COP30 Assessment by the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB)

27/Nov/2025

Index

Introduction: The Indigenous COP
APIB highlights on COP30
Indigenous Participation at COP30
Achievements of the indigenous movement at COP30
Our vision for the future: what we expect from COP31
Appendix: References to Indigenous Peoples in the Official Documents of COP30

Introduction: The Indigenous COP

COP30 will be remembered worldwide as the Indigenous COP, not only because of the largest indigenous participation in history, but also because we transformed the Climate Conference into a political territory where demarcation, protection and self-determination ceased to be marginal issues and became central to the climate debate.

Since Belém was announced as the host city for the Conference, we have built a collective strategy, articulated from our grassroot organizations, so that COP30 would leave a concrete legacy for the indigenous peoples of Brazil. From this process, the Indigenous NDC was born: including 36 measures that affirm that there can be no real climate action without demarcation, without direct financing, without zones free from exploitation, and without the protection of the peoples who have lived in harmony with the planet for millennia.

We occupied all the advocacy spaces in Belém: the Blue Zone, the Green Zone, the People’s Summit, the COP Village, the streets and the rivers. We also reaffirmed and strengthened our political coordination with other social movements and indigenous peoples at the global level.

While the world listened to us, once again the violence we always denounced prevailed: on November 16, in parallel with the COP, the Indigenous leader Vicente Fernandes Kaiowá was murdered. We reaffirm that there can be no climate solution while those who protect biomes continue to be persecuted and killed, and while unconstitutional laws such as 14.701/2023 (Marco Temporal) promote violence in our territories.

COP30 concludes with historic advances for indigenous peoples: demarcations, financial commitments, structural programs, and the recognition that the protection of our territories is climate policy. We also acknowledge the support of the Minister of Indigenous Peoples, Sonia Guajajara, in the institutional negotiations that resulted in some of the advances presented at COP30.

Each achievement was the result of the tireless mobilization of our leaders, organizations and peoples: nothing was given to us. Even so, the results of COP were insufficient to truly address the climate crisis.

We will continue to fight for concrete measures to end the exploitation of fossil fuels, deforestation and, above all, for the protection of our rights and territories. We made the conference a lively space for debate, courage and purpose. We showed the world that there is no climate future without us. We remain vigilant and continue to fight, because the answer is us.

APIB highlights on COP30

LARGEST INDIGENOUS PARTICIPATION IN THE HISTORY OF THE COPS

Over 5,000 indigenous people, being more than 4,000 from Brazil
Around 900 indigenous people accredited in the Blue Zone, including around 400 from Brazil
More than 500 official and parallel events with indigenous participation, including more than 400 with the participation of leaders from APIB and our regional grassroots organizations

CIVIL SOCIETY MANIFESTATIONS

Peoples’ Summit: more than 1,300 civil society organizations and 70,000 participants at the international level
COP Village: a reference point for the indigenous delegation, with around 4,000 national and international indigenous peoples
Peoples’ Summit Boat Parade (November 12): over 200 boats and approximately 5,000 participants
Global Climate March (November 15): more than 70,000 people
Global Indigenous March – The Answer Is Us (November 17): more than 3,000 people
Dozens of daily acts and interventions

PROGRESS IN LAND DEMARCATION AND PROTECTION

Progress in the demarcation of 27 Indigenous Lands:
4 new ratifications
10 declaratory ordinances
6 approvals of Detailed Identification and Delimitation Reports (RCID)
7 ordinances for the constitution of Technical Working Groups (GTs) for the formalization of multidisciplinary studies
In addition to advances in the protection of 11 territories:
10 ordinances establishing Indigenous Reserves
1 restrictive use ordinance
Commitment by the Brazilian Government to recognize 59 million hectares of indigenous lands in the next 5 years (included in the global commitment by the countries that make up the FCLP to recognize 160 million hectares of indigenous and local community lands by 2030)
Official announcement of the Indigenous Land Protection Program (PPTI)

FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS

Renewal of the FTFG commitment to allocate US$ 1.8 billion to indigenous peoples and local communities by 2030 (globally)
From us, for us: the indigenous and local community funds that make up the Shandia Platform have announced US$ 500 million in direct financing over the next 5 years (globally)
We guarantee that at least 20% of TFFF payments will be directly transferred to indigenous peoples and local communities
Announcement of the Vítuke Mechanism for Environmental and Territorial Management, with contributions of R$ 150 million

PROGRESS IN THE OFFICIAL COP30 AGREEMENTS

Indigenous territories and traditional knowledge recognized as climate mitigation policy.
Indigenous participation ensured in building a just transition and fulfilling our rights.
Guarantee of free, prior and informed consent and of our self-determination.
Protection of Isolated and Recently Contacted Indigenous Peoples.
Inclusion of indigenous leadership in climate adaptation and resilience as part of just transition.
Explicit recognition of Afro-descendant peoples in official documents.

OMISSIONS IN THE OFFICIAL COP30 AGREEMENTS

Failure to adopt the Roadmap to end fossil fuel exploitation and deforestation.
Absence of a recommendation that national climate policies incorporate demarcation, surveillance, territorial governance, and indigenous management as pillars for meeting their climate goals.
Lack of safeguards and of safe whistleblowing mechanisms against carbon projects and JREDD+ that move forward without consent.

