The indigenous peoples of the world, who demand recognition of their role as guardians of nature, obtained on Friday 1Ahem November a reinforced status in the United Nations negotiations on biodiversity, by decision adopted in Cali.
The countries meeting at the COP16 on biodiversity in Colombia adopted in plenary session the creation of a permanent group – a “subsidiary body” in jargon – aimed at ensuring the representation of indigenous peoples and local communities within the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Landmark breakthrough
The representatives of these peoples increased their cheers and songs of joy as various texts on this topic were adopted. “This is an unprecedented moment in the history of multilateral environmental agreements”Camila Romero, representative of the Quechua peoples of Chile, was happy. The 196 member countries of the CBD “recognized the continued need for our full and effective participation, our knowledge and innovations, our technology and our traditional practices”.
This is the first notable progress of COP16, which opened in Cali on October 21 and continued until the night of Friday to Saturday, November 2, due to a confrontation over the financing of humanity’s efforts to stop destroying the nature.
Russia and Indonesia on Thursday blocked the adoption of this long-awaited text at the end of the summit, which is being held in one of the nine countries that cover the Amazon.
“Guardians of Nature”
For the representative of the Central African Republic, “Indigenous peoples will be the first to make peace with nature”objective of the Kunming-Montreal agreement adopted at COP15 in 2022.
On October 26, people from Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname launched the “G9 of the indigenous Amazon”to have “a unified voice to influence global decisions”.
Indigenous peoples are “the guardians of nature”, “On the front line of the biodiversity crisis” and its inclusion can “generate a more equitable dialogue” on the subject, the president of COP16, Susana Muhamad, Colombian Minister of the Environment, declared to Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Monday.
