Bogotá, 14 August 2024 - As part of Colombia's major commitments for the 16th Conference of the Parties, the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Susana Muhamad, announced that as President of the COP16 she will strongly promote the approval of the Work Plan for the world's indigenous peoples and local communities, one of the articles to be discussed at this world summit on biodiversity that will take place in Cali from 20 October to 1 November.
The Amazon Basin is home to more than 500 indigenous peoples and vital for the protection and conservation of the world's biodiversity.
‘It is very important for Colombia, as host country, to contribute to the recognition of the contribution that indigenous peoples make to the world, not because they are the caretakers who are doing it as a rule, but because their processes have led to a harmonious relationship between nature and human civilization , and this is at the root of what humanity needs and what COP16 is calling for: to make Peace with Nature’, Minister Muhamad reaffirmed.
The Minister of Environment, Susana Muhamad, assured that Colombia, as host country of the COP16, will contribute to the strengthening of guarantees of recognition for indigenous peoples around the world.
International Meeting of Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon Basin, towards COP16
This commitment to indigenous peoples comes amidst the opening of the International Meeting of Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon Basin, which highlights the vital role of Amazonian indigenous territories for life and indigenous knowledge systems in conserving biodiversity and combating climate change.
In this sense, Minister Muhamad also assured that this meeting seeks to advance an agreement so that the peoples have guarantees and can make their deliberations, as well as take political decisions. The event, which takes place in Bogota over three days, is part of the previous meetings that will contribute to the commitments of different sectors towards the COP16, the COP of the People.
The announcement was made during the International Meeting of Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon Basin, which, as part of the events leading up to COP16 and with the participation of nine countries, is taking place in Bogotá.
For his part, the president of the National Organisation of Indigenous Peoples of the Colombian Amazon (Opiac), Oswaldo Muca, said that ‘this alliance between the Ministry of the Environment to continue talking about biodiversity and climate change is very positive and the task we have is not only with the indigenous peoples, but with other actors so that we can reach an agreement and save the world’.
By supporting this meeting, the National Government ratifies the importance of the cosmovisions and experiences of indigenous peoples in the construction of Peace with Nature.