Indigenous Leaders to UN: 560-Mile March Exposes How AI Data Centers & Soy Are Destroying Our Lands

Indigenous Leaders to UN: 560-Mile March Exposes How AI Data Centers & Soy Are Destroying Our Lands

Indigenous groups in Bolivia are marching 560 miles to the capital to stop a new law they say will accelerate deforestation, while global leaders warn that the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence data centers is putting their lands and rights at risk.

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Indigenous leaders from Bolivia and other regions are sounding the alarm as two separate but related threats converge: a new Bolivian law that critics say prioritizes agribusiness and mining over forests, and the unchecked growth of AI data centers that are being built on or near Indigenous territories without proper consent. In Bolivia, peasant farmers’ union leader Vivian Palomequi walked for a month from her home in the Bolivian Amazon to La Paz—a distance of more than 560 miles (900 km)—to join a wave of demonstrations against the policies of President Rodrigo Paz’s government [197441]. “We declared a state of emergency and started marching,” she said. “We had no other choice” [197441]. Protesters say the administration has staffed ministries with former agroindustry leaders, opened protected areas to mining, and criminalized environmental defenders [197441].

Meanwhile, at the United Nations, Indigenous leaders are warning that the rapid expansion of AI data centers—large buildings filled with computers that power artificial intelligence services—is putting their lands and rights at risk [197852]. As demand for AI grows, so does the need for these centers, but leaders say construction often happens on or near Indigenous territories without proper consent [197852]. They are calling on the UN to help protect their land and ensure their voices are heard in the tech boom [197852].

The warnings come as a landmark agreement to stop deforestation in the Amazon has failed. The Amazon Soy Moratorium, a 20-year-old pledge by global grain traders to refuse soy grown on newly cleared rainforest land, has been unable to prevent a sharp rise in tree loss [197827]. Scientists report in the July 2026 issue of *Science* that deforestation rates linked to soy production have surged, reversing years of progress [197827]. The moratorium, once hailed as a model for corporate conservation, relied on voluntary compliance, but researchers found that loopholes and weak enforcement allowed farmers to bypass the rules, clearing land for other crops before planting soy [197827]. The findings signal that voluntary pledges alone cannot protect critical ecosystems [197827].

Sources

Bolivian Farmers March 560 Miles to Stop Land Grab #197441Indigenous Leaders to UN: AI Data Centers Threaten Our Lands #197852Amazon Soy Moratorium Fails. Deforestation Surges. #197827

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