On this International Day of Forests, we highlight the critical need for meaningful youth participation, particularly from Indigenous, local and Afro-descendant communities. Youth play a crucial role in protecting the world’s forests by offering fresh perspectives, innovative solutions, and a long-term commitment to conservation. Their creativity and urgency are key in addressing the complex challenges facing forests, such as deforestation and climate change. 

Esta es la historia de la presidenta de la Asociación de Mujeres Afrodescendientes del Norte del Cauca (ASOM), Colombia. Quien enfrentó las amenazas del conflicto armado para luchar por los derechos de las mujeres Afrodescendientes

Las primeras manos que recibieron a Clemencia cuando llegó al mundo fueron las de su tía abuela, una partera de tradición, que fue hasta el pequeño corregimiento de La Balsa, en el Cauca, Colombia a darle la bienvenida a Clemencia a este mundo. 

One glance at the shape of Itilla reveals that the person who determined the community’s oblong borders, was unaware of the realities of forest-dwelling communities in the Amazon. The Itilla reservation is an unusual 45 kilometers long and two kilometers wide. The territory looks more like a city block than the collective territory of a community in the Amazon.

On September 23, 2024, a powerful hybrid event titled "From Commitment to Action: Enabling Direct Funding for Indigenous Peoples in Multilateral Climate and Biodiversity Initiatives" was hosted at the Ford Foundation headquarters in New York City as part of Climate Week.

Magic Comes to Life

Central to the oral history of the Santo Madero community is the legend of a miraculous tree that fell in a violent storm only to reappear a few days later, upright and green. The event, which reflects the magic realism that Colombia is known for, has evolved into a vital part of local folklore and is celebrated by the Afro-Colombian community every year.

By: Juana Vera - Delgado

Blog originally published in Common Dreams

Piece by Piece

Raúl Moreno waited 15 years for a land title to the property he owns in the town of La Macarena. During the wait, the elementary school teacher and community leader built his home, piece by piece.

OVERVIEW

Under the umbrella of the Land Dialogues series, the third webinar of this year’s series “Carbon markets and Indigenous lands : The importance of free, prior and informed consent” took place on September 14th, 2023. The webinar drew in a little under 500 participants and featured panelists from Indigenous leaders to academics. The series is organized by a consortium of organizations, including the Land Portal Foundation, the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the Ford Foundation and the Tenure Facility.  

Por Zulema Burneo

Casi tres décadas atrás, el 9 de agosto fue designado como el Día Internacional de los Pueblos Indígenas por la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas. En América Latina, aunque se han logrado avances en el ámbito legal en cuanto a la garantía de sus derechos, basta ver un poco más allá para encontrar serias paradojas que nos obligan a levantar la voz antes que a celebrar el día.

CALPI received information that the community of Wilú has been attacked by settlers on March 11, 2023 and that on March 10, 2023, three Mayangna community members and two children members of the Mískitu indigenous people were kidnapped; the kidnapped people were on their way from the community of Musawás to the community of Betlehem in the Mayangna Sauni As territory, in the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve, within the Autonomous Region of the Northern Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua.