Peru—Brazil Transboundary Commission Participates in COP30

Leaders from the Indigenous organizations ORAU, APIWTXA, OPIRJ, and ACONADIYSH attending the COP30 in Belém, Brazil.

Belém, Brazil — November 9–17

Members of the Juruá–Yurúa–Alto Tamaya Commission (CT) participated in COP30, presenting their vision for territorial protection in the face of the climate crisis. The delegation was composed of Francisco Piyãko (Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the Juruá River – OPIRJ), Wewito Piyãko (Asháninka Association of the Amônia River – APIWTXA), Fernando Aroni (Association of Native Communities of Yurúa – ACONADIYSH), and Jamer López (Regional Organization AIDESEP Ucayali – ORAU), who were accompanied by allies from both Peru and Brazil, including UAC staff.

During their participation in various events, the CT representatives emphasized the importance of Indigenous governance, the protection of Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact (PIACI), binational coordination, and the defense of territorial corridors as a key strategy for biocultural conservation.

Throughout COP30, the CT particpated in panels, interviews, advocacy spaces, and guided visits, including a tour of Sebastião Salgado’s “Amazônia” photography exhibition and the presentation of the Manifesto for the Flourishing of Diversity, a document proposing a socioecological transition grounded in Indigenous knowledge and practices.

Within the framework of the event, the CT member organizations and the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) signed a letter of intent aimed at strengthening binational coordination and advancing the implementation of the transboundary agenda.

The CT reaffirmed its central message: the border forests between Ucayali (Peru) and Acre (Brazil) are living territories, essential for the cultural and territorial continuity of 14 Indigenous peoples, distributed across 35 territories and 8 conservation areas, covering more than 3.5 million hectares.

Representatives of UAC, such as William Villacorta and Arlindo Ruiz, accompanied these engagements, facilitating coordination among delegations and supporting the participation of the peoples of the Yurúa, Juruá, and Alto Tamaya in the international arena.

UAC reaffirms its commitment to supporting the work of the CT, promoting solutions rooted in the territories, and contributing to the strengthening of the Indigenous peoples who sustain life in the Amazon.