Norway is joining global leaders in calling for a global commitment on land rights to protect tropical rainforests ahead of this year’s COP30 climate summit.
Photo: Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace
The statement was launched at a high-level meeting in London, hosted by the foundation of His Royal Highness Prince William.
“Indigenous Peoples and local communities must be central to the fight for climate and nature. Their rights and knowledge are key to achieving our climate and nature goals,” said Minister of Climate and Environment Andreas Bjelland Eriksen.
At the roundtable meeting at St James Palace, Prince William highlighted the importance of Indigenous leadership: “Supporting Indigenous peoplea to protect nature is not only a moral duty but essential to tackling the climate crisis.”
The joint statement called Nature’s Guardians – On the Road to COP30 is supported by governments such as Brazil, the UK, Norway, Peru, Ghana, Germany and Colombia, Indigenous Peoples organisations and philanthropies. The statement calls for greater recognition of Indigenous land rights in tropical forests and increased direct funding for Indigenous-led projects.
“At the upcoming climate summit in Brazil, we need to see a historic commitment to scale up land and territorial rights for Indigenous Peoples and local communities in tropical forest countries. This will require collective political ambition and will be reflected in the hectares we secure, the rights we recognize and the funding we deliver.” said Minister of Climate and Environment Andreas Bjelland Eriksen.
The Intergovernmental Land Tenure Commitment for COP30 encourages governments to recognise and secure a substantive number of hectares of Indigenous Peoples and local communities’ lands and territories and strengthen existing legislation. The commitment is already supported by 12 countries and today’s call to action will be important to get more countries to join.
Rainforests with recognized Indigenous rights experience significantly less deforestation, higher biodiversity, and fewer conflicts than forests where indigenous rights are not secured.
Norway [HER2] has led international rainforest protection efforts for over 15 years, partnering with Indigenous Peoples to secure rights and reduce deforestation. As COP30 approaches, Norway, together with Brazil, Peru and other countries, will continue promoting an international commitment that recognise land tenure rights of indigenous peoples, and local communities, as critical to protecting the world’s remaining tropical forests.