In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), over 134 million Afro-descendant Peoples comprise 21% of the region’s population. These communities have forged their own territorial management practices rooted in ancestral traditions over 168 million hectares, overseeing areas now recognized as global biodiversity hotspots. Approximately 77 percent of Afro-descendant Peoples’ territories in the region are situated within biodiversity hotspots, encompassing tropical forests, wetlands, shrublands, and marine ecosystems. But despite covering an area twice the size of Bolivia, approximately 5% is officially recognized as owned by these communities.

This landmark event, spearheaded by RRI and co-organized by Colombia’s Black Communities Process (Proceso de Comunidades Negras) (PCN) and Brazil’s National Coordination for the Articulation of Black Rural Quilombola Communities (Coordenação Nacional de Articulação de Comunidades Negras Rurais Quilombolas) (CONAQ) in collaboration with Colombia’s Vice President Francia Márquez, will convene government representatives, civil society organizations, and NGOs. The objectives are to:

1. Gain recognition of Afro-descendant Peoples of LAC as rightsholders with their own rights-based agenda, and representation rights (Voice and vote) at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC);
2. Make visible the territoriality of Afro-descendant Peoples and the roles it plays in climate change mitigation and adaptation and the protection of biodiversity in strategic ecosystems;
3. Achieve commitments for concrete actions and increased funding to close the gap in the recognition and protection of the territorial rights of Afro-descendant Peoples in LAC, by governments, international agencies, donors, and allies.

Over four days, participants will hold key discussions to design concrete actions that recognize and safeguard Afro-descendant Peoples’ territorial rights and consider these communities’ crucial role in preserving biodiversity and climate change adaptation in the region.

Suscribe to the streaming of the three-and-half-day international event here!

For questions or comments, please email Omaira Bolaños.

Download the official flyer for the event in English, Spanish or Portuguese.