Indigenous lands and traditional communities cover 25% of the Amazon Basin. Effective
protection of these lands, as a complement to the additional 25% that have been designated
as conservation areas are widely recognized as essential to meeting the interlocking
challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and socioenvironmental justice (e.g.
Science Panel for the Amazon Chapter 31). Historically, we have proven to be the most
effective protectors of these landscapes, but we cannot continue to do so without support.
The urgency of climate change and loss of biodiversity, including the biocultural diversity
of those of us who live in the Amazon calls for a global partnership to face this climate
crisis/catastrophe.
Indigenous peoples and traditional communities are interdependent with our territories:
“We do not exist without our territories.” And our territories are critical to the functioning of
the entire Earth system. Thus, “We need to build the future of the planet together.” “Without
us, there is no one to defend Mother Earth.”
Organizations of Indigenous peoples and local communities from the Amazon Basin and
other regions have come together to articulate this vision of how we can respond and
contribute to the call for the protection of 30% of the Earth’s land and freshwater.
These ideas were initially presented at the University of Florida’s Voices from the Forest Conference in February 2022. The 5-minute video summarizes key moments
from that dialogue of knowledge.
