Buenos Aires [Argentina], August 10: Brazil's indigenous communities have presented a climate plan that calls for the protection of indigenous lands ahead of the next UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belem in November.
The umbrella organization Apib announced the plan under the slogan "Our territories are the answer to the climate crisis."
"We demand that our proposals are included in Brazil's voluntary commitments, as it is the responsibility of the Brazilian state to take action against the climate crisis," said Apib executive director Kleber Karipuna.
Indigenous communities are considered key players in the fight against climate change. While they make up just 5% of the world's population, they manage around 80% of the its biodiversity, according to the World Bank.
A study by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization found that where indigenous communities have documented rights to their land, significantly less land is deforested than in other areas.
"The rights of indigenous peoples must be bindingly protected and strengthened in all climate negotiations - our right to have a say at COP30 must not remain a symbolic gesture," indigenous activist Alessandra Korap Munduruku said.
"It is unacceptable for Brazil to present itself internationally as the host of a climate conference while at the same time serving economic interests at the expense of indigenous communities and the rainforest," she added.
Source: Qatar Tribune
