Championing Indigenous Peoples environmental leadership
Excellencies, representatives of Indigenous Peoples, colleagues and friends,
My thanks to the Government of Mongolia and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) for recognizing the central role of Indigenous Peoples in sustainably managing the lands that have sustained them for countless generations.
Throughout my career, I have been privileged to work with and learn from those people who
know the land better than anybody else. I spent my early career in Sudan, in Northern Uganda, in Somalia, in Tanzania and Kenya. I saw how dryland communities understand the deep interconnections between land, water, biodiversity and livelihoods. When you live on the edge, you become acutely aware of the need for balance.
And yet the international community has, for far too long, allowed Indigenous Peoples, pastoralists and farmers to be marginalized. The value of their knowledge and practices to be minimized. Their voices to go unheard. And, in many cases, their lives to be forfeit when they stand up against those who would destroy their lands.
This day is part of a growing global movement that recognizes Indigenous Peoples as the agents of change, rights holders, knowledge holders and implementation partners they are.
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework places the rights and contributions of Indigenous Peoples and local communities at the heart of biodiversity action — recognizing their rights over lands, territories and resources, their knowledge and participation, and the need to protect environmental human rights defenders. UNFCCC COP29 adopted the Baku workplan to elevate the voices of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in Climate Action.
At the last UNCCD COP, decisions were taken to advance the active participation of Indigenous Peoples, local communities and civil society organizations. But meaningful participation must mean more than having a seat at the table. It means ensuring that their voices, knowledge and priorities are heard and reflected in the decisions and their implementation. Let us advance progress, at this COP and before the next COP, together. Now is the time to accelerate implementation, and we cannot do that without these partners.
Friends,
UNEP is striving to strengthen Indigenous agency.
Indigenous Peoples engage with UNEP through the Indigenous Peoples Major Group, holding observer status at the UN Environment Assembly and other subsidiary bodies. UNEP recognizes the expertise of Indigenous Peoples in its science, including in the Seventh Global Environment Outlook. UNEP prioritizes Indigenous Peoples in on-the-ground efforts, through for example the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
But we all have a long way to go.
As we celebrate the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, we must recognize Indigenous Peoples as vital stewards of rangeland ecosystems. Their deep-rooted knowledge and sustainable practices are essential for preserving biodiversity and strengthening pastoral resilience in a changing climate.
And the full participation of Indigenous Peoples in the implementation of global environmental law and policy is a vital pathway to sustainable solutions that honor both our planet and its original stewards.
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