At the 11th session of the Facilitative Working Group of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP) in Bonn, Germany, Freddy Mamani, Coordinator of Indigenous Affairs at the Permanent Secretariat of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (PS/ACTO), emphasized the importance of the Amazon as a region of vital biological and cultural diversity.
Mamani also highlighted the fundamental role of the Amazon Regional Platform for Indigenous Peoples project, stressing its strategic importance for biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation.
In his speech, Mamani referred to the 2023 Declaration of Belém, which acknowledges the central role of Indigenous peoples in the conservation of biodiversity and natural resources. The declaration also proposes the creation of an Amazonian Indigenous Peoples Mechanism for dialogue with governments and Indigenous communities, as well as the strengthening of their participation in the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
In collaboration with entities such as the Euroclima Program, AECID Spain, GIZ Germany, and the United Nations’ ECLAC, Mamani mentioned the progress made in developing the Amazon Regional Platform for Indigenous Peoples. This project aims to strengthen and exchange Indigenous knowledge, technologies, and practices to combat climate change and integrate them into public policies. It is structured around three main components: the exchange of knowledge and best practices in the context of climate change, the creation of the Amazon Regional Platform for Indigenous Peoples and its integration with the global platform, and the formulation of a regional strategy for Indigenous peoples and climate change in the Amazon.
The Coordinator expressed his gratitude for the support provided by Walter Gutiérrez and Cathryn Eatock, co-chairs of the Facilitative Working Group of the Platform, who participated in the First Dialogue and Exchange of Experiences for the construction of the Amazon Indigenous Peoples Platform in Brasília in 2023. At this meeting, the need for the full and effective participation of Indigenous peoples in climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as in the development of public policies, was emphasized.
Concluding his remarks, Mamani urged the Facilitative Working Group of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform and the Secretariat to consider and integrate ACTO’s contributions in the creation of the Amazon Regional Platform for Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples.
