The Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) announces the creation of the ACTO Amazon Regional Platform for Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change at the IUCN World Conservation Congress.
The Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), represented by its Executive Director, Ambassador Carlos Alfredo Lazary and his technical team, participated on September 5 in the panel “Indigenous Territories in the Amazon Basin: Community-based Solutions and Nature”organized by the Coordinator of the Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA) at the World Nature Congress of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), held in Marseille from September 3rd to 11th.
In his speech, the Executive Director of ACTO congratulated the urgent call for a global pact to protect 80% of the Amazon by 2025, proclaimed by COICA. In this context, Ambassador Lazary stressed the importance of advancing the implementation of the decisions emanating from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which recognises the role of indigenous peoples in the management of climate change, according to the declarations of the ACTO member countries themselves.
Lazary also announced the creation of an ACTO Amazon Regional Platform for Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change, which aligns with the UNFCCC framework, where the formation of the Platform of Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples was established as a body within the Convention to facilitate the exchange of experiences, best practices and lessons learned on climate change mitigation and adaptation from the perspective of indigenous peoples.
The Amazon Regional Platform of Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change of ACTO will promote the exchange of knowledge, experiences and good practices of indigenous peoples to contribute to the protection, conservation, recovery and restoration of the Amazon rainforest and its biodiversity.
The planned activities can be summarized in the articulation, systematization and transmission of the different systems of knowledge that the indigenous peoples of the Amazon region have in response to climate change, promoting the dialogue of knowledge through a Regional Platform within the scope of the Amazon Regional Observatory (ARO) of ACTO, which will be launched this semester.
Recognition of the role of Indigenous Peoples
In turn, the ACTO Delegation emphasized the recognition of the fundamental role of indigenous peoples in the sustainable and comprehensive management of forests, of biological diversity in the harmonious use of natural resources found in the Amazon, among other traditional practices and knowledge. He also pointed out that, since 2019, ACTO has been looking for ways to promote this substantial role of Indigenous Peoples in the context of their protection, conservation and sustainable development activities in the Amazon region.
ACTO Regional Platform on Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change
This platform has its objectives focused on:
- Constitution of the Amazon Regional Platform of Indigenous Peoples and its articulation with the global platform. The creation of the platform will be promoted to facilitate the sharing of traditional knowledge, experiences and good practices of indigenous peoples related to climate change management.
- Exchange of knowledge and good practices of indigenous peoples with a climate change approach. Dialogues on indigenous peoples’ practices and technologies related to climate change management will be promoted, in particular on climate change mitigation and adaptation issues, identifying common approaches and actions as well as local particularities. In this context, progress will be made in the systematization and dissemination of the dialogues developed in the Amazon region.
- Formulation of a Regional Amazon Strategy for Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change. Within the framework of the Amazon Regional Platform, progress will be made in formulating a regional Amazon strategy for indigenous peoples and climate change, ensuring that opportunities are made available so that they can better contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation objectives.
- Strengthening information systems and monitoring of indigenous peoples in the ARO. The Amazon Regional Platform of Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change will contribute to the information and monitoring system of the Amazon Regional Observatory, installed at ACTO, regarding the development of management processes and resilience to climate change.
