Yesterday, May 29, our delegation participated in the 11th meeting of the Facilitating Group of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (LCIPP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). During this event, we delivered a letter with our demands to ensure the representation of local communities in the decisions of the global climate agenda. This letter was collectively constructed during the Interregional Meeting of Local Communities, Afro-descendant Peoples and other Collectivities, held on May 27 and 28 in Bonn, Germany.
The letter, signed by more than 70 organizations of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, Afro-descendants and civil society from Mexico, Honduras, Panama, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil and other countries, requests and supports the fulfillment of the agreements already defined in previous editions of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (COP).
The inter-regional meeting brought together representatives of organizations from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, who aligned important objectives on the participation of these groups in the COP-30 on Climate Change. Participants from Brazil included Andréia Fanzeres, coordinator of the Indigenous Rights Program of Operation Native Amazon (Opan), Herman Oliveira, executive secretary of the Socio-environmental Popular Forum of Mato Grosso (Formad) and Maíra Fainguelenrt, of the Climate and Society Institute.
"We believe that the inclusion of Local Communities in the Facilitative Working Group should no longer be postponed because in fact this leaves Local Communities in a state of defenselessness and violation of rights. They are an important group whose voice and input is crucial to addressing the climate crisis, as well as to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement and a climate resilient world, as highlighted at the UN climate change conference," reads an excerpt from the letter.
The text of the letter is addressed to the members of the Facilitative Working Group (FWG) of the UNFCCC Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP), the Secretariat of the UNFCCC Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform, the Secretariat of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) and the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC. To ensure full and effective participation, the organizations request the inclusion of at least three representatives of Local Communities in the Platform's Facilitative Working Group, in order to ensure the full and effective participation of this important group of communities.
El éxito de la AMPB radica en la unión de los pueblos indígenas y las comunidades locales, trabajando juntos de manera articulada durante casi 14 años para proteger y preservar más de 6.8 millones de hectáreas, que representan el 24% de los bosques de la región Mesoamericana. Esta colaboración ha sido fundamental para avanzar en la defensa de los derechos de nuestras comunidades y en la conservación del medio ambiente, demostrando la importancia de su inclusión en las decisiones globales sobre el cambio climático.
This initiative underlines the need for greater representation and participation of Local Communities in international platforms, recognizing their vital role in the fight against climate change and in the implementation of sustainable solutions.
You can read the letter in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French and sign the petition here .
