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Women Lead at United Nations COP16 Biodiversity Convention in Colombia

by Brenda Norrell
Casey Camp-Horinek, Ponca, is at the United Nations Biodiversity Convention COP16. "The Ponca Nation is on the ground here at COP16 in Colombia, trying to raise up the issue of false solutions to the climate crisis, like carbon credits and biodiversity credits that are killing nature," Casey said, adding that fossil fuels must be phased out.
Casey Camp-Horinek, Ponca, is at the United Nations Biodiversity Convention  COP16. "The Ponca Nation is on the ground here at COP16 in C...
Women Lead at United Nations COP16 Biodiversity Convention in Colombia

by Brenda Norrell, Censored News, Oct. 22, 2024
Video https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1z/k1z1e5wzg9

CALI, Colombia -- Casey Camp-Horinek, Ponca, is at the United Nations Biodiversity Convention COP16. "The Ponca Nation is on the ground here at COP16 in Colombia, trying to raise up the issue of false solutions to the climate crisis, like carbon credits and biodiversity credits that are killing nature," Casey said, adding that fossil fuels must be phased out.

"My people are suffering from environmental genocide," Casey said during the press conference on Tuesday, "Rights of Nature: A Systematic Solution to Protect Biodiversity," hosted by Women's Earth and Climate Action Network.

Casey, introducing herself with her Ponca name, said, "I'm a Ponca woman from the occupied territory of the United States, an area called Oklahoma, that was a POW camp for all the Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island at one point."

Casey said ConocoPhillips and all of the extractive industries, are mass murderers killing her people, and killing our Mother Earth. They are poisoning the air, poisoning the rivers and the Ponca people.

Describing the scam of carbon credits, she said carbon credits are a way for fossil fuels to continue what they have been doing for a hundred years. Buying into the carbon credit scam is the same as saying: "We give you permission to murder life on Earth and Earth herself."

Carbon credits give corporations the power to continue to pollute the frontline communities, as in Ponca, where the air, water and earth is already defiled.

"Don't give them permission to buy carbon credits."

"They are killing life on Earth."

The Ponca Nation is the first Nation in the United States to pass a statute around the rights of nature, among the nations of the world that have followed Ecuador's lead.

Patricia Gualinga, Kichwa, said, "I am very glad to see Indigenous Peoples' participation at this COP16," adding that Indigenous come with the deep vision that can transform these gatherings.

Patricia said Indigenous People are on the forefront, putting their lives at stake. "Our governments are hesitant to change, and are promoting the oil, gas and mining industries, when we are already aware that the system is no longer functional."

"We're very concerned that biodiversity is deemed only as business," she said, adding that it is being placed in a market and resulting in the crisis today.

Patricia said Indigenous Peoples must be part of the decision-making process, and must have a seat at the table. Indigenous People must be listened to and heard at this time, because there has been a disconnect and it is time to reconnect. It is a time to reconnect and recognize that all beings in nature are live beings, and should be part of our reconnection.

"Listen to our proposals, to what are our needs."

There is all this money coming to "save the Amazon," she said, "But we don't see that money in the territory, and that is very worrisome."

There is a colonial mindset that doesn't allow that money to come into our territories, she said, pointing out that even in these negotiations there is a patriarchal bias that does not include Indigenous People, and women, and they will just be inserted into market mechanisms. Women are here, and want adequate decisions to be made.

"Without biodiversity, we can not be alive."

"We are energy, we are biodiversity," said Patricia, spokeswoman for Mujeres Amazónicas Defensoras de la Selva, Amazon Women in Defense of the Jungle, and WECAN coordinator in Ecuador.

Natalia Greene said the people of Ecuador have brought their amazing stories to this gathering, stories to inspire of this transformative movement. Natalie said the Rights of Nature has now reached 39 countries, recognizing and guaranteeing the rights of nature.

Natalia Greene, Ecuador, is the Global Director of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature

"We have amazing success stories," she said, describing how the rights of nature are being used in court in Ecuador, how nature's voice is in court, to protect nature from mining.

Natalia described the crisis and the schemes -- carbon trading, wildlife conservation bonds, eco-system services, nature-based solutions -- that are putting nature into the market. These are not the voices of nature.

Natalia said that they will launch the Declaration of the Amazon, Wednesday, Oct. 23, at COP16, that will recognize and guarantee the rights of nature in the Amazon.

"The problems of the Amazon can not be solved without realizing that the Amazon has rights."

