“It is time to deliver…the sound you hear is the ticking clock. We are in the final countdown to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and time is not on our side,” The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned world leaders at the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, reiterating the urgency of climate action.
Sadly, in 2024, global temperatures are the highest ever recorded. At the COP16 United Nations Biodiversity Conference in Cali, Colombia, a few weeks ago, Colombian President Gustavo Petro warned last week, “We are beginning the era of human extinction.” His urgent words follow the release of the UN Emissions Gap Report, which signals we are in “climate crunch time,” as global temperatures are on track to rise by 2.6 – 3.1 degrees Celsius by century’s end—well above the safe limit. The international effort to reverse this trajectory is unattainable without incorporating Indigenous knowledge and inclusive policies that address the needs and insights of those most affected.
The climate crisis disproportionately impacts the Global South, particularly Indigenous communities who rely on stable ecosystems for their livelihoods and cultural identities. These communities, often the stewards of nature, face heightened conflicts with wildlife as climate change disrupts ecosystems, intensifying human-wildlife conflicts and threatening their well-being and survival. Climate-driven ecosystem changes and related wildlife species movements have increased conflicts, from crop raids to livestock predation, placing Indigenous people in harm’s way and generating additional economic burdens and health risks. Such effects underlie current indigenous people’s anthropogenic actions, threatening species to extinction, degrading habitats, and amplifying the climate change crisis.
For instance, in Uganda’s Rwenzori Mountains National Park—an ecologically significant UNESCO World Heritage site—the effects of climate change are already apparent. Glaciers are retreating, and temperatures have risen by over 1 degree Celsius since the 1960s, impacting human and wildlife populations, particularly large mammals like African elephants, whose movements beyond natural habitats create friction with local communities. Similarly, in Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro region, a severe drought in 2009 led to increased elephant crop raids, prompting retaliatory killings. These incidents occur in other African climate-fragile areas, where conflicts between people and wildlife are escalating under climate change and population growth pressures. Studies in Africa show that conflicts are intensified in densely human-populated regions, which amplifies the effects of conflicts on people and adverse anthropogenic-related ecosystem changes and climate change crises. For example, at Queen Elizabeth in Uganda, more than 50% of lion deaths between 2014 and 2020 are attributed to retaliatory killings.
Unfortunately, Indigenous voices, despite being at the front lines, remain sidelined in global climate discussions. Although the COP16 conference’s theme recognized Indigenous perspectives and contributions, the political and corporate interests often tokenized or sidelined these contributions at global climate change and biodiversity conferences. Indigenous leaders have sometimes been prevented from participating in critical sessions. At the COP16 Biodiversity Conference, Ecuadorian Indigenous leader Alexandra Narvaez spoke out against closed-door negotiations. Txai Suruí, a Brazilian Indigenous activist, was barred from the conference after protesting the restrictions on Indigenous land rights and the exploitation of Indigenous territories.
Yet, the COP16 conference yielded some positive developments. Persistent advocacy of Indigenous activists at the meeting led to the establishment of a dedicated subsidiary body to integrate Indigenous communities more fully into climate and biodiversity conversations.
Moving forward, it is critical that Indigenous communities not only participate in policy discourse but also gain access to global climate funds, which are frequently directed and controlled by government and corporate actors involved in climate solutions debate. Supporting Indigenous communities in the Global South with financial and policy backing could significantly strengthen global efforts to address climate change. The current international climate financing commitments present a unique opportunity for indigenous people. For example, the Global Biodiversity Framework pledged to increase conservation funding to $200 billion annually by 2030. Developed countries pledged to provide an additional $30 billion annually for developing nations to combat the climate crisis by 2030. This isn’t enough.
The New York Times, a few days ago, reported that the world isn’t spending enough to meet the nearly $360 billion US dollars climate financing needs of developing nations. At the ongoing COP 29 UN Conference, the Secretary-General reminded leaders to tear down the walls of climate finance financing.
Well, it is about to get worse! On January 20th, when President-elect Donald J. Trump takes office, the United States, the world’s biggest oil and gas producer, will most likely no longer be part of the global efforts to control the climate change crisis. Yet, global climate financing commitments of developed nations such as the United States are an essential first step toward recognizing and empowering Indigenous-led conservation initiatives, which offer nature-based solutions rooted in deep ecological knowledge. Such valuable traditional knowledge is shaped by unique insights and practices, often developed over centuries, and can enrich global strategies to mitigate climate change and promote ecological resilience.
Ultimately, addressing the climate crisis requires inclusive solutions that recognize and respect Indigenous knowledge and prioritize inclusive, nature-based approaches. By creating and empowering a platform that helps to amplify Indigenous perspectives in policy solutions, the global community will be supporting the creation of a more comprehensive and effective response to climate change. Otherwise, President Petro’s warning of an impending “era of human extinction” may become a chilling reality if we fail to heed this call to action.
