Regional Indigenous leaders meet in Punta Gorda to discuss land rights and climate financing 

Indigenous leaders from Belize and neighboring countries across the Caribbean and Central American region gathered today in Punta Gorda Town for a regional conference aimed at strengthening cooperation and advancing key issues affecting indigenous and Afro-descendant communities.  The meeting, held at the Punta Gorda Welcome Center, forms part of the Caribbean Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant, and Local Communities Regional Knowledge Exchange, an initiative focused on advancing land rights, climate financing, and improving access to carbon market opportunities for indigenous and local communities.  The gathering brings together community leaders, activists, and representatives of indigenous organizations to share experiences and discuss strategies that can strengthen the protection of indigenous lands while promoting sustainable development across the region.  Cristina Coc, spokesperson for the Toledo Alcalde Association, told Love News’ Senior Correspondent Paul Mahung that the conference has been in the making for the past two years. She explained that the gathering is designed to create a platform for indigenous and Afro-descendant communities to exchange knowledge and collaborate on common challenges.

Christina Coc, Spokesperson, Maya Community: “The Juian Cho Society, the Toledo Alcalde’s Association and the Maya Leaders Alliance are the hosts of this conference. And the focus of the conference is really to bring Caribbean leaders together to advance discussions around their land rights, discussions around direct climate financing to indigenous stewards, Afrodescendant stewards, and local community stewards of forests and lands. They’re also exploring discussions around access to the carbon markets initiatives. One of the things that we noticed some years ago is that in the global forums where climate is being discussed, there’s been a very clear absence of a coordinated effort from the Caribbean and from Mesoamerica. And so our idea really sparked from our participation as Maya people in these global forums. We recognized that we needed to organize the Caribbean leadership. So we have a gathering of Caribbean leaders from all over Guyana, Suriname, Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Barbados, Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras and I believe also representatives from the United States. This is really important for us to network, to build alliances, to explore collaborations in our common effort to protect our Mother Earth and to protect our livelihoods which is often land-based for Indigenous peoples and local communities. This is the first of its kind so it’s historic and already today, this is just the first day of the conference, already today there has been rich discussions around initiatives that have been tried and tested around knowledge that has been utilized and now we’re exchanging with each other.”

According to organizers, discussions throughout the conference will focus on strengthening land rights, increasing access to climate financing, and ensuring indigenous communities can benefit from emerging carbon market initiatives linked to environmental conservation.

Coc added that the leaders participating in the meeting are hopeful the exchange will lead to stronger regional collaboration and tangible outcomes for indigenous communities.

Christina Coc, Spokesperson, Maya Community: “What we would like to see in the end is we would like to see collective vision coming out of this gathering where indigenous leaders will begin to outline and what they prioritize and how they’re going to move forward as leaders of the Caribbean. We have no doubt that what will result from here will continue to advance in the years to come because as indigenous peoples our commitment is always to incrementally make changes that will in the end make large impacts to the lives of our people, but also to the life of planet Earth.”

The conference continues over the coming days with additional discussions, workshops, and planning sessions aimed at building partnerships and advancing the rights and development of indigenous peoples throughout the Caribbean region./