Indigenous Participation at COP30

COP30 saw the largest indigenous participation in the history of the UN Climate Conferences. In total, approximately 5,000 indigenous people were in Belém, including over 4,000 representatives from approximately 300 indigenous peoples in Brazil and about 1,000 indigenous representatives from more than 50 countries.

The event also recorded the largest accredited indigenous delegation in the Blue Zone, the official COP negotiation space: we had approximately 900 accredited indigenous peoples, of whom around 400 were Brazilian. Until then, Dubai had recorded the largest indigenous participation in COPs, with approximately 350 representatives.

Beyond the Blue Zone, our peoples occupied all advocacy spaces during COP30. We had significant participation in parallel events organized in the Green Zone, the official COP30 space dedicated to civil society; at the People’s Summit, our main space for political articulation and convergence with other social movements; in spaces self-managed by civil society in Belém; and in the COP Village, the reference space for the indigenous delegation during COP30, where most of the indigenous delegation was hosted and also where several events were organized by APIB and by our regional grassroots organizations, as well as by the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples and other partners and allies.

We took the streets of Belém in two marches and countless acts and interventions, fighting for our rights and bringing visibility to our demands and contributions. Through our tireless mobilization and advocacy, we succeeded in making the indigenous agenda and the demarcation of our lands the main topic of debate in international media, and the second most discussed topic at the national level, consolidating in the public opinion “the centrality of Indigenous Peoples as protagonists in finding solutions to the climate crisis” [1].

Although we achieved record participation and visibility during COP30, we still do not have formal participation in the negotiation process of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), so that our demands could be incorporated into official decisions. Spaces such as the Indigenous Caucus, the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform, and the Peoples’ Circle are fundamental achievements of the indigenous movement to influence our demands at the climate debate, but we continue to demand direct participation in the negotiations and agreements made within the framework of the Climate Conferences.

The historic indigenous participation in COP30 marked a political and paradigmatic shift: we proved to the world that there can be no climate action without the inclusion of indigenous peoples and territories at the center of climate debate and agreements. This is one of our legacies for the next COPs.

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[1] Digital Public Opinion Monitoring Report, conducted by Quaest, between November 10, 2025 and November 21, 2025. The report states that “Indigenous leaders have become central players in the debate, demanding climate consistency, land demarcation, and limits on fossil fuel exploitation. Their demonstrations were highlighted both in Brazil and on the international stage.”

Events

The indigenous agenda at COP30 was, in terms of numbers and thematic scope, the largest ever recorded at a UN Climate Conference. Over two weeks, our leaders participated in more than 500 official and parallel events, of which more than 400 involved the direct participation of APIB and of our regional grassroots organizations, with over 70 events organized directly by the Brazilian indigenous movement.

This significant volume was not scattered: it was strategic and stems from our historic demand for direct participation in the climate debate. APIB structured its activities in a coordinated manner by subjects, lands and debate priority, ensuring a qualified and geographically representative presence at high-level round tables, technical panels, plenary sessions, civil society spaces, the COP Village, the Green Zone, the People’s Summit and crucial bilateral meetings with governments, multilateral funds, philanthropic organizations and international bodies.

Each event was an opportunity to advocate for our key demands: the demarcation as a mitigation policy; the recognition of the Indigenous NDC; direct funding; our lands as exploitation-free zones; the protection of defenders; a just, sovereign and popular transition; an end to the uncontrolled expansion of the agricultural frontier, among other topics [see below Achievements of the Indigenous Movement at COP30 for more information].

These axes were articulated based on concrete cases, such as the impacts of floodings in Rio Grande do Sul, the severe droughts in the Amazon, the advance of the soy frontiers in MATOPIBA, Cerrado and Pampa, systematic violence against the Guarani Kaiowá and the Pataxó, the impacts of mining on the Kayapó, the Munduruku and the Yanomami peoples, the pressure of deforestation and mining on isolated and recently contacted peoples, as well as several other emblematic cases.

Our national and international political coordination has also gained scale: in events organized with the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities, the Amazon G9, trade unions, the black movement, quilombolas and partner organizations, we have strengthened political alliances and built unified narratives within the scope of our common campaign “The Answer Is Us”.

Such spaces allowed us to challenge official government positions, denounce setbacks and, at the same time, offer solutions based on our traditional ways of life. Among the high-level meetings held with the participation of APIB leaders during COP30, we highlight meetings with:

the President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, Luís Inácio Lula da Silva
the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres
the Prince of Wales, William Arthur Philip Louis
the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Albert K. Barume
the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Climate Change, Elisa Morgera
the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to a Healthy Environment, Astrid Puentes Riaño
the Minister for Climate and Environment of Norway, Mr Andreas Bjelland Eriksen
the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights’ team
and several European MPs (from Norway: Lars Haltbrekken – Socialist; Frøya Skjold Sjursæther – Greens; Aleksander Stokkebø – Conservatives; Tor Mikkel Wara, Progress Party; Lisa Badum – Greens; and from Germany: Violetta Bock – The Left; Jakob Blankenburg – SD; Lisa Badum – Greens; Anna Aeikens – CDU).