"Being here in Colombia is really powerful," she said, recognizing Colombia's support of the initiative. She said that it was here, in Colombia, that a judge ruled in favor of the rights of the Amazon and future generations in 2019.

The Superior Court of Medellín, Colombia recognized the Cauca River, its basin, and its tributaries as a subject of rights and ordered their protection, conservation, and maintenance by the State and Public Companies of Medellín in 2019.

Natalia is the Global Director of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN), Member of GARN’s Executive Committee, and secretary of the International Rights of Nature Tribunal, Ecuador.

Osprey Orielle Lake, spoke on the revolutionary change needed, including the rights of nature law. She is asking the governments of the world to adopt a universal declaration on the rights of nature at the conference. She said it is time to put Mother Earth at the center of decisions, not financial institutions.

She is the WECAN's founder and executive director.

WECAN said:

On the ground in Colombia, the WECAN Team is participating in the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) COP16. WECAN met with partners and colleagues today to strengthen our strategies in pushing back against business-as-usual approaches to biodiversity protection. We engaged in multiple events focused on combating Biodiversity Credits and Offsets which are not solutions and severely contribute to land grabbing, human and Indigenous Rights violations, and continue the extraction and exploitation of Mother Earth.

Governments and financial institutions must stop these false solutions from being used, promoted, and developed. We need to move away from market-based mechanisms and instead deploy investments and energy in a Just Transition, community-led solutions, implementation of Indigenous rights, women’s leadership, and Rights of Nature. We need bold and transformative policies now— it is time for systemic solutions that address root causes. The change we need is also a transformation of who we are as human beings—we need to have a very different relationship with the web of life, one that is respectful and reciprocal.

Biodiversity credits and offsets do not address biodiversity loss. We must stand for the sacred systems of life!

WECAN: This coming week, the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network will participate in the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The upcoming biodiversity negotiations of COP16 will take place in Cali, Colombia from October 21 to November 1. Unlike the UN Climate Change Conferences, these meetings occur biennially, making this a crucial opportunity to address the global biodiversity crisis.

WECAN is honored to be advocating with a distinguished delegation of frontline and Indigenous women demanding world governments to take significant and transformative action for biodiversity protection, which also is essential for addressing the worsening climate crisis.

COP16 will have three main areas:

Adaptation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) into national action.

Mobilization and bolstering of implementation of the GBF
Acceleration of access and benefit-sharing

As part of our advocacy, WECAN will present policy interventions, on-the-ground biodiversity protection and climate justice projects, and system change frameworks. We will emphasize the root causes of interconnected crises and advocate for just solutions that foster a healthy and equitable world.

WECAN will be advocating at the UN CBD COP16 for:

Durable biodiversity protection
Gender-responsive implementation of the GBF in National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs)
An equitable fair, fast fossil fuel phaseout and the advancement of The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty
Government commitments to biodiversity finance
Defending land defenders
Denouncing biodiversity credits, carbon offsets, and false solutions

The nexus of biodiversity and climate justice
Indigenous rights and sovereignty
Forest protection and restoration
A Just Transition
Rights of Nature
The Escazú Agreement
Holding corporations and financial institutions accountable
Uplifting community-led sustainable solutions for systemic change
Feminist and beyond growth economics





Press Conference: Indigenous Women from Brazil: Calls for Action to Protect Biodiversity, Indigenous Rights, and Climate

Thursday, October 24, 11:00 - 11:30 AM (COT)

The Media Center, Blue Zone, CBD COP16 Cali, Colombia

Indigenous women leaders from the Amazon and diverse biomes of Brazil will present their calls for biodiversity and climate action at COP16 and going forward through to the UNFCCC COP30. Additionally, there will be a presentation of an Indigenous women-led reforestation project in the Brazilian Amazon and the announcement of toolkits for the Escazú Agreement emphasizing the protection of women land defenders in Brazil.

Confirmed Speakers to date:

Secretary Puyr Tembé (Tembé), Secretary of Indigenous Peoples of the State of Para, Brazil and Co-Founder of ANMIGA (Association of Ancestral Indigenous Women Warriors), Brazil
Deputy Célia Xakriabá (Xakriabá), Federal Deputy in Brazilian Congress in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and Co-Founder of the National Articulation of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestrality (ANMIGA), Brazil
Representative from the National Articulation of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestrality (ANMIGA), Brazil
Osprey Orielle Lake, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) Founder and Executive Director, Turtle Island/USA

Press Conference: Women Leading Solutions on the Frontlines of Biodiversity and Climate Crises

Friday, October 25, 11:00 - 11:30 AM (COT)

The Media Center, Blue Zone, CBD COP16 Cali, Colombia

Frontline and Indigenous women leaders and global advocates will present solutions and strategies to tackle the interlinked biodiversity and climate crises, emphasizing the importance of gender equity, food sovereignty, forest protection and reforestation, traditional ecological knowledge, Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), protection of environmental human rights defenders, and financing genuine solutions in the Global Biodiversity Framework.

