The effects of climate change and biodiversity loss are devastating not only for species and ecosystems, but also for human societies and their diverse languages, cultures, knowledge and value systems, and lifeways. In turn, the loss of cultural and linguistic diversity contributes to and accelerates our global environmental problems. In the words of Terralingua co-founder David Harmon, it’s a “converging extinction crisis” of biocultural diversity — the diversity of life in nature and culture.

That crisis calls for another “extinction rebellion”: a rebellion against the loss of biocultural diversity. We argue that the “extinction rebellion” movement that is afoot today needs to expand to embrace this wider, crucial dimension.

People from around the world have been sharing their “extinction rebellion” stories and projects with us, without shying away from the difficult historical and political issues involved. From writing about people taking a public stance to creating “subversive” digital maps, artwork, or poetry, the contributors to Langscape Magazine will inspire you to take note of the other extinction rebellion: the rebellion against the loss of biocultural diversity.

We’ll be posting stories from Langscape Magazine Vol. 9 regularly over the coming months. Come back for more!