APIB’s background of resistance and advocacy for land rights and against the climate crisis was recognized by several partners during COP30, including the Finnish Climate Action group, which awarded us the “Climate Champion Award”, and CAN International, which awarded us the “Solidarity and Justice for the Indigenous People of the Amazon” award.

In short, we did not participate in COP30, we shaped COP30: we transformed the Conference into a lively, critical and proactive space, consolidating our indigenous leaders as climate authorities and the indigenous movement as one of the central pillars of global climate governance.

Marches and Demonstrations

The United Nations Climate Conference has not been held in democratic countries since COP26 in Glasgow in 2021. In this sense, the expression of the right to free demonstration by the indigenous movement and civil society as a whole was one of the main highlights of COP30.

There were countless interventions, demonstrations, acts and marches organized and participated in by the indigenous movement, as a historic tool for demanding and fighting for the recognition and the protection of our rights. Among the main interventions carried out with the direct participation of APIB and our regional grassroots organizations, we highlight:

Global Indigenous March – The Answer Is Us (November 17): we marched through the streets of Belém with over 3,000 people, demanding the demarcation and the protection of territories, our inclusion and effective participation in negotiating tables, the end of fossil fuel exploitation and the declaration of our lands as exploitation-free zones.
Global Climate March (November 15): organized by the People’s Summit, the march brought together more than 70,000 people from various social movements and from all over the world, demanding social, environmental and climate justice.
Peoples’ Summit Boat Parade (November 12): the boat parade brought together around 200 boats and approximately 5,000 people from 60 countries in the Guajará Bay, in a symbolic act for COP30 and for climate justice. Indigenous peoples, riverine communities, quilombolas, social movements and organizations from various countries participated in it, all united to denounce false climate solutions and to reaffirm alternatives based on agroecology, solidarity and respect for territories.
Vigil: We Are All Guarani Kaiowá (November 17): APIB and Aty Guasu organized the We Are All Guarani Kaiowá vigil in solidarity with the Guarani Kaiowá people following the brutal murder of their leader Vicente Fernandes Kaiowá, which took place in parallel with COP30 (November 16) during the retaking of the Pyelito Kue territory, exposing the violence that continues to affect those who most protect our territories.
In addition to these demonstrations, indigenous leaders organized and participated in dozens of daily acts demanding our rights (such as the peaceful demonstration led by the Munduruku people at the entrance to the Blue Zone), which put pressure on Member States and resulted in specific measures being adopted by the Brazilian government (such as the guarantee of Free, Prior and Informed Consultation on the project to build a waterway on the Tapajós River).

These mobilizations put direct pressure on negotiators, countries and the UN. Through our pressure and visibility, we were able to influence public opinion and to constraint on the COP30 negotiations regarding agreements that were being made without our direct participation.

People’s Summit

APIB has been part of the political coordination of the People’s Summit since its creation in March 2023. During COP30, the People’s Summit consolidated itself as the main space of reference and convergence for organized civil society, bringing together more than 70,000 people, representatives of more than 1,300 social movements, civil society organizations and collectives from around the world.

The process of unity in diversity represented by the People’s Summit is strategic beyond COP30, as it strengthens the resistance of our social movements against economic and political interests that have been decimating our peoples and destroying our territories and biomes for centuries.

APIB cosigned the Final Declaration of the People’s Summit, which denounces false market solutions, the inadequacy of the final agreement presented at COP30, the role of capitalism and colonialism in the climate crisis, and the omission of governments in the face of the planetary emergency. The Declaration also incorporated central demands of the indigenous movement, such as the requirement for the demarcation and protection of our territories, direct funding, and an end to the exploitation of fossil fuels.

Achievements of the indigenous movement at COP30

APIB and our regional grassroots organizations have been coordinating strategies for the outcomes of COP30 since November 2022, when the then president-elect Luís Inácio Lula da Silva announced, during COP27, held in Sharm el-Sheikh, the candidature for the city of Belém to host the 30th United Nations Climate Conference, a proposal that was confirmed in December of that year.

Since then, the Brazilian indigenous movement has defined that our main goal for COP30 would be to ensure that the demarcation and the protection of indigenous territories are officially recognized as climate policy and that COP30 leaves a concrete legacy of territorial protection, among other specific demands on the UNFCCC negotiation agenda. This definition stems from the historical accumulation of the indigenous mobilization in the defense of our territories and rights, consolidated through our national assemblies, the Free Land Camp (Acampamento Terra Livre – ATL).

Thus, COP30 did indeed introduce significant advances for the indigenous peoples of Brazil and of the world, with the recognition of our territories as a climate mitigation policy, announcements of demarcation and commitments to territorial recognition and direct funding. We also recognize the important role and leadership of the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, in the figure of Minister Sonia Guajajara, in promoting the required institutional coordination for several of the announced results, and in building this process over the last few years.

However, the overall picture from COP30 still shows that countries and the UNFCCC are far from recognizing and implementing what is our national and international right, and from promoting an agenda with the necessary climate ambition in the face of the emergency we are experiencing – both in our territories and globally. Without denying sectoral advances, we believe that much more could have been done, especially if States truly had the same ambition for protection that we have for life, ecosystems, future generations, and the planet.

In this scenario, we are fully aware that the advances we have achieved were not voluntary or proactively granted by States or international organizations. We reaffirm that each of the achievements we celebrate is the result of our historic resistance in our territories, of our political articulation from our grassroots to the regional, national and international levels, and of our tireless political advocacy for the defense of our rights.

