The presence of indigenous leaders at COP30 will be strongly felt in Brazil. Wearing traditional clothing and body paint, about 200 villages were represented near the headquarters of Brazilian state powers.
They attended the annual meeting of Brazilian indigenous peoples, Free Land Camp. In the year when the country will host the climate summit, it becomes especially relevant. They demand to have a voice like heads of State.
Indigenous leaders at COP30: the strong request
Delegations arrived from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, French Guiana, Panama, Suriname, and Venezuela. Representatives from Australia, Fiji and other oceanic nations also arrived.
The meeting takes on special relevance towards the UN conference against climate change, COP30, which will be held between November 10 and 21 in the Amazonian city of Belém.
Indigenous peoples of the Amazon. (Photo: Pablo PORCIUNCULA- AFP).[/caption>
“We demand that leaders of indigenous and local communities have the same voice and power as heads of State at COP30, with the same legitimacy, decision-making power, and respect as the country representations,” said Brazilian indigenous chief Alana Manchineri.
This was in a joint statement by the attending peoples. They also demanded “direct funding” to preserve nature and “compensation for the damage” they suffer.
What the camp they plan will be like
The Camp will include several marches and cultural events. On Tuesday, indigenous leaders hope to be heard in the lower house of the Brazilian congress.
The rest, as reported by the agency AFP, will march through the emblematic Explanada de los Ministerios to the legislative building, which is handling several disputes over the territorial claims of the peoples.
The Congress, mostly conservative, approved a rule in 2023 that limits the rights of indigenous peoples to claim their territories. The matter is being analyzed by the Supreme Court.
“More than half of the Brazilian parliament is anti-indigenous (…) it is important to send a message: our rights are threatened,” said Kleber Karipuna, coordinator of APIB, Brazil’s largest indigenous organization, to the same agency.
“It is a powerful march to start the camp,” he anticipated. The natives also share their opposition to the exploitation of fossil fuels, the main cause of global warming, whose gradual abandonment was agreed upon in COP28.
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