Conservationists back indigenous peoples’ call to protect 80% of the Amazon by 2025

Conservationists back indigenous peoples’ call to protect 80% of the Amazon by 2025

Members of the IUCN Congress overwhelmingly backed the motion but Brazilian experts warn the verdict will likely be ignored by Bolsonaro’s government

By Chloé Farand

Campaigners and governments have backed calls to protect 80% of the Amazon by 2025 during a major conservation summit in the French port city of Marseille.

The world congress of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature overwhelmingly voted for a global pact to protect the world’s largest tropical forest — putting conservationists on a collision course with Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro.

The proposal was submitted by the Coordinator of Indigenous Organisations of the Amazon Basin (Coica), whose members erupted in joy when the vote results were announced. The motion was formally supported by 17 civil society groups from across the world.

José Gregorio Díaz Mirabal, general director of Coica, described the proposal as “a plan for the salvation of indigenous peoples and the planet”.

“We have achieved a first step. For the first time in the history of the IUCN, a motion by indigenous peoples has been approved; a proposal that was not born in Europe but in our territories,” he told Climate Home News.

In total, 61 countries members of IUCN backed the motion, which is not legally binding, and 42 abstained. None voted against.

Brazil, which is not an IUCN member, could not participate in the vote. But Brazilian experts say president Jair Bolsonaro is highly unlikely to take notice of the verdict, which clashes with his agenda to open up the Amazon to business interests.

The motion urges governments to promote efforts to restore at least half of the Amazon’s degraded forests by 2025 and to work with indigenous peoples’ to fully recognise and delimit all their ancestral land and territories.

Coica said Amazon countries must enable indigenous peoples and local communities to govern protected areas that overlap with their territories. They further called on states to ban industrial activities in primary forests and mobilise more funding to restore ecosystems.

But in Brazil, the opposite is taking place. The Bolsonaro administration is pushing through a series of laws to roll back indigenous rights, environmental licensing standards, and land grabbing legislation, all of which prevent forest clearance, campaigners say.

Deforestation in the Amazon rose 17% in 2020 compared with the previous year. The world’s largest rainforest is now emitting more carbon than it absorbs. Humid primary forest loss in the Brazilian Amazon increased 15% during that time.

The UN backed Science Panel for the Amazon, which is composed of 200 scientists, found that 17% of the Amazon basin’s forests have been felled. It warned that if combined deforestation and degradation surged to 20-25%, the forest could reach a tipping point. Rainfall would dry up and large swaths of the forests could turn into savannah, resulting in massive carbon emissions.

Paulo Moutinho, senior researcher at the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (Ipam), told Climate Home he didn’t expect any reaction from Bolsonaro’s administration.

Global efforts and initiative to protect the Amazon have usually been met with claims about foreign interference and breach of sovereignty, Moutinho said.

However, outside of Brazil, the vote “certainly could reinforce the view that to protect the Amazon forest, we urgently need to protect indigenous rights to their lands,” he said.

Izabella Teixeira, Brazil’s former environment minister and co-chair of the International Resource Panel, told Climate Home the motion could be used by civil society groups in Brazil to call for environmental protection ahead of next year’s presidential election – an issue she said will be “critical”.

Mirabal, of Coica, said he hoped the motion could be translated into an action plan and implemented. He said Coica would take it to governments in South America and beyond to Europe, the US and China to drum up support.

“We want this motion to generate projects and political support for our territories, but also conserve and protect our home,” he said. “Trust us, we are going to do everything possible. But we need financial and technical support, the political will of governments, and of all the allies who today voted for us,” he said.

Peoples Bank working with Mountaineer Food Bank

West Virginia Food Insecurity addressed with a collaboration between Mountaineer Food Bank and Peoples Bank

In order to support Mountaineer Food Bank, Peoples Bank will match up to $20,000 in donations during Hunger Action Month. This campaign will celebrate the upcoming merger of Premier Bank and Peoples Bank as well as the 40th anniversary of Mountaineer Food Bank.

Peoples Bank will match up to $20,000 to raise a grand total of $40,000 for those struggling with food insecurity in West Virginia. This campaign began Sept. 1.

Hunger Action Month is a nationwide campaign, in the month of September, that is recognized by Feeding America and Food Banks across the country. The campaign raises awareness of hunger in the United States and promotes ways for individuals everywhere to get involved with the fight to end food insecurity. Peoples Bank and Mountaineer Food Bank launched the campaign as one way to take action throughout the month while helping food insecure families and individuals in West Virginia.

“Hunger is a hidden crisis that has only been made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. It impacts families, individuals, and children throughout the state, leaving the most vulnerable among us with the inability to meet basic need of putting food on the table,” said Mountaineer Food Bank’s CEO, Chad Morrison. “We’re thrilled to have the support of Peoples Bank through the matching campaign with hopes to raise a grand total of $40,000 to help those who need it most, while recognizing our 40th anniversary. Through their partnership, we can better serve our neighbors in need while providing an easy way for the community to do their part during Hunger Action Month.”

“We’re proud to partner with Mountaineer Food Bank and support their mission to feed West Virginia’s hungry. This is an extremely important cause to Peoples Bank as we know the impact that food insecurity can have on individuals and families in our communities,” said Peoples Bank Chief Marketing Officer, Kevin Eagan.

The campaign will run through the end of September. For every $1 donated, Mountaineer Food Bank and Peoples Bank is able to provide up to 10 meals to those in need. To learn more about Peoples Bank visit pebo.com. To contribute a donation visit www.mountaineerfoodbank.org or follow Mountaineer Food Bank and Peoples Bank on Facebook for a direct link.

Congress of Aboriginal Peoples says government discriminates against non-status, off-reserve Indians

The Trudeau government does consult with the AFN, MNC and ITK, but has failed “to involve [CAP] adequately or not at all in the consultation for negotiations about self government, land claims, treaty rights, health care, education, infrastructure, natural resources and other areas,” she added.

In 2016 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously in Daniels v. Canada (Indian Affairs and Northern Development) that the federal government, rather than provincial governments, holds the legal responsibility to legislate on issues related to Métis and non-status Indians. The court found that Métis and non-status peoples are considered Indians under section 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867.

“Canada has to wake up,” Augustine said. “The highest court in this country, through the Daniels decision, says that the non-status and Métis are part” of who are considered Indians and fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government “and they are to look after us. They have not done [anything] since that decision in 2016. So yes, I have to say they are favouring three recognized organizations.”

Broadly, the Trudeau government’s “broken promises” to Canada’s Indigenous peoples include one to largely repeal mandatory minimum sentences, said CAP National Vice-Chief Kim Beaudin; Bill C-22 had not been passed before Parliament was dissolved when the Sept. 20, 2021 election was called.

“The other one is representation of Indigenous people on Canadian juries; again, a broken promise,” said Beaudin. “Another big one [is] what’s going on behind prison walls in regards to solitary confinement.”