1. Progress in Demarcations and Land Protection at COP30

We consider the announcements on demarcations to be the main achievement of the Brazilian indigenous movement at COP30, where we had progress on the demarcation of 27 Indigenous Lands. The administrative process for the demarcation of Indigenous Lands in Brazil occurs in seven stages [2]. We celebrate each territory that advances in each stage of demarcation as an additional step towards the exclusive use and full possession of our lands, in accordance with our constitutionally guaranteed right. The 27 demarcation announcements made at COP30 are:

4 Approvals (demarcation stage 6):

Kaxuyana Tunayana Indigenous Land (located in the states of Pará and Amazonas)
Uirapuru Indigenous Land (Mato Grosso)
Estação Parecis Indigenous Land (Mato Grosso)
Manoki Indigenous Land (Mato Grosso)

10 Declaratory Ordinances (demarcation stage 4):

Vista Alegre Indigenous Land (Amazonas)
Tupinambá de Olivença Indigenous Land (Bahia)
Comexatiba Indigenous Land (Bahia)
Ypoi Triunfo Indigenous Land (Mato Grosso do Sul)
Sawre Ba’pim Indigenous Land (Pará)
Pankará da Serra do Arapuá Indigenous Land (Pernambuco)
Sambaqui Indigenous Land (Paraná)
Ka’aguy Hovy Indigenous Land (São Paulo)
Pakurity Indigenous Land (São Paulo)
Ka’aguy Mirim Indigenous Land (São Paulo)

6 Approvals of Detailed Identification and Delimitation Reports (RCID) (demarcation stage 1):

Curriã Indigenous Land (Amazonas)
Riozinho Iaco Indigenous Land (Acre)
Kulina do Rio Ueré Indigenous Land (Amazonas)
Aracá-Padauiri Indigenous Land (Amazonas)
Gaviãozinho Indigenous Land (Amazonas)
Pindó Poty Indigenous Land (Rio Grande do Sul)

7 Ordinances establishing Technical Groups (GT) for the formalization of multidisciplinary studies (demarcation stage 1):

Nadëb Indigenous Land (Amazonas)
Maraguá-Mawé Indigenous Land (Amazonas)
Tuyuka Indigenous Land (Amazonas)
Rio Paracuní e Curupira Indigenous Land (Amazonas)
Deni do Rio Cuniuá Indigenous Land (Amazonas)
Chandless Indigenous Land (Acre)
Kanamari do Jutaí Indigenous Land (Amazonas)

In addition to concrete advances in the process of demarcating these 27 indigenous lands, we also achieved gains in the protection of 11 other territories:

10 Ordinances establishing Indigenous Reserves:

Kanela do Araguaia (Mato Grosso)
Crim Patehi (Tocantins)
Lakiãnõ Xokleng (Santa Catarina)
Valparaíso (Amazonas)
Uty-Xunaty (Rondônia)
Guajanaíra (Pará)
Juruna at Km 17 Indigenous Land (Pará)
Jenipapeiro (Bahia)
Maturêba (Bahia)
Nazário e Mambira (Ceará)Besides 1 restrictive use ordinance of the Tanaru Indigenous Land (Rondônia).

These announcements respond to our central demand that COP30 leave a concrete legacy of territorial demarcation and protection. However, there are still hundreds of indigenous territories awaiting recognition and protection. The Brazilian State has a duty to promote demarcation as quickly as possible, especially considering that the constitutional deadline for the Union to demarcate all indigenous territories expired in 1993.

Furthermore, as we denounced on several occasions during COP30, the applicability of Law 14.701/2023, which regulates the Marco Temporal [3] and dismantles our rights, has blocked progress in the demarcation of other territories. The Marco Temporal, which has already been ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, has also proven to be one of the main factors limiting progress in the demarcation of our territories. If Law 14.701/2023 was not in force, we would surely have more announcements of demarcations of other territories during COP30. We demand the immediate repeal of Law 14.701/2023 and of the entire package of setbacks to indigenous rights.

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[2] The seven administrative stages of indigenous land demarcation in Brazil include, in summary: 1) Identification: FUNAI conducts anthropological and technical studies to identify and delimit the Indigenous Land. 2) Approval: The President of FUNAI approves the report and publishes its summary in the Official Gazette. 3) Contestation: Interested parties have up to 90 days to challenge the report; Funai analyses the challenges within 60 days and sends them to the Ministry of Justice. 4) Declaration: The Minister of Justice has 30 days to declare boundaries, request further investigation or reject the identification. 5) Physical demarcation: FUNAI carries out the demarcation; INCRA resettles non-indigenous occupants. 6) Approval: The President of the Republic approves the Indigenous Land by decree. 7) Registration: The demarcated area is registered at a notary’s office and with the Federal Property Secretariat.

[3] Agribusiness thesis that imposes that indigenous peoples would only have rights to territories that they could prove they occupied on 5 October 1988, the date of promulgation of the Federal Constitution of Brazil, disregarding decades of persecution and genocide perpetrated against our peoples, causing many of our peoples to be forcibly displaced from our territories, especially during the military dictatorship that preceded the current Constitution.

