Brazil restores momentum on Indigenous Rights with major push at COP30

The Brazilian government, earlier this week, confirmed one of the summit’s most consequential developments: the formal demarcation of ten Indigenous territories.

According to the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, the newly recognised areas include lands long sought by communities such as the Tupinambá, Munduruku, Mura, Guarani-Mbya and Pankará. The measure will be finalised through a presidential decree.

This marks a significant expansion of a process already underway under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, whose administration recognised 11 Indigenous territories last year.

Brazilian officials noted that the newly recognised territories cover areas of high ecological value, with several overlapping stretches of Amazon forest that function as major carbon sinks. The Minister for Indigenous Peoples, Sonia Guajajara, stressed to COP30 delegates that securing Indigenous land rights is essential to any credible climate strategy, emphasising that Indigenous stewardship already plays a central role in keeping forests intact and helping stabilise the climate.

For many leaders, the announcement is both a victory and a beginning. Dinamam Tuxá of APIB told the BBC that every territory recognised “is a reason to celebrate,” but the goal remains broader legal authority for communities to decide what happens within their lands. He stressed that Indigenous peoples safeguard 82% of global biodiversity, and that their traditional land stewardship naturally protects ecosystems and helps limit global heating.

The timing of the announcement, during COP30’s Indigenous Peoples’ Circle, emphasised Brazil’s intent to centre Indigenous leadership in climate negotiations. Many see it as a realignment of national climate policy around justice, not just conservation.

However, critics emphasise that demarcation alone is insufficient. Full protection depends on sustained government action, including enforcement by Brazil’s Indigenous agency, Funai, to prevent illegal mining, logging and land grabbing. Even so, the move is widely viewed as an evidential turning point that Indigenous rights are being embedded into Brazil’s climate strategy rather than acknowledged symbolically.

If fully implemented, these new territories could strengthen both environmental protection and Indigenous sovereignty, offering one of COP30’s clearest examples of how climate action and justice can advance together.

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By Ella Burden.

Photo credit: 18.11.2025 - Belem - Joenia Wapichana, president of Brazil's National Indigenous Peoples' Foundation and Sonia Guajajara, Minister for Indigenous Peoples of Brazil attend a signing ceremony for the delimitation of lands with National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples and the celebration of the declaration and homologation decrees for indigenous lands, at the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30). Photo by Ueslei Marcelino/COP30

Brazil restores momentum on Indigenous Rights with major push at COP30