Brazil announces call to action for increasing Indigenous land rights ahead of COP30

During the UN Permanent Forum for Indigenous Peoples Issues in New York, Brazil recently announced a call to action for increasing Indigenous and local community land rights ahead of the UN COP30 climate summit to be held in the Brazilian city of Belem in November this year..

"The compass bearing has been set for world leaders to commit to protecting forest peoples' land rights.  Governments must grab this historic opportunity to improve the protection of the world's indispensable tropical rainforests", says Anders Haug Larsen, International Advocacy Director at Rainforest Foundation Norway.

In a time of dramatic scenes of a climate in distress, the expectations are high from the global environmental movement ahead of COP30.

"At COP30, rainforest countries should lay out their targets to recognize human rights and increase the land area managed by Indigenous peoples and local communities. The global community must follow this up with necessary financial support and action to stop commodity-driven deforestation. If all actors pull their efforts together, this will be an important turning point for the rainforest", says Haug Larsen.

Donors must step up commitments

The current donor commitment of $1.7 billion made at the COP26 in Glasgow expires in 2025. New commitments are expected to be announced in Belem, but donors are still discussing them.

"The new ambitions will only succeed if donors, both philanthropies and the private sector, step up their commitments. At the moment, Indigenous forest management in tropical countries remains vastly under-invested. We are especially hopeful that the new German government will take the lead on this internationally", says Haug Larsen.

Indigenous support

Many Indigenous Peoples support the new announcement.

"We welcome this call for the recognition of more Indigenous lands. Securing and protecting Indigenous territories is critical to combat the global climate and biodiversity crises. We are ready to contribute to strengthening this new commitment and urge governments to grasp the important opportunity it represents and commit to effectively protecting these territories", says Kleber Karipuna, executive coordinator at APIB and Global Alliance of Territorial Communities co-chair.