2. COP30 Official Agreements: Our evaluation based on the Indigenous NDC

APIB has participated in UN Climate Conferences since COP15, held in 2009 in Copenhagen. However, beyond the COPs, our leaders have been denouncing for decades the climate changes caused by the predatory development model adopted by States, by unbridled capitalism and by the greed for financial profit over life.

While it is true that we have lived in harmony with nature for millennia and inseparably from our territories, it is also true that our peoples have been denouncing the climate emergency we are experiencing today since well before the creation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the establishment of the COPs.

To address the current multilateral model of climate change negotiations, we have created the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil, as our guiding document of demands and solutions to be adopted by countries during the COP30 negotiations.

The Indigenous NDC presents 36 proposals divided into seven areas, and was created from our territories up, during several meetings held in 2025, in a constructive process similar to that used in all proposals created by the indigenous movement: representative, collective, politically validated in broad debate, and bottom-up.

The NDC of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil was a pioneering document, being the first record of this instrument proposed by a non-governmental entity. We are proud that the Indigenous NDC has inspired the creation of NDCs from other social segments, as well as NDCs from indigenous peoples in other countries.

In this sense, the Indigenous NDC is our benchmark for evaluating the agreements, the documents, and the official decisions adopted by countries at COP30. In general, we recognize the advances that have been achieved through indigenous coordination and advocacy for COP30, including the progress of including some of our specific demands in official documents.

However, we condemn the lack of ambition and the omission of Member States which, through insufficient decisions, continue to promote climate collapse and to jeopardise the possibility of life for future generations on our planet. Thus, in relation to the final agreements of COP30:

We celebrate the following measures in the agreements adopted by the Parties at COP30:

Recognition of the territories and of traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples as a climate mitigation policy.
Recognition of the participation of indigenous peoples in the creation of pathways for just transition, and of our rights to be promoted and fulfilled in just transition initiatives.
Guarantee of the implementation of our right to free, prior and informed consent and of our right to self-determination.
Protection of Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation and Recent Contact.
Ensuring that climate adaptation and resilience are an integral part of just transitions and must be inclusive and empower indigenous peoples.
Explicit recognition of Afro-descendant peoples in official documents.

We condemn the omission of the following measures in the agreements adopted by the Parties at COP30:

Absence of a Roadmap to End Fossil Fuel Exploitation and to End Deforestation.
Insufficient progress on climate adaptation funding.
Absence of a recommendation that national climate policies incorporate demarcation, surveillance, territorial governance, and indigenous management as pillars for meeting their climate goals.
Absence of concrete safeguards and safe whistleblowing mechanisms against carbon markets and JREDD+ projects that advance in our territories without the due process of free, prior and informed consent.

In summary, we assess that the final documents agreed upon by the countries represent important advances in the recognition of our rights, highlighting the recognition of our territories and traditional knowledge as a climate mitigation policy, which was one of our central demands for COP30.

We hope that this recognition will be translated into public policies at the national level and that it will result in advances in territorial protection, also from a climate perspective. In the case of Brazil, where deforestation and land use change are responsible for more than three-quarters of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions, and given that indigenous territories are the least deforested areas in the national territory, it is clear that such a measure is central and should be prioritized in Brazilian climate action.

However, States are failing to adopt a concrete proposal to end fossil fuels, and since this is the main driver of global climate change, it is impossible to consider the 30th Climate Conference a success if it does not bring concrete results to address the root causes of the issue. Furthermore, progress towards ending deforestation and adaptation was weak, falling far short of what is needed to honestly address the climate emergency we are experiencing.

Countries lack ambition. Indigenous peoples demonstrated at COP30 that we have the urgency and courage to confront those who are actually jeopardising the possibility of a dignified life for future generations. We demand to be an official part of climate negotiations before it is too late.

3. Intergovernmental Commitment on Land Tenure Commitment by the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP)

The Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP) is a government coalition launched in 2021 during COP26 in Glasgow, bringing together more than 30 countries and the European Union. The FCLP was created with the aim of fostering high-level commitments from these countries on forests, land use and climate, and on the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities.

During COP30, the FCLP announced the first Intergovernmental Land Tenure Commitment, in which 15 countries committed to a collective and global goal to recognize and secure 160 million hectares of indigenous and local community territories by 2030.

Of this total, 63 million hectares are a commitment made by the Brazilian Government, more than a third of the global target, through demarcation, legal regularization, territorial protection and implementation of the National Policy for Territorial and Environmental Management (PNGATI). The Brazilian target includes 4 million hectares for quilombolas and 59 million hectares for indigenous territories.

APIB, through the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities (GATC), is part of the FCLP Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Platform (launched at COP28 in Dubai) and, through the Platform, we have been working since 2024 to make the Intergovernmental Commitment on Territorial Recognition a reality at COP30.

4. Official Announcement of the Indigenous Lands Protection Program (PPTI)

The Indigenous Lands Protection Program (PPTI) was officially announced at COP30 as one of the main legacies for the post-Conference period, designed to accelerate demarcation, strengthen territorial management and consolidate the autonomy of indigenous organizations and our financial mechanisms.

