Press Conference: Why COP17 Must Uphold Rights-Based Biodiversity Commitments, UN Convention on Biodiversity Conferences Date: 21 October 2026 Language: English Transcript: https://transcripts.un.org/en/asset/k1e/k1e6lfrg35 Transcripts available through this tool are created by using automatic speech recognition and are not official records nor official documents of the United Nations. Official records and official documents are available on the Official Document System of the United Nations. --- RRI · Moderator [0:01]: Good morning, everyone. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the press conference, Why CBD COP17 Must Uphold Rights-Based Biodiversity Commitments. I am Omayra Bolanos from the Rights and Resources Initiative, and I will serve this morning as the moderator of this wonderful panel that we have here. Before we start, I want to inform that this event has simultaneous interpretation in English and Spanish and consecutive interpretation in Portuguese. If you need equipment, please take your equipment in the other side. I'm going to hold for 30 seconds. Okay. The speakers that we have today will address key points of the letter endorsed by more than 100 organizations, a letter that was sent to the CBD secretariat addressing six key themes. One is the voluntary guidelines for target two and three of the global biodiversity framework. Second is in the implementation of the Article 8A. Third, the DSI and the Cali Fund. Four, implementation of the Decision 166 on people of African descent, comprising collectives embodying traditional lifestyles. Five, direct financing for communities. And six, gender action plan and the tenure rights of women. I would like to introduce the speakers. First, I want to introduce Stanley Kimaren Oleriamit, Executive Director of Indigenous and Livelihood Enhancement Partners, ILEPA. Kimaren. ILEPA · Executive Director [2:27]: Thank you very much, Amira, and a very good morning. Thank you so much for waking up early to join us here. We'd have spoken to the empty chairs. We are honored that you are seated there. So, Oleriamit is my name. I come from one of the landscape where conservation is a big issue. I come from the southern rangelands, Maasai land in Kenya. This landscape represent all protected areas in the country. 92% of protected areas are in this landscape. If you narrow down to my home, the Maasai Mara, 25% of all big mammals in the country are concentrated in this space. This is also the space where community-based conservation is a big issue and it's not because it's not accidental when they created protected areas the wildlife seems to follow us because we we live with them we have chosen to live with them and so conservation is not a program for us, it's our way of life. It's part of our DNA. But what does it mean in real life? First is that in my family, for example, I have a brother who is mono-eyed because a leopard has gouged out an eye trying to protect the sheep. I have a niece whose kneecap is pulled out by a hyena coming to steal the sheep at night. I have a cousin whose collarbone is broken by a lion trying to save the herd. This is our lived realities. We have kids who miss school because elephants and buffaloes are on their way to school. And so our interaction, we share waterways, water sources with elephants and buffaloes. So we live in this space and share with wildlife. Conservation is our way of life. So in essence, we are the backbone of conservation initiatives, contributing not just locally but globally. And this is a case because of our indigenous knowledge systems and values that see ourselves and nature as the same thing. Goodness, one minute. And so in terms of human rights, we really must go beyond ecological indicators of conservation to think about human rights, protection for indigenous communities, who do conservation as a daily rhythm of life and not because it's a CBD convention. We were conserving long before the CBD came. So governance and accountability must be at the center of conservation initiative. Equity and representation in voice, a robust grievance redress mechanism that is responsive to community realities, access to justice and resources. Now that there are benefits associated with conservation, indigenous community must be at the center and front of benefiting from many resources. In defining conservation, we must not solidify this definition to lock out indigenous traditional conservation areas. And of course, human rights defenders must be at the center of every initiative under the work program on protected areas. Thank you. Sorry for rushing. RRI · Moderator [5:57]: Thank you, Okimare. And thank you for giving us this framework of real life in your community and your setting. So I now have the pleasure to introduce Cindy Julianti, Executive Director of the Working Group at ICAS, Indonesia. Cindy. ICAS · Executive Director [6:14]: Hi, good morning, everyone. My name is Cindy. I'm from a working group, ICAS, Indonesia. So as we all know that COP16 has marked a monumental decision for Indigenous Peoples. local communities and Afro-descendants by having a permanent body on, subsidiary body on Article 8A to oversee the implementations of the programme of work on the 8A and broadly the implementations of the GBA target related to indigenous peoples and local communities and also Afro-descendants. So we demand the government and also Yerevan presidency to not set back in supporting this progress. And in line with the recommendations of the CBD Women's Caucus and also Indigenous Forum for Biodiversity, International Indigenous Forum for Biodiversity, we support and encourage the guidelines of the implementations of the target two and target three under article 8 should be adopted with their full set of guiding principle intact, including human rights approach. Second is the indigenous, indigenous and traditional territories or ITT's should be recognized as a guidelines as a distinct pathway to