We, Indigenous peoples of Brazil, in light of the severity of the biodiversity and climate crises, know that there is no time to waste.
Here, at COP-16 in Cali, Colombia, we want to declare that we will no longer accept any predatory projects that threaten our lives, our territories, and humanity. We will not accept any more oil and gas projects or any other form of predatory exploitation in the Brazilian Amazon, in our territories, and in our ecosystems. There will be no preservation of biodiversity and safe indigenous territories on a planet that is on fire.
We know who is setting the world on fire and the violent impact this has produced in our territories: severe droughts, forced isolation, diseases, lack of food, invasions, conflicts, and deaths.
In the face of the imminent collapse of the sustenance of life on the planet, strong and effective actions must be taken. While governments continue to seek to mediate insufficient targets and empty funding, we want to announce that, from now on, there will only be peace with Nature if we openly declare war against fossil fuels and any other predatory project that threatens life on the planet.
The Colombian government has already taken the first step by suspending the granting of new oil and gas explorations in the country and has already recognized us as environmental authorities. We hope that other countries will follow this same commitment. The other face of the climate and biodiversity crisis is the crisis of leadership and values. We have never abdicated this place and will not get lost in empty discussions and sterile commitments.
We demand the immediate resumption of the demarcation of all Indigenous lands in Brazil as an effective climate policy and direct funding for the comprehensive protection of our territories and our ways of life in harmony with Nature.
COP-30 will be in our territory. We will not accept that discussions take place without proper consultation and participation of our voices and authorities. We demand the co-presidency of the Climate COP in Brazil so that the accumulation of our ancestral knowledge and experiences can offer the world the opportunity for a different future.
We call upon all Indigenous peoples, partners, allies, and everyone who cares about life on Earth to join our call to collectively hold up the sky. If it depends on us, the sky will not fall.
WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE.
The sky’s rising begins now.
WE ARE THE ANSWER
Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB)
Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB)
Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of the Northeast, Minas Gerais, and Espírito Santo (APOINME)
Council of the Terena People
Great Assembly of the Guarani People (ATY GUASU)
Guarani Yvyrupa Commission (CGY)
Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of the Southeast (ARPINSUDESTE)
Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of the Southern Region (ARPINSUL)