True to essentialist stereotypes, Latin America’s indigenous peoples are the best stewards of the region’s rainforests. But the source of their enthusiasm for environmental protection is more complex than mere ascriptive traits or whether they speak native languages. What’s more, in a development that should be worrying to environmentalists, exposure to the negative effects of extractive industries appears to have a degrading effect on that enthusiasm.

As the 1990s drew to a close, there was a sense that much of the momentum gained at the first Earth Summit on sustainable development, a positive, affirming environmental narrative, was waning.

As climate change threatens the stability of ecosystems around the world, the preservation of forests is seen as a “win-win” solution to curbing planet-warming emissions while producing value for developing country economies.

Despite recent press coverage about the violence against international environmental defenders, another prominent figure has been murdered in cold blood.

From 1990 to 2013, the notorious tiger poacher Kuttu Bahelia and his extended family – brothers, uncles, and their wives and children – reportedly killed hundreds of tigers and leopards in the tiger-rich Indian states of Maharashtra and Karnataka, according to law enforcement informants and media reports. “Even if half that [estimate] is correct, it is still a very significant number,” says Belinda Wright, who directs the non-profit Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI).

Whether or not we respond to climate change – and the security implications of that decision – is a major public policy question. But increasingly experts are paying closer attention to how we respond.