We, civil society organizations around the world calls on the Three Basins governments to put Indigenous and community rights at the centre of the Three Basins initiative.
We need a different pathway, one that is founded on a just energy transition, sustainable economies and protection of the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities to defend and manage territories. The evidence is clear that forests under the custodianship of these groups store more carbon, harbour more biodiversity and benefit more people.
We are deeply concerned, however, that the Three Basins initiative appears to be more preoccupied with carbon markets than with the human rights of Indigenous People and of others on the frontlines of deforestation and forest degradation. Civil society representatives have also regretted their lack of participation in the event. Marginalising these voices will only result in yet more top-down and ineffective interventions that have so often failed people and forests.
(1)Photo by Sebastian Unrau on Unsplash
(2)Photo by Digital Content Writers India on Unsplash
