Amazon summit draws indigenous leaders from 9 nations

By Ana Maria Castro

BOGOTA, Colombia

Indigenous leaders from nine Amazon countries are meeting this week to discuss the main problems of indigenous peoples in the Amazon region.

The Fourth Amazon Summit, which is taking place in Macapá, Brazil from June 18-22, will discuss extractivism – an economic model centered on the large-scale removal of natural resources for export as raw materials; pollution; the criminalization of leaders who are defending indigenous territories; and the threat to peoples in voluntary isolation, which represent some of the main evils affecting the Amazon and its population.

In the meeting, the demand for land titling will be promoted for 100 million hectares of indigenous territories in the nine Amazon countries.

Proposals for ambitious climate action will also be made that are related to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Attending the summit are the indigenous leaders of the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Jungle (Aidesep), the Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of Bolivia (CIDOB), the Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the Colombian Amazon (OPIAC) and the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon (Confeniae).

The event is organized by the Coordinator of the Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA), an international indigenous organization made up of the nine countries that share the Amazon Basin.

The Second Congress of Indigenous Women will also be held within the summit, which will provide space to analyze the situation of indigenous women in the nine countries and the importance of their participation in decision-making.

*Maria Paula Triviño contributed to this story