achieving the biodiversity conservation outcomes under the targets for the coming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, separated from protected areas and OECM. Recognizing the rights of the peoples and also different governance system, knowledge and conservation practices of indigenous peoples, local community and Afro-descendants. This pathway should respect their self-determination and territorial government and should not require the conversion of designations of their territories as protected areas or OECM to secure recognition and support for their contribution to biodiversity conservation. There is currently no differentiation supporting system in the context of registrations of the ITTs in the global platform. As a result, their contributions of indigenous peoples and local communities remain invisible in the global monitoring system for a target three. So there must be an ITT registration system that can capture for this contribution for the national reporting. The last is that the modus operandi of the 8j must uphold the rights to self-determination and self-governance of indigenous peoples, local communities, and Afro-descendants, and guarantee their full, equitable, inclusive, effective, and gender-responsive representation and participation in all aspects of subsidiary body on the Article 8j. Their representatives, including women and youth, should be selected through their own governance structures and decision making processes and the nominations of the co-chair and friends of the bureau should reflect on the seven social cultural regions recognized by the UNPFI and ensure gender balance without party endorsement or national registration requirement that could undermine the the autonomous and safe participations of the indigenous peoples, local communities, and Afrodescendants. Thank you. RRI · Moderator [9:28]: Thank you, Cindy. For next speaker, it's going to speak in Portuguese in a consecutive way, so there will be some time before the interpretation comes. So I am pleased to introduce Cristiane Juliao, President of the Instituto Indigena Brasileiro para Propriedade Intelectual. Cristiane. President [9:58]: É bom dia, mulheres não mulheres. Obrigada, vou tentar também falar mais devagar, apesar do tempo curto, pra que possa acompanhar também a tradução, né? Inclusive eu até escrevi pra não me perder. A pessoa se empolga quando vai falar. Eh bom, quero começar esse momento agradecendo a Deus e aos meus guias espirituais por me confiar essa missão de lutar pela garantia de direitos e acesso à justiça para povos indígenas, comunidades locais e povos afrodescendentes. Quero também agradecer a RRI pelo convite e espaço de diálogos e cooperação. Bem, como início das negociações aqui na Armênia, a COP17 representa um momento histórico e coletivo de avaliarmos a nossa primeira etapa de progresso na implementação do quadro global de biodiversidade como em Montreal. Neste cenário, precisamos compreender com clareza técnica porque a informação de sequência digital, o GISAi, está indissociável da conservação da biodiversidade, das ciências tradicionais e ancestrais e dos direitos das nossas comunidades. Sorry. Interpreter [11:27]: So good morning, women and non-women. I would like to start this moment by thanking God and my spiritual guides for entrusting me with this mission of fighting to guarantee rights and access to justice for Indigenous peoples, local communities, and Afro-descendant peoples. I would also like to thank the RRI for the invitation and the space for dialogue and cooperation. With the start of negotiations in Armenia, COP17 represents a historic and collective moment for us to evaluate our first phase of progress in implementing the coming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. In this scenario, we need to clearly understand from a technical perspective, why digital sequence information is inextricably linked to biodiversity conservation, traditional sciences, and the rights of our communities. The dematerialization of genetic resources does not break the causal link with the territories and places of origin. President [12:40]: A GSI é, em sua essência, a expressão digitalizada do patrimônio vivo e cognitivo que os povos indígenas, afrodescendentes e comunidades locais guardam e manejam de forma transgeracional. Ela brota e se fortalece a partir da cosmologia que paira nas mais variadas formas de vida e espaços. Portanto, o avanço ético e a sustentabilidade dos investimentos em bioeconomia dependem do reconhecimento compartilhado de que os dados e a matéria física partilham da mesma raiz e da mesma necessidade de governança paritária. Interpreter [13:27]: Então, a desmaterialização de recursos genéticos não serve the causal link with the territories and marine territories of origin. DSI is in its essence the digitalized expression of the living and cognitive heritage that indigenous peoples, Afro-descendant peoples, and local communities guard and manage across generations. It springs from and is strengthened by the cosmology that permeates the most varied life forms and spaces. Therefore, ethical progress and the sustainability of investments in the bioeconomy depend on the shared recognition that data and physical matter share the same root and the same need for equal governance. President [14:16]: Dessa forma para conferirmos estabilidade e integridade aos sistemas globais de informação é fundamental que os bancos de dados de dia sai incluam meta dados transparentes e responsáveis que identifiquem a origem geográfica das sequências os territórios e os conhecimentos tradicionais Associados conforme preconiza a decisão de 16/2 de Cali Interpreter [14:44]: This means emphasizing the urgent importance of bringing the document of identity that describes other data, since without these metadata of traceability, the ancestral science will perish invisible and vulnerable to biopiracy in global databases. To provide stability and integrity to