The PPTI was created with national coverage and tripartite management — the indigenous movement, the Brazilian Government and international cooperation — structured around three central axes: the demarcation of indigenous lands; the territorial and environmental management; and institutional strengthening of indigenous organizations and financial mechanisms. Its mission is to align institutions, organize resource flows and guide public, international and philanthropic investments, including those announced at COP30, to ensure that territorial protection advances with consistency, efficiency and indigenous leadership.

The proposal revisits and updates successful references from the 1990s, especially the experience of PPG7 and its subprogrammes, such as PDPI and PPTAL — the latter responsible for the demarcation of around 90 Indigenous Lands and more than 60 million hectares in the federal states comprising the Legal Amazon. This trajectory demonstrates that robust mechanisms, built with the direct participation of indigenous peoples, are capable of producing structural and lasting results.

Inspired by this legacy, APIB conducted a participatory process throughout 2025 to develop the PPTI, in partnership with the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, the National Indigenous Foundation (Funai), and our regional grassroots organizations. The result is a program designed to address the State’s historical shortcomings in territorial demarcation and protection (insufficient financial and human resources), accelerate processes, strengthen indigenous governance and ensure that new financial contributions — such as those from the TFFF and FTFG — reach the territories in a coordinated, transparent manner that is aligned with the priorities of indigenous peoples. The PPTI thus represents the resumption of a structural policy of territorial protection and a strategic step towards consolidating demarcation as a climate policy in Brazil.

5. Renewal of the Forest Tenure Funders Group (FTFG) Pledge

During COP30, the Forest Tenure Funders Group (FTFG) announced its second pledge to support the territorial rights of Indigenous Peoples, local communities and Afro-descendant communities, given that we are key players in halting and reversing deforestation, protecting biodiversity, and advancing climate resilience and adaptation. Therefore, the FTFG announced an investment of US$ 1.8 billion between 2026 and 2030 (globally) to promote initiatives that:

Recognize, secure, strengthen, and sustain our land and forest tenure rights
Advance community-led conservation, restoration, and climate strategies
Reinforce locally-led institutions, including those representing women and youth, and enable them to engage in other climate, biodiversity and rights initiatives
Support governments on policy reforms and land use planning and the institutional, financial and social conditions that will protect and enhance such work
Facilitate international and national mechanisms advancing our rights

This announcement represents a continuation of the first financial pledge of US$1.7 billion announced by the FTFG in 2021, during COP26 in Glasgow, for the period 2022 to 2025. The commitment came in response to a widely recognized fact: at the time, less than 1% of global Official Development Assistance (ODA) had been directed towards initiatives related to Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, despite our recognized essential role in ecosystem conservation, climate mitigation and biodiversity protection (Rainforest Norway, 2021).

With the conclusion of the first FTFG pledge in 2025, APIB has been working since 2024, through the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities (GATC) and our Shandia Platform, towards the announcement of this second pledge. Through our advocacy, we have ensured that this new financial commitment is not only for forest ecosystems, but for all ecosystems, recognizing our presence in all regions and the interdependence between all ecosystems. We also celebrate the inclusion of Afro-descendant peoples in the FTFG’s second pledge.

Finally, while we welcome the countries and philanthropic organizations that promoted this second announcement, we reiterate our position that financial contributions to those on the frontline of tackling the drivers of the climate crisis must be more ambitious. In addition, such announcements should stipulate specific direct funding targets that are proportional to our contributions to combating the climate crisis and to protect biodiversity.

6.The Peoples’ Pledge of the Shandia Platform: from us, for us

APIB is one of the five founding members of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities (GATC), a political platform of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities representing 36 million people living in territories across 24 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Together, we defend more than 958 million hectares of land. In 2022, we created our Shandia Platform to promote direct access to climate finance for Indigenous organizations and local communities.

During the Shandia Forum 2025, held during COP30, our Shandia Platform announced the first Peoples’ Pledge, a historic commitment to finance US$ 500 million by 2030, from our own territorial financing mechanisms and for our own territories. These resources will be allocated by our own indigenous and local communities funds that are part of the Shandia Platform. In the case of Brazil, our indigenous funds are: Jaguatá, Podáali, FIRN, Rutî, Maracá, Timbira and Pacará.

For the commitments made at this COP to be meaningful, we must be part of them — not as beneficiaries, but as partners who will ensure that the resources actually reach the territories and communities. Our territorial mechanisms have already demonstrated that we are capable of this. We have developed innovative policies, metrics and indicators based on our own concept of direct financing. What remains to be done is for the resources to reach our territories, and the Peoples’ Pledge is our response and our model for the other financial pledges announced at COP30.

7. Guarantee of 20% Direct Funding in the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF)

The Brazilian government’s main proposal for COP30, the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), was officially launched during the Belém Climate Summit (6 nov), which brought together heads of State and preceded COP30 in the capital of Pará. A total of 53 countries signed the TFFF Launch Declaration. The objective of the TFFF is to create a permanent financial mechanism capable of guaranteeing recurring payments to countries and communities that maintain their forests standing, thus contributing to climate change mitigation, biodiversity preservation and the strengthening of sustainable local economies.

To date, US$ 6.6 billion has been pledged for the TFFF, with the guarantee that 20% of TFFF payments allocated to each country will be directly transferred to indigenous and local community organizations. APIB, through the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities and our Shandia Platform, decided to actively engage in the TFFF co-design process in February 2025, considering that the initiative is a concrete opportunity to transform the architecture of climate finance.

