A new international alliance has been agreed to create a vehicle for indigenous peoples to influence discussions on deforestation and climate change.
The International Alliance of Forest Peoples will work to provide a network and transnational forum for indigenous peoples to share their experiences and knowledge to contribute to the debate on a number of issues where forests take on a central role.
It will also work to give them access to the growing market for green products and the economic opportunities provided by forest-related goods and services by protecting their traditional livelihoods and right to land, which will be based on mechanisms included in the UN’s Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) initiative.
“The indigenous people need to understand exactly what is happening to their forests,” said Yolanda Hernández, the representative from the Maya Kakchiquel people of Guatemala.
“They have always been forgotten when it is time for decision-making and the time has come for them to be taken into account because their ancestral knowledge on nature enables them to provide important inputs for the climate debate.”
The alliance was ratified as part of the Manaus Declaration, which was signed by Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guyana, French Guyana, Paraguay, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Suriname and Panama, as well as representatives from Africa and Asia at a meeting in Manaus, Brazil on April 4.