global information systems, it is essential that DSI databases include transparent and accountable metadata that identify the geographical origin of sequences, territories, and associated traditional knowledge, as recommended by the decision 16/2 of Cali. This means emphasizing the urgent importance of providing the identification document that describes additional data, since without this traceability metadata, ancestral science will perish invisibly and remain vulnerable to biopiracy global databases. President [15:53]: E nesse sentido, estamos falando de ética, respeito e transparência. Estamos falando do arcabouço legal que regulamenta a pesquisa, a biotecnologia e o desenvolvimento tecnológico, acadêmico e de mercado através da compatibilização técnica com o acordo de Escasul e com as três matrizes de auditoria de dados internacionais, entre outras. Estou falando dos princípios care, que é o benefício coletivo, autoridade de controle e responsabilidade ética. Estou falando dos princípios fair, que estrutura uma interoperabilidade condicionada por registros verificados de usuários, protegendo o patrimônio biotecnológico contra apropriações indevidas. Também estou falando dos princípios trust, que amparam a segurança cibernética e a responsabilidade compartilhada por meio dos cofres de dados salvaguardando o consentimento livre, prévio, informado e de boa-fé como padrão ético das infraestruturas de pesquisa. E, nesse sentido, estamos falando de ética, respeito e transparência. Estamos falando do marco legal que regula a pesquisa, a biotecnologia e a tecnologia acadêmica e de mercado. Interpreter [17:16]: development through technical alignment with the Escazu Agreement, and three international data audit framework, among others. The first one is the CARE principles, collective benefit, authority to control, responsibility, and ethics, ensure that indigenous peoples, as well as autonomous and local communities, hold the legitimate authority of control over the flow and use of their traditional knowledge. The second one is the fair, structure and interoperability condition by verified user registrations, protecting biotechnological heritage against misappropriation. And the third and last point, the trust, support, cybersecurity and share responsibility through community. Data vaults safeguarding free, prior, informed and good faith consent as the ethical standard for research infrastructures. President [18:19]: Gent, in function of the time, I want to propose, I will take this text, I will translate, I will make available for you, because there are some things that I needed to say, and the time of speech and translation ends up complicating my presentation. But I wanted to leave only one more point clear, I'm taking notes, make the note. Sobre essa questão da porcentagem, a decisão fala sobre 1,01%, queria deixar claro que a gente rechaça essa ideia de 0,1% porque ela é esdrúxula, isso não combina, isso não é repartição justa e equitativa, 0,01%, isso é cinismo. Outra coisa que eu queria deixar claro também é que a discussão de GSI não está dissociada sobre o novo tratado da OMP. Estamos falando também de propriedade intelectual coletiva. E não por último, mas em função do tempo, só para dizer que conhecimentos tradicionais são muito antes ciências vivas. A gente precisa trazer uma espiritualidade também, porque essa desvinculação da nuvem para a realidade prejudica forças ocultas que nem a natureza humana domina. Muito obrigado. Interpreter [19:47]: So, due to the time, I'm going to summarize the last part. There are just a few more things that I would like to share with you, but due to the time and the translation that it takes, I'm just going to summarize my last ideas. First, I'm going to start with a percentage. It talks about 1 to 0.1%, and this is not at all a fair share. This is not aligned, and this is not equitable. So it's almost cynic, to be honest. And also something else that I would like to clarify is that the DSI and the way that it's being treated, it's almost an appropriation of knowledge, an appropriation of intellectual individuals. And also, we cannot separate the reality from the spiritual world. So this differentiation that we bring from the clouds to reality, it also messes with some forces that we do not understand completely as human beings. So that's what I wanted to summarize and thank you very much. RRI · Moderator [20:57]: Thank you, Christiane. I understand that the issue at the time, but we wanted to leave some space at the end for dialogue with the public. So you will have opportunity to go back. So I want to introduce Miguel Pereira. General Secretary of the Coalition International de Pueblos Afrodescendientes de América Latina y el Caribe, CITA Afro. He's also representative of the Centro Cultural Pirkayus. CITA Afro · General Secretary [21:27]: Gracias, Omayra. Buenos días con todos, con todas. Desde la Coalición Internacional de Territorios. Interpreter [21:38]: Yes, Nerkaj, Numan, Latinaca, America, y. I'm representing the people, indigenous people, who are about 154 million in Latin America. And this constitutes about 27.2% of the local population. And we're the custodians of about 200 million hectares. And these include 205 million hectares of strategically important ecosystems, including tropical forests, mangroves and wetlands, according to the findings of the Afrodescendant Atlas produced by CETAfRO with support from RRI. And we're deeply concerned that only 5% of these traditional territories have legally recognized collective land titles. This exposes our communities to dispossession, megaprojects, environmental racism, and above all, biodiversity loss, directly undermining our capacity for biocultural governance. We reaffirm that Decision 16/6 adopted at COP 16 on the role of Afro-descendant people in biodiversity conservation constitutes the central legal foundation within the Convention of Biological Diversity for mainstreaming the identity and