This transformation requires explicit inclusion and commitment to direct funding for organizations and mechanisms led by Indigenous peoples and local communities, ensuring that new global financing initiatives are built on the principles of self-determination and the right to meaningful participation.

In addition, we seek to ensure that all resources mobilized through the TFFF are guided by a vision that fully respects and integrates the knowledge, practices and rights of Indigenous Peoples, which are fundamental to the protection of tropical ecosystems. Throughout the design process, APIB, together with the GATC, worked directly to include two specific models of direct funding, ensuring that at least 20% of TFFF resources are allocated to territorial funds and mechanisms led by indigenous peoples and local communities.

Through the TFFF Global Steering Committee for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, we will seek to ensure that this commitment is effectively implemented through clear eligibility criteria, social and environmental safeguards, and governance arrangements that respect the self-determination and leadership of indigenous peoples and local communities. Only then the TFFF may ensure its transformative potential and consolidate a new paradigm for global climate finance.

We will also continue to advocate for the 80% of TFFF payments allocated to countries to be applied to indigenous and socio-environmental public policies, such as policies for the demarcation of indigenous lands and territorial protection. We will remain vigilant so that the returns on TFFF investments are not linked to activities that have historically promoted the invasion of our territories and the violation of our rights.

Finally, we reiterate that, while we recognize the potential of the TFFF to promote direct financing for the true protectors of ecosystems, initiatives of an exclusively financial and economic approach should not be prioritized as the only possible strategy to fight the climate crisis. States urgently need to adopt measures that prioritize the territorial rights of ecosystem protectors, and to monitor and ban tax incentives and subsidies for economic sectors responsible for deforestation and rights violations.

8. Announcement of the Vítuke Mechanism for Environmental and Territorial Management

During COP30, the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples (MPI), the National Indigenous Peoples Foundation (Funai) and the Brazilian Biodiversity Fund (FUNBIO) announced the new Vítuke fund – an unprecedented financial mechanism designed to boost the National Policy for Indigenous Environmental and Territorial Management (PNGATI). To date, contributions of approximately US$ 30 million have been announced, while the fund seeks to mobilize US$ 110 million.

The mechanism aims at allocating resources to projects that promote the consolidation of territorial and environmental management in indigenous territories, considering six areas of action: territorial and natural resource protection; indigenous governance and participation; prevention and restoration of environmental damage; sustainable use of natural resources and productive initiatives; capacity building, education and exchange of knowledge; and management infrastructure.

APIB participated in workshops to establish the Vítuke fund and hopes that this mechanism can be integrated into the second axis of the Indigenous Lands Protection Program, which is dedicated to the Territorial and Environmental Management of Indigenous Lands.

9.The Answer Is Us: Resistance and Global Solidarity

During COP30, The Answer Is Us campaign established itself as one of the main global movements for climate justice. Launched in 2024, the campaign gained even more international visibility in Belém, being seen in marches, in the People’s Summit events, in the COP Village plenary sessions, in the People’s Circle panels, in international side events, and in graphic materials inside and outside the Blue Zone. To learn more about the campaign and our six core demands, visit The Answer Is Us website.

Our campaign promotes common demands, unity, and global solidarity among all actors truly interested in fighting the climate crisis, including indigenous peoples, traditional peoples and local communities, small farmers, quilombolas, fishermen, extractivists, shellfish gatherers, city workers, trade unionists, homeless people, babaçu coconut breakers, terreiro peoples, women, the LGBTQIAPN+ community, young people, Afro-descendants, the Palestinian people, the elderly, and the peoples of the forest, of the countryside, of the outskirts, and of the seas, rivers, lakes and mangroves.

Regarding the six core demands of our campaign, APIB assesses that we made significant progress at COP30 in relation to “Land Rights = Climate Action,” through the official recognition of indigenous territories as a climate mitigation policy; and in relation to “Direct Access to Climate Finance,” due to the announcements and commitments made at COP30, mainly in relation to the 20% direct financing guaranteed in the TFFF mechanism, in relation to the Shandia Platform Peoples’ Commitment and, to a certain extent, in relation to the second financial pledge of US$ 1.8 billion made by the FTFG.

However, less significant progress was seen on “Zero Deforestation,” on “No to Fossils Fuels, No to Mining in our Territories,” on the “Protect Defenders, Protect our Ways of Life” and on “Participation with Real Power.” In any case, we have managed to raise awareness of our agenda in the negotiating rooms and on the streets, and we will continue to pressure States and fight so that our voices are heard and our messages are adopted. After all, we know that, more than ever, the answer to the climate crisis is us.

Our vision for the future: what we expect from COP31

COP30 marked a turning point: we proved to the world that Indigenous Peoples are not just participants in the climate debate – we are the frontline and the main source of real solutions. We have achieved historic victories in demarcation, territorial protection and direct financing, and we have transformed Belém into the global epicentre of the fight for climate justice. But we know that in order to address the climate crisis with the necessary responsibility and urgency, COP31 needs to go much further.

