“Guardians of tomorrow” arrive at New York Climate Week

From September 19 to 23, we will unite our voices to advocate for the recognition of ancestral knowledge in the climate conversation and to propose direct financing alternatives to indigenous and local communities, through the Mesoamerican Territorial Fund. A delegation from the Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests (AMPB) will participate in the Climate Week in New York, United States, with the aim of advancing agreements with decision makers, allied organizations and donors, as well as influencing the previous negotiations to the Climate Summit taking place this week, within the framework of the United Nations General Assembly.

Within the framework of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities (AGCT), the AMPB will also hold work sessions with donors and allied organizations. With the slogan “The future is with indigenous peoples and local communities: Guardians of the Future”, the five organizations from Brazil, Indonesia, the Amazon Basin, the Congo Basin and Mesoamerica that make up the AGCT will advocate for territorial rights; direct funding to our communities; Free, Prior and Informed Consent; stop the assassination and criminalization of leaders; and the valorization of ancestral knowledge.

The mission started with a manifestation this September 19 in alliance with the Extinction Rebellion movement. From the Museum of the American Indian, in Manhattan, the representatives marched to Wall Street with climate activists in a call to big companies to stop their financing of the exploitation and destruction of the territories.

Mesoamerican delegation

The delegation representing the Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests in this mission is made up of: Levi Sucre (Bribri, Costa Rica), AMPB Coordinator; Sara Omi (Emberá, Panama), President of the Coordinator of Women Territorial Leaders of Mesoamerica (CMLT) of AMPB; Briseida Iglesias (Guna, Panama), Guna sage and delegate of the CMLT; Gustavo Sánchez (Mexico), member of the Board of Directors of AMPB and President of the Mexican Network of Forest Peasant Organizations; and Yaily Castillo (Guna, Panama), from the AMPB Youth Movement and facilitator of the AMPB Mesoamerican Leadership School.

Events

Ancestral knowledge

On Tuesday, September 20, the panel “Ancestral knowledge: contributions of indigenous peoples to reduce the impact of climate change” will be a space to discuss territorial experiences in which ancestral knowledge contributes to combating climate change and conserving biodiversity, as well as as recent scientific evidence supporting its importance. The event will feature presentations by Sara Omi, Briceida Iglesias and Levi Sucre; It will be moderated by Francisco Souza, Director of the FSC Indigenous Foundation; and commentary by Pamela McElwee, Professor of Human Ecology in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University, who has served as lead author of the IPCC.

Time: 10:00 am Central America / 11:00 am Mexico and Panama

Follow the broadcast of the event by: https://undp.zoom.us/j/89221087576

Women of the territory

On September 20, Sara Omi joins Cristiane Juliâo from the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB); Monica Ndoen from AMAN, Indonesia; and Aissatou Oumarou from REPALEAC, Central Africa, at the event “The women of the territory: together we heal Mother Earth” . They will carry the messages of the original peoples of the world, whose ancestral knowledge is essential to restore the balance between the development of the human being and the sustainability of Mother Earth.

Community-Based Financial Solutions

On September 22, as part of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities, we will present the Shandia Mechanism for direct territorial financing in the “Community-based financial solutions” event , at the Ford Foundation building. There we will present the Mesoamerican Territorial Fund (FTM) as a regional mechanism to channel funds, its approach to governance and transparency, as well as the results of its piloting. Learn more about the FTM here .

Towards the fulfillment of promises

On September 22, as part of the AGCT, we will participate in the high-level meeting with the Forest Tenure Funders Group, the donor group that has pledged $1.7 billion to support indigenous peoples and local communities. The group, made up of the governments of the United States, United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands, and Germany, and 17 private funders, and the AGCT have held talks since the announcement at COP27, in Glasgow, United Kingdom, about the mechanisms that would ensure that these funds reach the territories and work within the framework of respect for the rights of the communities.

From words to actions

On September 23, we will be at the panel “From words to actions: catalyzing multi- sectoral alliances to co-create indigenous- led financing mechanisms for inclusive nature -based solutions”, organized by the FSC Indigenous Foundation as an interactive dialogue with key partners and leaders working to embed indigenous-based solutions in climate decision-making and climate finance.

Hour: 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Central America / 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Mexico and Panama
Register here: https://bit.ly/3BiOAjJ

Climate march

On September 23, the Climate March will take to the streets of New York with the clamor for decisive and urgent action to address the climate emergency. The Global Alliance of Territorial Communities will raise its voice to call for the participation of indigenous peoples and local communities as key actors in that fight.

Special coverage from youth

Yaily Castillo, a young Guna, will be doing special coverage of Climate Week in New York in our Instagram profile . Follow us to find out about our actions from a young perspective, directly from the streets of New York.