Indigenous Voices Must Be Heard at COP21, Says UN

In a few weeks, world leaders will gather in Paris to discuss policies and present their national plans to address climate change. However, the vast majority of these plans have excluded the voices and concerns of indigenous peoples, the United Nations said Thursday.

According to the international body, the U.N. Development Program together with the International Indigenous Peoples' Forum on Climate Change have collaborated to bring indigenous leaders and high-level government officials from around the world together for the U.N. climate talks, known as COP21.

Their goal is to present the climate issues and concerns that are unique to indigenous communities, which have been left out of the international discussions on the climate and are largely left out of national politics in general.

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“This pioneering initiative, underway in 21 countries around the world, aims to ensure that the global climate agreement reached in Paris recognizes indigenous land and natural resource rights, and the crucial role of indigenous peoples in climate change mitigation,” said the UNDP.

In the last six years, more than 150 governments have submitted national climate action plans for the coming decade. However, the UNDP says these plans have excluded their Indigenous populations.

Indigenous peoples own, occupy or manage up to 65 percent of the Earth’s land surface, yet over 80 percent of all land used by indigenous communities lacks any legal protection, the U.N. said.

This makes communities highly vulnerable to displacement for resource exploitation, such as agriculture, logging, mining, oil and gas as well as the creation of dams, roads, and tourism.

The upcoming talks are due to begin in Paris Nov. 30 and are seen as critical in mitigating the impact of climate change.

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