“We are the guardians of the forest and the guardians of life. We see our forests being destroyed in front of our eyes and we cannot protect them alone – we need more support. For us, the indigenous peoples, this meeting has been invaluable because we have been given the opportunity to sit down and express ourselves. To the GCF Governors I would like to say that we can do this, we can do this together.”
– Cándido Mezua – Secretary of International Relations to the Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests and Emberã Tribe member, Panama, speaking at the 2017 Annual Meeting on protecting forests addressing climate change
In this video, indigenous and local government leaders share their hopes for a collaborative partnership to strengthen and amplify efforts in the fight against deforestation and climate change.
Together with the Earth Innovation Institute (EII), the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force (GCF) has been working to ensure that indigenous peoples’ rights are protected and advanced through inclusive policy-making. The 2017 Annual Meeting included special session between indigenous peoples and GCF Governors, providing indigenous leaders an opportunity to contribute to the development of forest and climate policy in GCF states and provinces.
To learn more about the GCF’s collaboration with indigenous peoples, and the challenges they face to protect their forests, please see EII’s recent blog.
Another GCF partner, Forest Trends, recently released a video detailing ongoing efforts of the Yawanawa people to develop Life Plans in Acre. Titled ‘Stewards of the Forest’, the video can be seen below.