globe, this event will focus on the impact that biodiversity loss is having on the lives of indigenous communities and how these changes impact their mental health. It will also discuss the central role of indigenous traditional knowledge in safeguarding the environment.
Speakers
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Sylvia Kokunda, Land Body Ecologies, CEO of Action for Batwa Empowerment Group
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Archana Soreng, Khadia Tribe, member of United Nations Secretary General’s Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change, Indigenous Solidarity Working Group of YOUNGO (the official Children and Youth Constituency of UNFCCC), research Officer with Vasundhara, Odisha, board member of Land Rights Now
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Laetania Belai Djandam, Indigenous environmental activist descending from the Dayak Tribe, student pursuing a BMedSci in Health and Human Sciences at The University of Sheffield
Moderated by Victoria Pratt (Creative Director, Invisible Flock) and Vishala Padmanabhan, founder of Buffalo Back Collective

ABEG is part of Land Body Ecologies
Land Body Ecologies Research Group are winners of the Wellcome Trust’s renowned Hub Award. The grant provides a dynamic research space in the Wellcome Collection building at the heart of London, where people with different expertise can collaborate on projects exploring health, life and art. Awardees receive up to £1 million to bring researchers and creative professionals together over a two-year collaborative residency.
The Land Body Ecologies Research Group will undertake a two-year research project that brings together a team of human rights activists, mental health researchers, scientists, and artists to research the phenomenon of solastalgia. A developing field in global health, solastalgia is defined as the emotional or existential suffering caused by environmental change, or commonly described as “the feeling of homesickness while you are still at home.” Through the lens of solastalgia, the project aims to understand the lived experiences of land trauma on marginalised and indigenous communities.