South & Central America

After years of painstaking work and multiple community consultations, the indigenous Wapichan people of southern Guyana have set out agreements and proposals for caring for their territory in a ground-breaking plan titled Baokopa’o wa di’itinpan wadauniinao ati’o nii (Thinking together for those coming behind us).

Indigenous organisations warn that this could otherwise result in the loss of control over their forests. To prevent REDD deals that take advantage of communities they urge the Ministry of Environment and the Regional Government of Loreto to declare that until REDD legislation exists that guarantees these rights then any such agreements have no legal validity.

Click here for further information (in Spanish only).

Dear Friends,

The continuous, sometimes subtle, violence of conservation and development against indigenous peoples continues, unchecked even at the highest levels by the most worthy-sounding agencies of the United Nations.

Read the CAOI press release (in Spanish only) below:-

Río+20: Todas las instancias internacionales vinculadas a los derechos de los pueblos indígenas deben pronunciarse Fortalecimiento de la cultura, ejercicio pleno de derechos, autodeterminación y respeto a nuestros territorios, son componentes vitales del desarrollo sostenible.