Last week, Indigenous leaders from around the world joined business leaders and politicians for the World Economic Forum’s 2024 Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. While much of the discussion on climate change and nature loss at Davos focused on the role of unproven and controversial voluntary carbon and biodiversity offset schemes, it is increasingly evident that it is Indigenous peoples who hold the key. Indigenous peoples are on the front lines of the climate crisis, and it is their voices and solutions that must be championed and supported. These communities, often overlooked in the broader conservation discourse, hold a proven track record of delivering scalable, community-based solutions for the protection of rainforests. The science is clear: Indigenous-managed forests sequester more carbon and are better protected than those that aren’t, yet the international community consistently fails to include Indigenous peoples in the funding and policy discussions that significantly impact them. The global elite who gathered at Davos need to go beyond just recognizing the crucial role of Indigenous peoples in confronting the climate crisis – and those most impacted by it – by supporting proven and scalable strategies and true engagement of Indigenous communities in securing rights to their land, promoting sustainable forest management, and developing sustainable local economies. Misak women, men and children observe the contrast between the monoculture pine and eucalyptus plantation, on the right, and the natural forest in their territory, on the left. Image courtesy of Antonio Cascio. One of the hurdles that has consistently inhibited progress…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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