Does Nature Love Us Back?

Jul 14, 2025 | Astrid Peraza
Think Landscape - Global Landscapes Forum
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When you ask young environmentalists if they love nature, they usually raise their hands in agreement. 

But what if they are asked if nature loves them back? Then, their answers are not as unanimous.

This is a common problem among young environmentalists: some of them truly believe that the Earth is indifferent to them and that they cannot offer it anything more than destruction. 

Why do we still think humanity is the problem and see ourselves as a plague on the planet? Human beings have the power to create such beauty. How can we regard ourselves as a sickness?

Nature does love us – our ancestors lived in harmony with it. They were one with it.

We need to see ourselves as part of nature again. We are a vital part of this Earth, and it is our duty to change the system that is pulling us away from nature.

Last month’s Global Land Forum, organized by the International Land Coalition in Bogotá, Colombia, put a spotlight on how land rights can help us achieve this change. 

The forum, said to be the largest independent gathering of land rights advocates and experts in the world, gathered more than 1,200 members of civil society and intergovernmental organizations, all working together to put people at the center of land governance.

One of their main demands was protections for women and young people in land reform. Across the Global South, women across Indigenous and local communities are leading the fight for climate justice with a worldview rooted in interconnection, justice and love for the Earth.

We spoke with two Caribbean women activists at the forum to learn how they became activists, the issues their communities face regarding land rights, and their hopes for the future.