Scattered across the nine countries that share the Amazon Basin — from Brazil to Colombia to Peru — live more than 400 distinct Indigenous nations, speaking over 300 languages. Each group has its own customs, traditions, and deep ancestral ties to the forest. Their relationship with the land is not based on ownership, but stewardship — passed down through generations as a responsibility, not a right. The forest provides not only food and medicine, but cultural and spiritual meaning. The land is not separate from the people; it is part of their identity. And to lose it, is to lose everything.

Indigenous Territories Are Climate Strongholds
These territories are the Amazon’s best defense against destruction. Forests in Indigenous areas have deforestation rates that are 2–3 times lower than in non-Indigenous lands and store significantly more carbon.

This success comes from traditional knowledge: agroforestry techniques, low-impact hunting and fishing, controlled burning to prevent wildfires, and constant surveillance of illegal activity. These practices allow many Indigenous Peoples and local communities to live in harmony with the forest — not exploit it. Their lands are also rich in biodiversity, with Indigenous-managed forests hosting more rare animal species (like bats and amphibia) than any other parts of the Amazon. They are the protectors of more than 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity, revealing the vital role Indigenous Peoples and local communities can play in conserving the Amazon. But to continue this work, they need secure land rights — legal recognition that the land is theirs to live on, care for, and defend.

What Are Indigenous Land Rights — and Why Does Demarcation Matter?
Imagine living on a piece of land your ancestors have protected for centuries — where every tree, river, and animal holds a story passed down through generations. Now imagine someone coming in, claiming it’s not yours, and tearing it apart without your say. That’s the reality many Indigenous communities across the Amazon face. 

Although they’ve been stewards of these forests for generations, their rights to the land aren't always formally recognized. That’s where Indigenous land rights come in. These rights ensure that communities can legally own and protect the land they’ve always lived on.

Demarcation is how those rights become real. It means drawing clear, legal boundaries around Indigenous territories on a map — officially recognizing them in the eyes of the law. When land is demarcated, Indigenous Peoples can better defend it against deforestation, mining, and other threats.

What Threatens Indigenous Land Rights Today?
Despite their conservation leadership, Indigenous Peoples face mounting threats. Illegal logging, gold mining, land grabs for soy and cattle production, and oil drilling are all threats to their territories. Often, these actions are violent and unchecked.

Political forces also pose danger. In Brazil, former president Jair Bolsonaro weakened environmental protections and froze land demarcation processes. While President Lula da Silva has made strides in reversing some of the damage, controversial proposals like the Marco Temporal(which argues that Indigenous groups can only assert land rights if they were occupying the territory in 1988 — the year where Brazil’s current Constitution was signed) continue to threaten those rights.

The result? Communities are displaced, leaders are assassinated, and forests once teeming with life are razed. Globally, about 2,106 land defenders were killed for protecting their territories in between 2012 and 2023 alone, with the majority of deaths being recorded in South America.

Why isn’t Marco Temporal fair? Just imagine being forced off your land by violence or government policy — then, years later, being told you can’t reclaim it because you weren’t there on a specific date in 1988. That’s what the thesis demands of Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples.

It sets an arbitrary deadline that ignores centuries of displacement, making it nearly impossible for many communities to prove their rightful connection to ancestral land. Now that it’s been enforced, hard-won land rights in the Amazon are under threat. This law opens the door to further deforestation, mining, and agribusiness, endangering both Indigenous communities and the planet. The only remaining way to challenge it is by joining together as global citizens and demanding that the Supreme Court definitively suspend it.

The Fight for Recognition and Protection
Despite these challenges, Indigenous Peoples continue to fight for their land — and for the planet.

In September 2023, Brazil's Supreme Court delivered a landmark decision rejecting the Marco Temporal thesis. The Court ruled that the 1988 cutoff date was unconstitutional, and affirmed that Indigenous communities have rights to their ancestral lands regardless of their physical presence on that specific date. This decision was celebrated by Indigenous groups and human rights organizations as a significant victory for Indigenous rights and environmental protection — but legislators have since introduced bills to circumvent it.

In early 2025, Justice Gilmar Mendes, a Minister of Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court, proposed a new law that would allow projects like mining and construction to move forward on Indigenous lands — without needing permission from the communities living there. This sparked outrage from Indigenous leaders and human rights groups, who said it was unfair and went against Brazil’s Constitution. 

Although Mendes later directed the removal of the proposal to permit mining from the commission's discussions, Indigenous representatives — including Maurício Terena from APIB — expressed concern that this was not a definitive victory but a possible tactic to wear down opposition, fearing the issue could return.

Still, the fight continues. Groups like COIAB and APIB are pushing back, building strong national and international alliances. 

Dinaman Tuxa, APIB Coordinator, stated, “COP30 will be a unique moment, because we will be able to project our messages onto the international stage. Having Law 14,701 [the Marco Temporal law] in force in a COP year — when it only fuels conflicts — is not good for Brazil.” 

He added, “We want the government to commit to a demarcation policy and to confront these issues more decisively in defense of Indigenous peoples’ rights.”

And there are victories too — after 37 years of legal struggle, the Guarani Mbya people in São Paulo finally won recognition of part of their ancestral land — a reminder that persistence and tireless advocacy can deliver justice.

Why This Matters to Everyone
The Amazon absorbs up to 2 billion tons of CO₂ annually — about 5% of global emissions. But when Indigenous land is taken, deforestation accelerates — and carbon storage collapses.

Losing the Amazon would release massive amounts of greenhouse gases, trigger feedback loops, disrupt rainfall patterns across continents, and jeopardize global food systems. The consequences extend far beyond South America.

Biodiversity is also at risk. The Amazon is home to 1 in 10 known species on Earth, many of which exist nowhere else. Destroying these ecosystems risks losing cures for diseases and vital ecological balance.
The Amazon is a global treasure. But without the Indigenous Peoples and local communities who have protected it for millennia, it will not survive. The fight for Indigenous land rights is not just about justice — it's about the fate of Indigenous Peoples and the rest of the planet.