Mongabay
April 2, 2021
Indigenous communities in Latin America and the Caribbean have consistently asserted that they are the best guardians of their forests. Now, a recent U.N. report has mainstreamed this argument, adding that these communities are also under increasing threat and supporting and empowering them will be the most cost-effective response, not only to tackling carbon emissions, but also to protecting biodiversity and our weather systems.
“We are in a very complex situation, not only with the pandemic but with many pandemics. Extractive industries, illegal mining, deforestation, palm oil monocultures, cattle ranching,” said José Gregorio Díaz Mirabal in an interview with Mongabay. Mirabal is from Venezuela’s Guarinuma Indigenous community and is the general coordinator of COICA, a regional organization representing more than 3,000 Indigenous organizations and roughly 20,000 communities in nine Amazonian countries.