Dancing for the Earth

In 2000, a group of environmental activists and community members held a protest rally in Manila to highlight the violence associated with conservation efforts in the Philippines. Assassinations, forest patrols, and tension between communities within an on the edges of the forest persist today. This photograph marks a growing trend in people peacefully engaging in a dialog of conservation management in the Philippines. This image was made close to midnight, two weeks after Earth Day. Many of the dancers also started a publication called Earthian, one of the first environmental and social justice journals in the country. You can see part of the Earth banner in the upper right portion of the image. A tropical rain falls and steam evaporates from the ground. Sizes: 8x10, 11x14, 12x18, 17x24