Indigenous leaders from the Amazon came together at The People’s Forum in Midtown during Climate Week, to discuss the importance of including indigenous voices in global discussions about climate change.
Hosted by environmental organizations and advocacy groups, such as Stand.earth, iIndigenous, and Avaaz, last week’s panel previewed proposals that indigenous activists plan to bring as a unified front to the United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly known as COP30, this November in Belém, Brazil.
Ginny Alba, secretary of the Human Rights Commission for Indigenous Peoples, moderated the discussion. “The Amazon is not just indigenous,” said Alba, in her opening remarks. “It is the future of all humanity.”
Shayda Naficy, senior campaigns director at Stand.earth, added that the event was part of a broader effort to raise awareness of the struggles that indigenous peoples face worldwide.
“The Amazon is essential to addressing global climate change, advancing indigenous rights, and so much more,” she said.
The panel focused on a set of proposals to be presented at COP30, including the need for more financial opportunities for indigenous communities, such as direct access to capital and climate funds. Some leaders also spoke about a push for the legitimacy of indigenous governance.
Sineia do Vale, a coordinator for the Indigenous Committee on Climate Change, spoke about the importance of bringing indigenous peoples to the forefront at COP30.
“We don’t want beautiful speeches anymore,” said do Vale. “We want actions.”
Several panelists mentioned the significance of the conference being held in Brazil, where there are 896,917 indigenous peoples across 305 ethnic groups. Last year, COP officially recognized indigenous communities and people of African descent as key leaders in biodiversity conservation, ensuring their input in future climate change discussions.
Each panelist highlighted key points from the seven proposals to be presented in November. They expressed how they will be advocating, both in their own countries and with international institutions, for direct control over financial resources to guarantee their participation in initiatives and climate discussions that affect them.
The posters displayed at the event highlighted the work that indigenous communities have done to improve climate change. One sign said that indigenous peoples safeguard at least 25% of the world’s carbon sinks, and that forests under their management in the Amazon remove 340 million tons of carbon dioxide per year.
But climate isn’t the only topic that should be discussed, according to Lena Yanina Estrada Añokazi, the former Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia, who attended the event. She wants indigenous communities to have participation in other areas, including AI technology, satellite-based internet, and new data centers.
At the end of the panel, Marisol García Apagüeño, an indigenous leader from the Kichwa tribe in Perú, reflected on being in Midtown among powerful corporations that make decisions on climate change affecting indigenous lands.
“We also question a lot why we’re the ones reaching out. Instead, it should be them reaching out to us,” said Apagüeño about corporations, adding that “the environmental impacts being generated on this side of the equation…show precisely that there is no closeness, no real coordination.”