Bogotá, August 21, 2025 (@OCTAnews) – The eight member countries of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (OTCA) approved by consensus the creation of the Amazonian Indigenous Peoples Mechanism (MAPI) during the Third Meeting of Foreign Ministers held this Thursday in Bogotá.
After 18 virtual sessions and an inclusive negotiation process, the ministers agreed on the structure, functions, and procedures of MAPI. The new body will have a broad mandate, including issuing recommendations to OTCA’s governing bodies on key issues such as deforestation control, wildlife trafficking, revitalization of indigenous languages, and the preservation of ancestral knowledge and traditions.
This mechanism will serve as a representative and legitimate space for permanent dialogue, recognizing the historic role of indigenous peoples in safeguarding the Amazon rainforest and ensuring their full and effective participation in decisions regarding natural resource conservation and the climate agenda.
“This is the result of a high-level political commitment and a historical debt to Amazonian indigenous peoples, whose contribution to biodiversity protection, climate change mitigation, and cultural preservation is invaluable,” said Freddy Mamani, OTCA’s Coordinator for Indigenous Affairs.
Shared Governance: A New Chapter
MAPI introduces an innovative co-presidency model, with each OTCA member country represented by one government delegate and one indigenous delegate, ensuring parity and shared governance.
“The responsibility is enormous, and the challenges are many. But this alliance between governments and indigenous organizations has all the foundations to succeed in achieving our common goal: protecting our forest, our home. The future of humanity depends on valuing our territories and transforming the relationship between humans and nature,” stated Sônia Guajajara, Brazil’s Minister of Indigenous Peoples.
Indigenous representatives delivered a clear message: “The Amazon cannot be envisioned or governed without the voices of those who have inhabited and protected it since ancestral times.”
With MAPI, Amazonian indigenous peoples will take an active role in shaping the region’s climate future, setting a global precedent for intercultural and multilateral cooperation.
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