Rio +20: Brazil’s indigenous people speak out for greener, fairer future

Twenty years after the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, Brazil, more than 100 government representatives from around the world, including Britain’s Caroline Spelman and Nick Clegg, will attend the Rio+20 Summit in June.

At the parallel People’s Summit, representatives from CAFOD’s partner organisations in Latin America will join thousands of other activists to share strength and ideas. They will draw government attention to the needs of poor and marginalised communities, and put forward their own solutions.

“We are participating in the People’s Summit because we are not pleased by the positions taken by the state to deal with the planet’s crisis,” says Mario Nicacio, from the Indigenous Council of Roraima in Brazil (CIR). “We strongly believe that money will not change life on the planet. The unity of people and respect for diversity will.”

The hottest topic for discussion for both summits will be how to build a ‘green economy’ to help achieve sustainable development. But we are concerned that the green economy needs to also be fair and help lift millions of people out of poverty.

Forests without fresh air

Mario, and the indigenous communities that CIR supports in Brazil, including the Wapichana and Macuxi indigenous people, have seen their legally-owned traditional lands threatened by agri-business and invaded by mining and hydroelectric dams.

He is very sceptical about the ‘green economy’ as he believes that the current vision doesn’t incorporate the reality of indigenous ways of life, their diversity, culture and traditions.

Mario says: “To me, the phrase ‘green economy’ means a bag full of money ready to be used to transform the forest into a place without fresh air. If I had one minute to speak to all the world leaders, I would tell them that using a lot of money to preserve the Amazon is not enough, they must educate the world’s population.”

How green is the ‘green economy’?

At CAFOD, we are also concerned about the current vision of the ‘green economy’. It focuses too much on the ‘economy’ – that is economic interests of rich, industrialised countries – and not enough on the ‘green’ – that is sustainable development for the poorest communities. We believe it is crucial that voices from these communities are heard and respected and that their specific needs are at the heart of the Rio+20 discussions.

“Leaving poor men and women out of the equation means solutions will be less efficient and less effective,” explains CAFOD’s economic justice analyst Christina Weller. “They often rely on the local environment and natural resources to support themselves, and they play a large part in looking after them. It is completely misguided to think that a green economy model that does not include them will work or be fair.”

Action to MPs

Campaigns Officer Armelle le Comte said: “As CAFOD supporters, you have recently spoken out passionately for clean water for all and for action on climate change - you helped get the UK government to pass a ground-breaking Climate Change Act in 2008.

“Now we have an opportunity to remind our MPs and our government of the importance of building a genuinely green and fair economy – not just for our future, but for indigenous people and poor communities right now. That’s why we’re asking you to write to, meet or email your MP, calling on them to lead by example at home and push for stronger commitments to cutting carbon on the world stage.”