The transition from COP30 to COP31 comes at a critical moment: Belém portrayed the strength of a COP in a democratic environment, where social movements and indigenous peoples could influence decisions and place demarcation at the center of the climate agenda. But the hosting of COP31 in Turkey, co-chaired with Australia, raises concerns about restrictions on social demonstrations, risks to the safety of defenders, and the influence of the oil lobby in the negotiations, indicating a structural shift in the political conditions of the climate negotiating process. Therefore, we will remain vigilant to prevent setbacks and preserve the strength gained in Belém.

Our expectation is that COP31 will consolidate the paradigmatic change we have initiated. The recognition that indigenous territories are climate policy must translate into concrete actions: more demarcations, effective protection, and public policies that include our territories as central pillars of mitigation and adaptation. COP31 must demand specific targets, clear timelines and accountability mechanisms from States to fulfil their commitments – including presenting results on the implementation of the territorial recognition target set out by the FCLP land tenure commitment.

We also hope that COP31 will advance what COP30 did not have the courage to address: the end of fossil fuel exploitation and the adoption of a roadmap for its elimination. There will be no possible future as long as oil, gas and coal continue to drive the global economy. We will actively engage at the First International Conference on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels, scheduled to take place in April 2026, and we demand that COP31 establishes binding targets, robust socio-environmental safeguards and the centrality of human rights in the energy transition process.

Direct financing must cease to be a promise and become a structural practice of the international climate system. COP31 must advance to guarantee full and unbureaucratic access to financial mechanisms for indigenous peoples, local communities and traditional peoples, strengthening our own funds, governance and territorial priorities. We no longer accept models that treat us as beneficiaries: we are implementers, managers and formulators of solutions.

We also hope that COP31 will be the moment to correct serious gaps: safeguards to prevent abuses in carbon and JREDD+ projects; binding recognition of free, prior and informed consent; effective protection for defenders; and formal mechanisms for indigenous participation in the UNFCCC decision-making processes. The record participation of Indigenous Peoples at COP30 must be constant in future COPs.

The world has already understood that there is no climate future without protected territories, and that there are no protected territories without respect for indigenous rights. We will continue to spread our message: there is no time for omissions, false solutions or weak agreements. The climate crisis requires courage, and we have already demonstrated ours. Now, States need to demonstrate theirs. Because, as we stated in Belém and will state again at COP31, the answer is us, all of us.

Appendix: References to Indigenous Peoples in the Official Documents of COP30

APIB shares below the main references to Indigenous Peoples included in the official COP30 documents.

Mitigation ambition and implementation work program

Recognizes the vital role of indigenous peoples and local communities and the need to support them in the sustainable management and use of forests, as well as the importance of recognizing their land rights and traditional knowledge, including as part of long-term mitigation policies.

Just Transition work program

Determines the importance of ensuring broad and meaningful participation involving all relevant stakeholders, including indigenous peoples, to enable transition pathways that are fair, effective, inclusive and participatory.
Determines the importance of just transition pathways that respect, promote and fulfil all the rights of indigenous peoples.
Recognizes the importance of the rights of indigenous peoples and of obtaining their free, prior and informed consent, in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the importance of ensuring that all just transition pathways respect and promote the internationally recognized collective and individual rights of indigenous peoples, including the rights to self-determination; that the rights and protections of indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation and initial contact, in accordance with relevant international human rights instruments and principles; and that climate adaptation and resilience are an integral part of just transitions and must be inclusive and empower indigenous peoples, local communities, women and people in vulnerable situations.
Underlines that relevant instruments and initiatives can provide elements to be taken into account in the design and implementation of nationally determined just transition pathways, including the International Labour Organization guidelines for a just transition to environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all, the United Nations Global Accelerator for Employment and Social Protection for Just Transitions, the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and calls on partners in relevant initiatives and organizations outside the UNFCCC process to take into account the key messages of the work program in their implementation efforts.

Belem Declaration on Fighting Environmental Racism

Recalls the commitments made under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement adopted under its auspices to respect, promote and consider human rights, the rights of Indigenous Peoples, gender equality, intergenerational equity and the needs of people in vulnerable situations in climate action.
Recognizes that environmental racism — often manifested in policies and practices that result in disproportionate exposure of people and communities, including people of African descent, Indigenous Peoples, and local communities, to environmental damage and climate risks — contravenes the principles of equality and non-discrimination enshrined in international human rights law, while recognizing the commitment and progress made by States in addressing this issue.
It calls on all nations to cooperate in the essential task of combating environmental racism, recognizing that sustainable development will only be achieved when the inequalities that disproportionately affect people of African descent, Indigenous Peoples, traditional communities and other vulnerable groups and minorities in all regions of the world are eliminated.
It also invites all States to strengthen collective efforts to build just and inclusive societies by combating environmental racism, ensuring the full participation of people of African descent, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and progressively raising the collective ambition to reduce disparities in living standards and better meet the needs of the majority of the world’s population.

Global Mutirão: Uniting humanity in a global mobilization against climate change

Determines that countries, when taking action to address climate change, must respect, promote and consider their obligations in relation to the rights of indigenous peoples, as well as their territorial rights and traditional knowledge.
It emphasises that countries should consider the role and active involvement of indigenous peoples in supporting the Parties and contributing to meaningful collective progress towards the long-term goals set in the Paris Agreement, as well as in addressing and responding to climate change and strengthening ambition and implementation, including progress achieved through other relevant intergovernmental processes.