Speakers from Nepal, Kenya and South and North America to be announced soon!

Women’s Hub Pavilion: Women on the Frontlines of the Biodiversity and Climate Crises: Challenges and Solutions

Saturday, October 26, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm (COT)

The Women’s Pavilion, Blue Zone, CBD COP16
Women and gender-diverse leadership are essential for protecting biodiversity and global climate action! Please join us at this event to hear from frontline and Indigenous women leaders, policy advocates, and international environmental activists as they address the root causes of the interlocking biodiversity and climate crises. Panelists will uplift women-led solutions, approaches, and strategies to protect Indigenous and human rights and defend biodiversity and our global climate to ensure a livable planet for all generations.

Confirmed speakers, with more to be announced:

Deputy Célia Xakriabá (Xakriabá), Federal Deputy in Brazilian Congress in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and co-founder of the National Articulation of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestrality (ANMIGA), Brazil
Julia Catalina Chumbi Tzetzema, Pastaza Shuar Center, FENASH (Federación de la Nacionalidad Shuar de Pastaza), and a Member of Mujeres Amazónicas Defensoras de la Selva, Ecuador
Casey Camp-Horinek, (Ponca Nation), Ponca Nation Environmental Ambassador, and WECAN Board Member and Project Coordinator, Turtle Island/USA
Osprey Orielle Lake, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) Founder and Executive Director, Turtle Island/USA

WECAN: If Not Us Then Who: Protecting Nature, Defending Rights: Women’s Bold Leadership for Peace with Nature

Saturday, October 26, 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm (COT)

Casa de Mono, Cra. 25 # 5-112, 3 de Julio, Cali, Valle del Cauca, Our Village and E&C Pavilion

Co-moderated by Nina Gualinga (Kichwa), Indigenous rights defender, Mujeres Amazónicas Defensoras de la Selva from Sarayaku, Ecuador

WECAN is partnering with If Not Us Then Who for a special evening event at the Our Village and E&C Pavilion for the UNCBD COP16 in Cali, Colombia. Join us for a powerful and inspiring evening as frontline and Indigenous women leaders and global advocates share the many frameworks, approaches, and solutions taking place worldwide regarding the significance of living in reciprocity and in peace with Nature. ​

Confirmed speakers, with more to be announced:

Nina Gualinga (Kichwa), Indigenous Rights Defender, Mujeres Amazónicas Defensoras de la Selva, Sarayaku, Ecuador
Shirley Krenak (Krenak), Founder of the Shirley Djukurna Krenak Institute, Co-founder of the National Articulation of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestrality (ANMIGA), Brazil
Michelle Sisa Villamil Gualinga (Shiwiar and Kichwa), Shiwiars spokesperson, and a Member of Mujeres Amazónicas Defensoras de la Selva, Ecuador
Deputy Célia Xakriabá (Xakriabá), Federal Deputy in Brazilian Congress in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and Co-Founder of the National Articulation of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestrality (ANMIGA), Brazil
Casey Camp-Horinek (Ponca Nation), Ponca Nation Environmental Ambassador, and WECAN Board Member and Project Coordinator, Turtle Island/USA
Osprey Orielle Lake, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) Founder and Executive Director, Turtle Island/USA

AP reports:

Global environmental leaders gathered Monday in Cali, Colombia to assess the world’s plummeting biodiversity levels and commitments by countries to protect plants, animals and critical habitats.

The two-week United Nations Biodiversity Conference, or COP16, is a follow-up to the 2022 Montreal meetings where 196 countries signed a historic global treaty to protect biodiversity.

The accord includes 23 measures to halt and reverse nature loss, including putting 30% of the planet and 30% of degraded ecosystems under protection by 2030.

#RightsofNature #Biodiversity #PeaceWithNature #IndigenousRights #ClimateAction #COP16 #WECAN #ProtectOurPlanet #GBF #KMGBF #BiodiversityProtection @unbiodiversity

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