This op-ed by Omayra Casamá and Sara Omi was originally published in Spanish in El País. A sustainable future is one where the voices of Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and local community women are not only heard but are integral to the implementation of meaningful conservation and climate change actions.

Press Release—Afro-descendant Leaders’ Demands for COP16: Recognize Land Rights, Key to Conserving Biodiversity in Latin America

A declaration released at a press briefing on June 15 highlights significant overlap between lands claimed by Afro-descendant Peoples in Latin America and the Caribbean and biodiversity hotspots; calling for the inclusion of the term Afro-descendants in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Reflections on the 2024 World Bank Land Conference

After a five-year hiatus, the World Bank held its Land Conference on May 13–17 in Washington, D.C., bringing together over 1,000 practitioners, donors, advocates, civil society representatives, and government officials. The takeaway was clear: The case for land tenure security as a prerequisite for climate, development, and biodiversity goals has now firmly been made, but many of the same challenges persist in advancing rights-based agendas.

Saamaka Toko: A battle for the land rights of Suriname’s Saamaka people

The Surinamese Government has allowed the construction of a large road and extensive logging in the Saamaka territory without local peoples' consent, in violation of orders from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. We are calling on the international community to #StandWithSaamakaPeople to protect over 1 million hectares of the Amazonian rainforest.

New Report—Asia: Learning and Living Our Elders’ Wisdom

Co-authored with 15 organizations from across Asia—spanning youth groups, Indigenous networks, and ally organizations—this new report collates and brings to the fore the experiences and leadership of youth activists from across the continent into a call to action.

To forge women’s empowerment worldwide, governments and donors must take action for gender justice and urgently make funding available and accessible to Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and local community women’s organizations in countries in the Global South that have been historically under-supported and under-funded.

The Jungle Screams: Voices of the Amazon

The Amazon’s peoples and representative organizations, threatened by the ongoing pandemic, are calling upon supporters across the world to join their fight to protect the Amazonian territories from this crisis. The virtual gathering, "The Jungle Screams: Voices of the Amazon," will analyze and build proposals to fight Covid-19, climate change, patriarchy, gender-based violence, and political systems that hijack democracy. This event is open to participation.

#BlackLivesMatter RRG Statement

We at the Rights and Resources Group (RRG) know that the events of the past weeks and the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor by police officers are only a snapshot of the white supremacy that underlies widespread injustice against Black lives.

[Portuguese] A hora das cadeias éticas de suprimentos é agora

O apelo de ONGs líderes para que as empresas sigam a Accountability Framework (o Quadro de Responsabilização) para acabar com a destruição do ecossistema e violações dos direitos humanos na produção, comércio e financiamento de carne bovina, óleo de palma, polpa, madeira, soja e outras mercadorias.

The time for ethical supply chains is now

Leading NGOs call on companies to follow the Accountability Framework to end ecosystem destruction and human rights violations in the production, trade, and finance of beef, palm oil, pulp, timber, soy, and other commodities