MINISTER LISTENS TO INDIGENOUS LEADERS AHEAD OF COP30

The Minister of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (MPI) and indigenous-environmental activist, Sônia Guajajara, visited Dourados to gather demands from traditional communities to present at COP30.

The city is home to the Bororó and Jaguapiru villages, which together form the largest Indigenous reserve in Brazil.

The visit was part of the COParente Cycle, Central-West edition, an initiative traveling across the country to hear directly from Indigenous leaders.

The purpose of the cycle is to collect information and needs from traditional communities and take them to COP30, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, which will be held in November in Belém, Pará.

Read more about the COP30 here https://pantanalagency.news/listing/world-environment-day-and-cop30/

Read more about COP30 here https://pantanalagency.news/listing/leaders-to-bring-urgent-demands-to-cop30/

For the first time since taking office, Guajajara visited the city, starting her agenda in the Dourados Indigenous Reserve.

She was welcomed by local leaders and visited a traditional prayer house.

During the event, indigenous representatives discussed local issues and the growing impact of agribusiness near their communities, especially the expansion of monoculture crops like soy.

They also addressed the contamination of soil and streams caused by pesticides sprayed by airplanes.

The leaders highlighted climate change and the growing scarcity of native plants and regional elements such as the buriti palm.

According to Sônia Guajajara, Mato Grosso do Sul plays a key role in the debate on sustainability and environmental preservation.

“We held this cycle in the Terena territory, in the Buriti territory, and now specifically with the Guarani Kaiowá people to create this moment of listening and to share information and preparation so we can arrive at COP30 with an Indigenous representation from Brazil.”

The minister's visit continued at the Intercultural Indigenous Faculty of the Federal University of Grande Dourados (FAIND/UFGD), where more than 80 leaders and students gathered to present sustainability-related concerns.

According to Bráulio Ava Vera’i, coordinator of Aty Guasu (General Assembly of the Kaiowá and Guarani People), Indigenous communities in the state urgently need attention to their demands.

“The Guarani Kaiowá people of Mato Grosso do Sul suffer from the lack of land demarcation. Without it, we lack protection against climate change,” said the coordinator.

FAIND was chosen as the venue for the event because it is the first Indigenous faculty in Brazil with a continuous entrance process and focused specifically on the Guarani and Kaiowá communities.

According to Jones Dari Goettert, rector of UFGD, the purpose of the cycle and the minister’s visit is to bring public policies closer to the real needs of Indigenous peoples, especially at COP30.

“It is important to think of sustainability as inclusion for all and to bring attention to the most pressing issues of Indigenous peoples, such as access to food and coordination with environmental preservation,” said Jones.