Indigenous and Afro-descendant groups join scientists in pact to defend Amazon as climate crossroads

Indigenous and Afro-descendant groups join scientists in pact to defend Amazon as climate crossroads | Photo: Ivars Utināns

The Amazon rainforest, often hailed as the planet’s lungs, is losing its breath. In just half a century, 16% of its forest cover has vanished, while more than 23% of its ecological connectivity stands fragmented. With 26% of its vast territory degraded, the very functions that sustain continental rainfall patterns, global gene flow and carbon storage are faltering. The consequences are neither local nor distant, they are both.

Against this backdrop, the Red de Redes Amazónicas, a coalition uniting more than 450 organisations from indigenous and Afro-descendant communities to research institutes and faith-based groups, has put forward the Pan-Amazonian Climate Pact. The initiative, unveiled in the lead-up to decisive diplomatic gatherings, calls for a paradigm shift: to see the Amazon not as a resource bank or a mere carbon sink, but as a biocultural, living system demanding justice, protection and shared stewardship.

Turning point in regional and global politics

Two milestones stand out. First, the Fifth Summit of Presidents of Amazon States in Bogotá (18–22 August 2025) gave governments the chance to move from rhetorical declarations to binding commitments. Then comes COP30 in Belém do Pará, where the Amazon itself will host the world’s largest climate forum. If adopted, the pact would place the region at the centre of climate geopolitics, offering both a united front and an ethical vision.

The five impact points of the pact

The proposal is structured around five interlocking priorities designed to bridge the ecological, cultural and political.

·       Ecosystemic and sociocultural connectivity: creating ecological and cultural corridors that ensure free gene flow, water cycles and indigenous territorial integrity, including protections for isolated communities.

·       Regional political cohesion: presenting the Amazon countries as a unified bloc in climate negotiations, echoing previous frameworks like the Belém Declaration and the Paris Agreement.

·       Climate finance with equity: establishing a socio-bioeconomy fund to support sustainable livelihoods, while ensuring indigenous peoples and local communities gain direct access to funds.

·       Nature and climate justice: embedding the legal recognition of nature as a subject of rights, following principles already affirmed in inter-American jurisprudence.

·       Permanent citizen participation: creating governance mechanisms that grant civil society a permanent role, harmonising legislation across borders for accountability.

A fusion of knowledge systems

The pact is distinguished not only by its technical vision but by its embrace of ancestral indigenous wisdom. It envisions a governance model where reciprocity replaces extraction and where the rainforest is treated as a multi-species commons. Science supplies the metrics of degradation and thresholds, while traditional knowledge offers practices of resilience, together forming a holistic response to the climate emergency.

Why this pact matters now

At stake is more than the Amazon’s canopy: it is the integrity of global climate systems. The pact reframes the rainforest as a biocultural living entity, moving beyond reductionist views of carbon storage. It strengthens indigenous sovereignty and rights while demanding inclusive governance and fair financing.

With COP30 on the horizon, the Pan-Amazonian Climate Pact is not merely another declaration. It is a test of political will. Can regional leaders and global negotiators seize the opportunity to turn structural vision into binding action? Or will the Amazon continue to edge towards the irreversible tipping point, where forest turns to savannah and humanity loses a cornerstone of its climate stability?

For more detailed insights into regional initiatives and global efforts towards sustainable development, readers can explore resources such as the Paris Agreement framework and the global biodiversity framework.