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On 3 June, at the close of the Stockhom+50 international meeting in Sweden, delegates representing many Indigenous Peoples from around the world released a historic declaration called the Indigenous Peoples Declaration.

The declaration called out governments and international institutions for excluding Indigenous communities not only from the decision making table but also the from design and implementation of conservation and climate change measures that directly impact their land and communities. As the declaration puts it: “conservation is often done for us and around us, not with us.”

At least a quarter of the world’s land area is owned, managed, used or occupied by Indigenous Peoples. And there is a growing recognition that there can be no serious solution to the climate crisis—one of the three issues that make up the triple planetary crisis—without protecting Indigenous Peoples’ lands, especially forests which are home to many Indigenous Peoples of the world.

The same goes for tackling pollution and waste and reducing biodiversity loss, as 80 per cent of the Earth’s remaining biodiversity exists within Indigenous Peoples' territories.

Since Indigenous Peoples are already using their traditional knowledge to address and adapt to climate change, their full and effective participation is crucial to the successful implementation of adaptation and mitigation measures.

To better understand the significance of the Indigenous Peoples Declaration, we spoke to Dario Mejia Montalvo, who belongs to the Indigenous Zenú Peoples of San Andrés Sotavento. He is also the newly elected Chair of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), an advisory body to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).