Indigenous and Afro-Colombian forest guardians recently brought their firsthand conservation knowledge to the global stage at Biodiversity COP16. Among these vital voices were Felix Ferrer, an Indigenous researcher from the Maloca Vaupes ASATRIZY REDD+ Project, and Glenister Garrido Cossio, a community leader from the Atrato Baudó REDD+ Project. Their presence challenged the traditional dynamics of international environmental conferences, demonstrating that effective conservation isn't just about protecting trees and wildlife – it's about recognizing and supporting the communities who have preserved these ecosystems for generations. Through the following interviews, we glimpse a powerful vision of conservation that weaves together traditional knowledge, community stewardship, and global climate action, and come to understand the importance of their participation at global conferences like COP16.
Part One: Felix Ferrer
Tell us a bit about yourself?
My name is Felix Ferrer, and I am a local researcher at the REDD+ Maloca Vaupés ASATRIZY project.
I would like to say, from the point of view of my identity, that I am an Indigenous person.
The way of life in my territory is very different from other organizations and other peoples. We depend on nature, everything we live on comes from nature. If we did not conserve nature, we would completely lose our identity.
Based on this, we have been working with REDD+ projects and thanks to this we have gained the skills to become local researchers.
Could you please tell us about your community and its relationship with the forest? Why is protecting the forest important to you?
It is very important to protect the forest in order to preserve the life of the organisms, of nature, and of my territory. It is also very important because we have a direct relationship with it.
Us Indigenous peoples, we maintain our life through nature.
How do you feel about attending COP16?
COP16 is a source of pride for me, and a very good experience in my life. I was so happy to get the opportunity to participate and to get to know the people and places that have organized COP16. I feel very grateful; it is an experience that also benefits me a lot, not only in the COP but also for my life, to exist and to fulfill myself in my efforts to conserve my environment, alongside my community. I am grateful.
What message are you hoping to bring to the world at COP16?
The message I bring to the world is to learn from each other, and for the Western World to learn from our Indigenous way of life.
What was the biggest lesson you learned at COP16?
In this COP16 the most important lesson was the power of having knowledge from both conservation scientists in the Western World and community members.
What was the most surprising aspect of your involvement at COP16?
I am very surprised, first of all, for how long of a trip that I had to make and it went very well, thank God that I am in Cali for the first time. In the presence here in Cali there are some very important aspects that interest me a lot. The situation of the city, the food, the different events that are being organized here.
For me it has been a very good experience and there was a participation in my personal aspect. I participated in some events and meetings, for example with the biologists in the citizen science participation.
What would you want other Indigenous communities considering REDD+ participation to know?
I think other communities should get involved in this kind of event. It is important to learn from each other at these types of events, and I would also like to learn about this type of COP outside the country, not only in Colombia, but also in other very different countries. It would be a better experience for our Indigenous and local communities. Even though Indigenous peoples have many things in common, we make different decisions and take on different commitments.
Is there anything else you'd like to share about your experience with REDD+ or COP16?
This conservation is very important to me. I would like to tell companies and local communities working with conservation projects to know and spread our REDD+ system, because it understands nature and partners well with the western world.
Part Two: Glenister Garrido Cossio
Tell us a bit about yourself?
My name is Glenister Garrido Cossio, and I am a leader and representative of the Atrato Baudó Origin REDD+ Project.
Could you please tell us about your community and its relationship with the forest? Why is protecting the forest important to you?
My community is from a beautiful area with a tropical forest that is home to the largest amount of biodiversity on the planet. Our relationship with the forest is a deep one because the forest provides us with many benefits such as medicine, food, shelter and many other benefits without which we could not exist.
How do you feel about attending COP16?
It is a very important event for the world and for the situation in the world at this time.
What message are you hoping to bring to the world at COP16?
That we must become aware of the world we want. I believe that if we want to achieve the world we dream of, we have to work for it. That we have to join forces, not only communities, but also work with other types of entities on a national and international level to promote the care of biodiversity.
We should not look at religions or ethnicities; I believe that we all fit on this planet, and we can all make this world a better place if we articulate and work hand in hand for the conservation of our territory. We must not forget that rural farmer organizations, Indigenous and ethnic communities, can preserve and conserve this biodiversity, if not thanks to these traditional practices that we have done from generation to generation. Without them, we would not have the forests that we have today, and in the case of our department of Chocó, which has this tropical forest, which is one of the few in the world today and which contains the greatest biodiversity on the planet, I believe that we have a greater challenge to continue to conserve this forest, which is of great importance to the world.
What was the biggest lesson you learned at COP16?
Well, among those lessons, I think we have already done a lot to preserve the biodiversity of our planet. I think it is very important from everything that we have seen in this summit, which is so important for the world, to reach out to our communities and to continue to strengthen, to continue to educate and to see that we can live from the forests in a sustainable way, without damaging them. And that in the same way the forest gives us those benefits that help us to be in harmony with nature, that peace, and we must achieve that same peaceful relationship between man and nature.
What was the most surprising aspect of your involvement at COP16?
The number of processes that indigenous people are already carrying out today. It is no secret that they have had a somewhat deeper relationship, but we should not ignore the issue of other ethnic communities, such as Afro-Colombians, who have also had this relationship and through their practices have been able to preserve and maintain the biodiversity that we have today.
In other words, it is essential that we join forces, that we do not look at religions, that we do not look at ethnicities, and that together we can bring about the change that we all want so much.
What would you want other Afro communities considering REDD+ participation to know?
In the case of COCOMOPOCA, in addition to all the actions we have taken to conserve and maintain this biodiversity, I think that being part of this REDD+ project has been one of the key strategies to continue to conserve and maintain our territories. Moreover, these are projects that, instead of damaging the territories, if they are really done hand in hand with the communities, they strengthen us and we will continue to have this relationship with the forest, with the environment, with nature and with ourselves.
Is there anything else you'd like to share about your experience with REDD+ or COP16?
So, it was my first event at a COP. I think it is very important to be aware of everything that is happening in our department, in Colombia and in the world, and that we continue this struggle, which is very important for everyone and especially for us as communities, because the territories are life, they are everything for us.
