Interview with HRH Princess Esméralda de Belgique
Author; Activist; Journalist; Documentary Filmmaker; President of the King Leopold III Fund for Nature Exploration and Conservation; Chair of Friendship Belgium
Imagine a princess under arrest! A striking image that challenges conventional perceptions. Princess Esméralda de Belgique, a member of the Belgian Royal family, embodies this unconventional picture. Arrested for her participation in an Extinction Rebellion protest, she stands tall in her belief that the urgency of the climate crisis calls for civil disobedience: “If it’s non-violent yet determined, it can effect profound change.”
A journalist, keynote speaker, documentary co-producer, and author of numerous books about her family, environmental issues, and female Nobel Peace Prize winners, Esméralda is a courageous activist. The causes she supports span human rights, particularly advocating for women and Indigenous peoples, and environmental conservation.
As Chair of Friendship Belgium, an NGO dedicated to empowering marginalized communities in Bangladesh through education, health, and climate adaptation initiatives, Princess Esméralda demonstrates her commitment to humanitarian causes. She also serves as Honorary President of CARE Belgium and as an ambassador for WWF UK and WWF Belgium, furthering her impact on global conservation efforts. Deeply influenced by her late father, Princess Esméralda now leads the Leopold III Fund for Nature Exploration, a foundation that not only explores and protects biodiversity but also supports Indigenous communities as the guardians of our planet’s natural heritage.
In an exclusive interview with Community Index Magazine Romania, Princess Esméralda dives deep into her advocacy for protecting Indigenous territories in Brazil, her passionate call for the recognition of an international law criminalizing ecocide, and her praise for youth activists as the best guardians of our planet.
- Your activism spans a wide range of causes from environmental protection to Indigenous rights. What was the initial spark that fueled your passion for these issues, and how has your approach evolved over time?
My father, who was a real pioneer in the field of environmental protection, taught me the importance of biodiversity, our life support system. He inspired and motivated me to respect and protect nature as well as the rights of Indigenous peoples and their culture. I was aware of all these things very early on during my childhood. In recent years, when the climate crisis became an existential threat, I decided to become an activist and speak up for all these issues and the protection of human rights.
- “Amazonia, the Heart of Mother Earth,” your latest documentary co-directed and co-produced with French director Gert-Peter Bruch from Planète Amazone, aims to mobilize global action to protect Indigenous territories in Brazil and advocate for the recognition of an international law criminalizing ecocide. How would you define “ecocide,” and what inspired you to use filmmaking as a tool for raising awareness?
Ecocide comes from the ancient Greek word “oikos” meaning “house” and the Latin verb “caedere“ which means “to kill”, which clearly indicates “demolishing our own home”. And this is exactly what is happening. We are destroying our oceans with chemicals, plastics, deep sea mining and overfishing, devastating our forests, polluting our soils and rivers and killing so many animal and plant species in the process. It is a massacre! We decided to use storytelling and documentary creation to help us raise awareness in the hope of touching many people who are not yet preoccupied with environmental protection, the Amazon or the plight of the Indigenous communities.
- Civil disobedience has been a cornerstone of your activism. How do you view its role in creating meaningful change, in the context of fighting climate change and environmental degradation?
We need all kinds of activism. Direct actions, protests, advocacy, gentle convincing. Our window of opportunity to avoid collapse is rapidly closing. Throughout history, civil disobedience has been crucial to advance progress on social issues – women’s right to vote, civil rights in the United States, the end of apartheid in South Africa, and so many other important moments! But more and more governments are now limiting the right to protest and severe prisons sentences have been given by courts to peaceful protesters. It is such a shame and very worrying issue for our democracies.
- You are a great supporter of young activists. What do you find most inspiring about younger generations? How are you helping them in raising their voices and concerns?
Young people have been amazing in putting climate crisis and particularly climate injustice on the front page of the media. All over the world, they are pushing for change and speaking truth to power. They are fighting for the human rights of the most vulnerable in the developing countries but also in the industrial ones. All with courage and determination!
But this is not something that we can leave only to them. We must all fight for a better, more just and more sustainable future. As much as I can, I try to help raise their voices and increase their participation in decision-making conferences. We also need more women from different backgrounds and local and indigenous communities to be part of the solution. Diversity and inclusion are essential to fight and win the multiple crises we are facing.
This exclusive interview was first published in the bilingual yearbook Community Index Magazine no. 6, published in February 2025. You can browse it here: https://communityindex.ro/community-index-magazine-2024/