collective rights of Afro-descendant peoples across all the Convention's technical, financial, and operational instruments. It is therefore essential to mainstream decision 16/6 across all COP17 negotiating tracks. We demand recognition of Afro-descendant territories as an autonomous, distinct and independent pathway for conserving our biocultural conservation areas, thereby contributing to the achievement of targets 2 and 3 of the Kunming-Monroe real global biodiversity framework. We demand that guidance for the financial mechanism under Article 21 and initiatives such as the caliphate arising from digital sequence information provide for the full and effective participation of Afro-descendant peoples on their steering committees. We call for a streamlined mechanism to be made operational so that financial resources reach Afro-descendant territories directly and transparently without bureaucratic intermediation. complementing the aspirational target of 20% direct financing stipulated for Indigenous Peoples and local communities. We demand that the CBD's voluntary guidelines or spatial planning and environmental impact assessments, when adopted, explicitly recognize and include the category of Afro-descendant peoples. This will safeguard the legal security of our ancestral lands against extractive projects that threaten the integrity of Mother Earth. We urge that the operating procedures of the newly established subsidiary body on Article 8j guarantee dedicated seats and effective representation for Afro-descendant peoples. Our community-based information and monitoring systems must be recognized as legitimate sources of scientific and traditional knowledge. Finally, we demand that the official process of reviewing the voluntary glossary, task 5.4 of the program of work, incorporates the perspectives of Afro-descendant peoples embodying traditional lifestyles. The revised glossary must affirm Afro-descendant peoples as collective rights holders, rather than confining recognition to the restrictive notion of individual persons. Without Afro-descendant peoples and their traditional knowledge, implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework will not be possible. Thank you. RRI · Moderator [26:28]: Thank you. Thank you, Miguel. And I also wanted to say that without the rights of women, we cannot go up. So part of the letter that was sent to the CBD stressed the need to protect the gender action plan and protect the rights of indigenous, Afro-descendant and local community women. I don't want to take more, so we have two minutes for a key question in one of the If there is someone, thank you to the panelists. And if there is any one question, so we can take it. Otherwise, we need to close because the time here is very done. Speaker 20 [27:19]: Good morning. The council that we have is something that should operate, taking into account the will of the people. And we need to figure out what we should do. If we want to save the planet, we need to be active agents. This is something that we all need. And we cannot diversify our participation in the final decision making for the sake of our planet Earth together with Afro-descendant peoples. Is there anything else to add, Sulaiman? Girls Foundation in Kenya, and my contribution to this is that if we do not ensure protection of indigenous people and local community rights, there is no conversation we can have about biodiversity conservation. Because for us, as Kimarena said, conservation is something we do in the ordinary. It's what we do, what we eat, everything depends on, you know, we do it out of what we do every other day. And therefore, when we start seeing texts being watered down, rights being watered down, things that have already been agreed before in different corps. then you come to this COP and you start bracketing issues. I think we need to inform the states and the parties that are negotiating that we are taking nothing less than rights. We must protect the rights of Indigenous people, local communities and Afro-descendants. Thank you. RRI · Moderator [29:02]: Thank you. I'm going to give the word to one of the panellists in here. There is something else you want to say that you were not able, we had only one minute. Kimaren. ILEPA · Executive Director [29:15]: Yeah, so monitoring biodiversity for us as indigenous people is not a visit to the landscape. It is our way of upbringing, it's our way of life. Any monitoring of the implementation of the biodiversity framework that exclude community-based monitoring information system is not going to go anywhere in contributing to conservation initiative. Thank you. RRI · Moderator [29:43]: Thank you. Christiane, 30 seconds. President [29:48]: Annota, corre. Bom, só queria socializar com vocês que uma das vias, um dos modelos de salvaguarda dos conhecimentos tradicionais da proteção são os bancos de dados. a gente tem feito esse exercício no Brasil de construir o nosso banco de dados para que qualquer usuário que precise fazer pesquisa biotecnologia desenvolvimento tecnológico peça licença é uma obrigação é legal é a legislação tem que se cumprir o consentimento livre prévio informado de boa fé então aqui é um exercício estou socializando com você já tenho mais folders aqui mais Flyers for that to serve as inspiration for other peoples. Thank you. Interpreter [30:37]: So, there is one thing that I would like to talk to you about, is something that we've been trying and implementing in Brazil already, is regarding safeguardings and database. We try to build our own databases and it's open to everyone and whoever wants to use it for researches, biological researches and the development of technology as well. So this also aligns with the free, prior and of good faith consentment. And this is also something to motivate the other nations to start exercising this on their own. Thank you. RRI · Moderator [31:20]: Thank you, everyone. Thank you, panelists. And thank you, everyone. We are closing.