Traditional Peoples and Communities advocate at COP30 for urgent land regularization of their territories.

Traditional Peoples and Communities (PCTs) in Brazil have been urging the federal government to urgently sign a new decree establishing a legal framework for the recognition and land regularization of their territories. The pressure for this decree gained momentum at COP 30 in various panels, debates, and protests at the Climate Conference.

Representatives of traditional peoples and communities, social movements, and civil society organizations have been demanding more transparency in the legislative process of the proposed decree, formulated by representative entities of the segments of traditional peoples and communities existing in the country. The communities are demanding from the government a federal instrument that guarantees security and recognition of their territories as spaces of identity and preservation of their way of life.

“COP30 has been a political space to reaffirm that land regularization is much more than a social right. It is, in fact, an instrument to confront deforestation and climate change, guaranteeing the conservation of biodiversity,” stated Samuel Caetano, a traditional indigenous leader and president of the National Council of Traditional Peoples and Communities (CNPCT).

Existing Legislation

Traditional Peoples and Communities (PCTs) are recognized by Decree 6.040/2007, which establishes the National Policy for the Sustainable Development of Traditional Peoples and Communities (PNPCT). The coordination of the implementation of this policy is the responsibility of the National Council of Traditional Peoples and Communities (CNPCT). The policy aims to promote the sustainable development of these communities, encouraging sustainable means of production.

Decree 11.481/2023 updated the list of recognized communities. The struggle now is for a specific legal framework for land regularization of these territories, not limited to indigenous and quilombola lands, which already have their own legislation.

The right to be and to exist.

According to the 2022 Census, there are approximately 1,7 million indigenous people and over 1,3 million quilombola people in the country, with the majority concentrated in the Northeast region. In addition to these, there are 27 other recognized groups, potentially totaling more than 650 families.

“We are constantly pressured to leave the territory. Staying away is like getting lost. We young people need to understand the history of our mothers and grandmothers in order to continue fighting for rights and for the territory.”

The statement is from Aldimar Lopes de Sousa, from the Bico do Papagaio region in Tocantins, son and grandson of coconut breakers. Traditional peoples and communities occupied the various spaces of COP30, reaffirming their right to "place".

"For those who live in the communities, the territory is a space of being, of connecting with our ancestry and continuing to exist," adds Aldimar.

Eldo Moreira Barreto came from Correntina, Bahia, to participate in several debates at the COP30 events on the right to territory, combating deforestation, and the climate crisis. As a leader, he has been fighting in his region against land grabbing and the violence that affects the communities of enclosed and traditional grazing lands.

The communities that practice this system, called "fecheiras," organize themselves collectively to manage the territory and preserve areas of native pasture to feed the animals. This practice began around the 18th century, after the decline of the "Sesmarias" (land grants), with the occupation of abandoned lands by rural workers.

“Our struggle for land and territory began 300 years ago. It’s not just a way of life. We continue building pathways to dialogue with nature, with the biomes in a sustainable way, leaving the forest standing and coexisting with it,” says Eldo.

Data from the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT) shows an increase in land conflicts in Brazil in 2024, with 1.768 registered cases, the highest number in the last ten years. However, there was a decrease in land occupations and encampments. Conflicts over water increased by 16%, registering 266 cases, the third highest number in the last five years. The greater the deforestation, the less water and the more tension in the countryside.

“Today we need the state to come and recognize us, regularize our territories, and stop us from dying. The courage of these people to be here at COP 30 is what determines our struggle,” says Samuel Caetano.

The mobilization for the protection of territories by organized social movements must continue after the Belém Climate Conference, seeking the signing of the decree regulating land tenure for the collective territories of the communities. The ISPN's Policy and Advocacy Coordination is monitoring the issue in support of the National Council of Traditional Peoples and Communities.

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