Bonn, 29.05.2024.- At the 11th session of the Facilitative Working Group of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP) today in Bonn, Germany, Freddy Mamani, Coordinator of Indigenous Affairs of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), emphasized the importance of the representation and active participation of Indigenous peoples in the preservation of the Amazon.
During his remarks, Mamani congratulated Walter Gutiérrez and Cathryn Eatock on their election as Co-Chairs of the Working Group. He also highlighted the significance of the Amazon region, shared by Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela, and home to 50 million people, including 511 Indigenous peoples who speak 240 Indigenous languages.
He underlined the intrinsic relationship between the management of the Amazon’s natural resources and Indigenous knowledge, noting that 45% of the intact Amazon forest is located in Indigenous territories. In this context, he stressed the urgency of reaffirming the rights of these peoples and their active involvement in the development of public policies.
Mamani mentioned the Belém Declaration, adopted at the August 2023 Presidential Summit, which highlights the central role of Indigenous peoples in the conservation of the Amazon’s biodiversity and natural resources and proposes the creation of an Amazonian Indigenous Peoples Mechanism to facilitate dialogue and cooperation.
Additionally, he reported on the progress in developing the Amazon Regional Platform for Indigenous Peoples, in collaboration with the Euroclima Program, AECID from Spain, GIZ from Germany, and the United Nations’ ECLAC. This project focuses on three main components: the exchange of knowledge and practices related to climate change, the creation of the Regional Platform and its integration with the global platform, and the formulation of a regional Amazon strategy for Indigenous peoples and climate change.
Freddy Mamani concluded his speech by inviting the Facilitative Working Group to establish a close relationship with ACTO to strengthen the Amazon Regional Platform.
