The voice of the Indigenous Peoples of the world on the planetary environmental emergency
The collective voice of leaders from 53 nations and 4 continents
This message is directed to the United Nations and the states that currently govern and control the world with their laws and science…
Miguel Chindoy, Legal representative of the Asociación Indígena Agro Pueblos. Kamëntsá nation, Colombia
Those of us who express and sign the content of this document are descendants of the first peoples and nations that creation has left under the laws of nature to take care of the earth, which is the home of humanity. We are the historical guardians of life that manifests in water, plants, fauna, forests, mountains, moorlands, snow-capped mountains, oceans, glaciers, mangroves, beaches, wetlands, and every living form that represents a cell of the existing cosmic order.
Since time immemorial, our ancestors understood the codes of nature, its laws, and its teachings, so that each people from every place of origin, according to traditions, totems, spiritualities, and knowledge, could exercise governance over life. This is the inheritance that ancestral wisdom has left us, which we still preserve, and for this reason, we feel the duty to express to the United Nations and the states, so that, in the face of today's environmental emergency, we may be heard from their consciousness.
With due respect, but without baggage, we express that we understand, but we lament the logic that those who hold technological power and economic power wield control over the world; because through this path, power has become an obsession of powerful nations that have blinded their essence as children of the earth and have become masters of the planet. In this utilitarian logic, they have objectified the world and commodified everything that exists, and this is now the backbone of the system that states have adopted today.
This wave of injustices against the goods of nature has been interpreted by many grandparents, elders, and sages of indigenous peoples as a war against Mother Earth and a denial of the rights of future generations; in the face of which many leaders of indigenous peoples have raised their voice of discontent, and many of them have sacrificed their lives for these claims. Therefore, we reaffirm that a large part of human history is a history of pain written with the blood of our ancestors.
We do not intend to denounce or scandalize the actions of those who currently hold the power of decision regarding the destinies of the world, but we do want them to remember that, in recent decades, injustices have been committed with nature in the name of development, and rights of the land have been violated through megaprojects that have destroyed vital resources and desecrated sacred sites. Faced with all these irreparable damages, in recent years, it has been callously asserted that the polluter must pay, trying to imply that everything can be resolved with the god of money.
Around these injustices with the assets of nature, categories and concepts about wealth and poverty have been created; social inequalities have been established, and above all, human thought has been contaminated, with all the repercussions that derive from it, and in the face of which Indigenous Peoples often consider us poor, backward, and ignorant. That is why today Indigenous Peoples ask the world if it is more ignorant to recognize the earth as a mother or to consider the earth as a commodity.
One of the first pieces of scientific equivalence knowledge of Indigenous Peoples is that the earth is a living being, with sensitivity and epistemic wisdom; we owe to it what we are and what we do as peoples. Our history, traditions, myths, languages, and all practices as peoples are owed to Mother Earth; she is the source of the ancestral sciences of Indigenous Peoples, today still in force and necessary for the preservation of life.
Therefore, in the face of the proposal for payment for environmental services and bonds or credits for various vital resources by those with economic power, it is necessary that we jointly evaluate the adverse impacts caused against nature, with effective participation of Indigenous Peoples as guardians and mourners of nature and not only by those who hold decision-making power in the spheres of global politics where climate change is discussed, but in reality, it is about the earth in a state of illness.
It is not fair that those who have caused the greatest contamination and deterioration of nature now assume a heroic stance as if it were a help with financial resources so that we continue to care for or restore nature's resources; which they further intend to be under their logic, their norms, and their convenience, in which we would end up absorbed by the market system. We cannot forget that today we are facing environmental damages caused by greed that no economic budget can repair.
We understand that the birth of the United Nations was motivated to safeguard order and advocate for rights related to life; hence the UN system has become institutionalized in all fields, which we recognize its importance. But at the same time, it seems paradoxical to us that around environmental issues today, life is in imminent danger. In this sense, we consider it urgent that, just as human rights have been declared binding for states, the rights of the earth must also be recognized as binding for states.
Therefore, from Indigenous Peoples, we urgently call upon the United Nations to lead this task in conjunction with the people. It is a commitment to just mitigation and a change in human behavior in the face of the environmental emergency caused by projects such as mining, deforestation, the use of agrochemicals, biopiracy, animal trafficking, river, lake, and ocean pollution, among others. If every year heads of state meet to issue statements about their management or concern, why is it not possible to gather the many voices of the Indigenous Peoples, so that from the UN microphones, we can speak to the world on this issue?
Given all of the above, since the matter of bonds and/or credits will be a reality, we, as Indigenous Peoples, advocate for these processes to be based on principles that guarantee the exercise of the rights that we hold as pre-existing peoples to the states; because before human laws, we are protected by the right of birth, in accordance with the natural law or law of origin written in the codes of nature since the beginning of time.
In this sense, the agreements, commitments, or deals that are to be established must bear the hallmark of transparency, good faith, and due process; where clear dialogue will be the guideline for understanding. Indeed, each agreement with the communities must be preceded by the corresponding consultation, so that there is prior, free, and informed consent. In this way, Indigenous Peoples do not assume the simple role of beneficiaries, but that of strategic allies to continue fulfilling the mission of being guardians of life.
Finally, we express our will that the present content be incorporated as a preamble or historical background to the terms of reference and the letter that will guide the parties involved in the upcoming agreements, with the certainty that the future of humanity depends on the health of Mother Earth, and her health depends on our commitment as her children.
Co-signatories:
Benji Ekolu Rodrigues, Translational leader, Kanaka maoli (Native Hawaiian), USA, Hawaii
Fernando Lezama, Taita, Pijao, Colombia, Putumayo
José Alberto Garreta Jansasoy, Governor of the Cofan Indigenous Reservation, Cofán, Nariño, Colombia
Jattopa Rufino Antonio Ponare, Cacique and Master of Tradition,
Huottoja, VenezuelaJayesh Joshi, Leader from Maharashtra, Bhil, India
Goengalla Yin JummaJumma McLeod, represents ALL the Australian aborigines, Jaithmathang, Australia
Jhony López, Environmentalist, Pastos, Putumayo, Colombia
Demer Gonzales Vasquez, President of the Autonomous Territorial Government Organization of the Shipibo Konibo Nation, Peru
Written by Michael Chindoy, Legal representative of the Asociación Indígena Agro Pueblos. Kamëntsá tribe, Colombia. On consultation with leaders from >53 leaders from independent indigenous nations, some of which are public personally or as a group. Please note that these leaders and their statements are independent, and may not be affiliated with Savimbo or in agreement with biodiversity crediting.
