Tree planting is critical for sustainable future but can’t fix climate change on its own

Respect for Indigenous land rights key in fight against climate change

Bonn - Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin this week joined the ranks of a growing movement to reach climate and development goals as part of the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) in Bonn, Germany.

Speaking by video address at the conference of 1,000 people from 104 countries, plus another 51,000 online, Baldwin backed the GLF’s landscape-scale approach to achieving a sustainable and equitable world.

“There are indigenous people safeguarding many of the world’s remaining standing forests. We can empower them with rights,” he said.

“There are solutions emerging every day that combine food security, livelihoods and progress towards climate and development goals. We can champion them.”

The rights of indigenous peoples to land and forests was a topic widely discussed at the Forum, both as an issue of justice and one of meeting global goals on climate action and sustainable development.

An Indigenous Peoples Pavilion at the event became the hub of discussions on indigenous leadership and partnership in equitable development, sustainable landscapes and local action that infused talks throughout the two-day event.