Quotes Available for Immediate Release
Quotes For Release From Indigenous Leaders and Local Community Representatives
Monica Ndoen an indigenous woman leader from Rote, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. She is currently the Special Envoy to the Secretary-General of Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara (AMAN), said:
"We appreciate the global goals to conserve 30% of Mother Earth and her biodiversity but it is important for nation states to understand that they must recognize and value indigenous territories to pursue this effort. They will not succeed unless they recognize our rights and our full and effective participation in conservation proposals. In our absence, they risk harming our sacred territories by ignoring our wisdom.
Globally, Indigenous Peoples and local communities manage about 50% or more of the world's land, including many of its most pristine ecosystems. We live in harmony with our lands. States cannot achieve the biodiversity goals they have set forth without respecting Indigenous rights and supporting our work.And yet, governments continue to favor industry and agriculture, while failing to enforce or recognize our rights. Humanity will pay the price."
Kleber Karipuna, Indigenous leader of the Karipuna people from Amapá. Kleber is one of the Executive Coordinators of the Articulation of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), representing the Brazilian Amazon through the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB), said:
"Indigenous lands have proven to store the most carbon and represent some of the most biodiverse regions in the world. These two qualities are part of the same concept: lands that have not been destroyed for their natural resources. Our communities have lived on these lands and kept them whole. We appreciate the interest in keeping our territories intact to address both the climate crisis and the biodiversity crisis. But for this to be effective, our rights must be respected."
Cristiane Pankararu, member of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) and co-founder of the National Articulation of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestrality (ANMIGA), said:
"Indigenous people are not opposed to DSI, but we have not been properly briefed on what it means and the extent to which it will be managed based on our values.
Not only are we calling for the recognition of Indigenous knowledge, but also for acknowledgement of its connection to place. Ours is ancestral knowledge that we can trace back in time, over hundreds of years, knowledge that guides our relationship to nature and to the species that share with us this planet
Regardless of the form those biodiverse genetic resources take, however science transforms it, there must be recognition that it came originally from uses that have evolved over centuries, guided by spiritual forces that science cannot explain.
Ensuring traceability is crucial to guarantee a clean, transparent, and honest process, allowing for the meaningful participation of Indigenous peoples. This would not only protect the memory of our ancestral role, but also ensure the fair and equitable sharing of benefits, especially in the economic exploitation of these products."
Dinamam Tuxá, of the Tuxá Peoples from the states of Bahia, Pernambuco and Minas Gerais. He is Executive Coordinator of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) and lawyer of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples and Organizations of the Northeast, Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo (APOINME), said:
"It is not enough to name our rights in the texts of the biodiversity COP. We need agreements that place conditions on the investment of public funds in nature conservation. There can be no funding to promote so-called green solutions if they do not respect our rights. My own community was displaced to build a hydroelectric plant, and I know firsthand how green solutions can turn red when done violently, displacing and causing harm to our communities, disregarding our role as guardians. Without our presence as participants, investing our knowledge and our ability to monitor and protect our lands, there is no guarantee that the COP’s goals can be achieved, putting all of humanity at risk."