One of the objectives of the week will be to prepare a resilience strategy to protect the cultural and biological diversity of the region.
Leaders of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities with extensive experience in community forest managementfrom Mexico to Panama call for the First Mesoamerican Climate Week from June 13 to 16 in Panama City.
The purpose of the week is to talk about the urgency of stopping the accelerated degradation of our ecosystems, which is a global emergency. Faced with this scenario, the guardians of the Mesoamerican forests come together to share their ancestral knowledge for the sustainable production of food and the respectful use of natural resources, in balance with the forest, water, and biological and cultural diversity.
Mesoamerican Climate Week: ancestral solutions for the global climate crisis, will address different topics of interest, grouped into four major thematic axes per day.
- Direct Land Financing
We will create spaces for dialogue and alliances to carry out joint actions that really make direct financing possible and the implementation of ancestral solutions to the climate crisis.
- Capacity building
We will address the importance of capacity building to face climate change from the perspectives and experiences of youth, and we will generate innovative ideas based on ancestral knowledge and respect.
- Ancestral Agriculture
Sustainable food production is one of the world-renowned solutions to stabilize our gas emissions. The indigenous women and local communities of Mesoamerica are leading processes to rescue the ancestral practices of planting food and medicines that have the potential to climb the global level to generate productive strategies that prevent soil wear.
- Governance and Forest Management
We will present regional examples of the effectiveness of territorial governance, told by leaders and leaders of community organizations with extensive experience in forest and water protection, following the good practices of their ancestors. At the same time, the challenges that the region is facing in order to govern our territories will be analyzed, such as invasions and forced mobilizations financed by extractivist companies.
Through different panels and workshops, these issues will be addressed with a territorial perspective and ecological and biological connectivity, focusing on the five great forests of Mesoamerica and demanding real commitments to face the global crisis.
Turning our eyes to Mesoamerica
The Indigenous Peoples and the Local Communities of the forests in Mesoamerica live in constant resistance against strong threats external to them that contaminate bodies of water and destroy the natural balance of ecosystems;such as illegal logging, extensive cattle ranching, industrial monocultures and mining.
The First Climatic Week of Mesoamerica is more than an event; It is a unique opportunity to listen to a group of people who are on the front line in the fight to conserve the last remaining forests in the region.
Hearing their voices is critical to understanding the magnitude of the climate crisis and what we can do to be part of the solutions, even if it is an uncomfortable truth.
Why it is necessary?
It is historic and urgent, because there is still time to save the future of humanity and this can only be done together with the historical guardians of the forests.
Yes ok there are similar events worldwide, the organizations of PeoplesIndigenous peoples and Local Communities always have very limited times for participation and, above all, they can participate in “side events”, but they are still not included in the main events, which are exclusive to governments.
Instead, creating the Mesoamerican Climate Week allows us to create our own agenda, more inclusive, fair and democratic, where the voices of the territories can speak properly and time.
We are guardians of the future of humanity, and we need all the support that is available to keep the hope of tomorrow alive.
Follow the live broadcast of all the panels of the first Mesoamerican Climate Week on our YouTube channel and TV Indigena or join through our link Zoom.
Who organizes the Mesoamerican Climate Week?
The First Climate Week of Mesoamerica is an event created by the Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests (AMPB), a space for coordination and exchange of territorial authorities that manage or influence the main forest masses of Mesoamerica.
The Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests (AMPB) manages 24% of the region’s forests, which is essential for the conservation of biodiversity. In addition, they house 26% of the total carbon stored by the countries of the region as a whole, which is equivalent to a total of 3.6 million tons. They occupy some 105,000 km², with 40% within protected natural areas. They Play an important role in the conservation and sustainable management of forests in Mesoamerica, and their work is relevant to guarantee that they can continue to provide key ecosystem services for our territories and the world in general.
Mesoamerican forests contain about 8% of the world’s biodiversity, despite covering only 0.5% of the earth’s surface. They provide the livelihood for more than 5 million people from more than 60 ethnic groups and linguists, whose livelihoods are highly dependent on the natural resources they provide. In addition, the Mesoamerican subregion is an ecoregion priority due to its high concentration of endemic species. They stand out for their large number of experiences of formal recognition of rights, with indigenous peoples and local communities having legally recognized rights in approximately 6% of the forests in the region.
This event is organized by the AMPB with the support of the Indigenous Foundation (FSC) and the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities (AGCT). We also have support from the Global Alliance of Indigenous Peoples for Rights and Development (IPARD), Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI), Love for Life, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Green Climate Fund, Agroecology Fund, German Cooperation for Development, GIZ, REGEN10, Trees, Water & People, Simone de Beauvoir Leadership Institute (ILSB), Association of Embera Women Artisans and Environmental Defense Fund.
Also, will include the participation of around 200 people from indigenous and community organizations around the world and will be attended by political authorities in the region, NGOs, donors, cooperation voices and other civil society organizations that play a decisive role in the fight and defense of our rights and the conservation of forests.
