This is the speech of Joan Carling during the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) conference in Bonn, Germany in her role as co-convener of the Indigenous Peoples Major Group for Sustainable Development about the vital role indigenous people play in landscape management and sustainable development.
In her speech, she said that although indigenous peoples are providing solutions to climate change problems and promoting sustainable development for all, they are facing threats around the world for defending their lands.
“Indigenous peoples are practitioners of sustainable landscape management, knowledge holders and rights holders,” she said, adding that scientific and traditional knowledge are critically important in discussions about sustainable landscape management.
“We need to be treated as actors, not the problem or the victim, and partnerships should evolve around this – partnerships and collaborations are essential – we need to move together,” she said.
