The International Meeting of Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon Basin ended today in Bogotá, a key event in the lead-up to COP16 on Biological Diversity. Organized by the National Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the Colombian Amazon (OPIAC) and the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia, the gathering brought together indigenous leaders and government representatives to outline work plans focused on indigenous knowledge systems and governance, the unity of the indigenous movement, coherent rights and actions, legal security, and financing.
The Permanent Secretariat of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (SP/ACTO) highlighted the priority topics of the Amazon agenda, which are reflected in the Declaration of Belém and the 2023 OTCA Foreign Ministers’ resolutions. These topics emphasize the commitment of the eight member countries of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty to work together with organizations of the Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon.
During the meeting, attention was also given to the next steps for ACTO, including the creation of the Amazonian Indigenous Peoples’ Mechanism, the Forum for Ancestral Knowledge, and the Amazon Regional Platform for Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change.
The International Meeting took place in Bogotá from August 14 to 16, 2024, marking a milestone in coordinating efforts for COP16, which will focus on the protection and conservation of biodiversity in the Amazon region.
