Indigenous lands are crucial for climate mitigation and resilience. Research shows their health is a direct result of Indigenous stewardship
While this isn't news to anyone who works in this space, it is useful to have this water-is-wet research to affirm that Indigenous knowledge and land management are extremely effective at storing carbon and protecting biodiversity.
I want to draw special attention to this part of the article:
New research shows that approach overlooks the key role that Indigenous knowledge and culture can play in mitigating climate change. It also reveals a dangerous misconception that has taken hold in global climate discussions: the idea that Indigenous lands are so rich because they are remote or sparsely populated.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The health of Indigenous lands and their ability to store vast quantities of carbon stem from the stewardship of the people who inhabit them.
Rather than the Canadian government giving something to a First Nation, the agreement admits the Haida Nation always owned these islands.
"In a historic “first-of-its-kind” agreement the government of British Colombia has acknowledged the aboriginal ownership of 200 islands off the west coast of Canada.
The owners are the Haida nation, and rather than the Canadian government giving something to a First Nation, the agreement admits that the “Xhaaidlagha Gwaayaai” or the “islands at the end of world,” always belonged to them, a subtle yet powerful difference in the wording of First Nations negotiating.
BC Premier David Eby called the treaty “long overdue” and once signed, will clear the way for half a million hectares (1.3 million acres) of land to be managed by the Haida.
Postal service, shipping lanes, school and community services, private property rights, and local government jurisdiction, will all be unaffected by the agreement, which will essentially outline that the Haida decide what to do with the 200 or so islands and islets.
“We could be facing each other in a courtroom, we could have been fighting each other for years and years, but we chose a different path,” said Minister of Indigenous Relations of BC, Murray Rankin at the signing ceremony, who added that it took creativity and courage to “create a better world for our children.”
Indeed, making the agreement outside the courts of the formal treaty process reflects a vastly different way of negotiating than has been the norm for Canada.
“This agreement won’t only raise all boats here on Haida Gwaii – increase opportunity and prosperity for the Haida people and for the whole community and for the whole province – but it will also be an example and another way for nations – not just in British Columbia, but right across Canada – to have their title recognized,” said Eby.
In other words, by deciding this outside court, Eby and the province of BC hope to set a new standard for how such land title agreements are struck."
The agreement announced Thursday includes a network of proposed Inuit-led water and land conservation areas in the Arctic region. It's expec
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced a $270-million agreement for jobs and conservation projects in the Qikiqtani region of Nunavut.
At a news conference Thursday in Montreal, Trudeau said the deal includes $200 million from the federal government and $70 million pledged by donors in Canada and elsewhere.
The investment is projected to attract $318 million over 15 years to the region, which is home to about 20,000 people in 13 communities.
"When we invest to protect (and) safeguard biodiversity, we protect those who protect us, our environment and our livelihoods," Trudeau told reporters.
Thousands affected as government vows to stamp out land grabs in protected areas
Brazil’s government has begun removing thousands of non-Indigenous people from two native territories in a move that will affect thousands who live in the heart of the Amazon rainforest.
The Brazilian intelligence agency ABIN said in a statement that the goal was to return the Apyterewa and Trincheira Bacaja lands in Para state to the original peoples. ...
“The presence of strangers on Indigenous land threatens the integrity of the Indigenous [people] and causes other damages, such as the destruction of forests,” the agency said in its statement. It added that about 1,600 families lived illegally in that region with some involved in illegal activities such as cattle raising and gold mining. “They also destroy native vegetation.” ...
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has begun rebuilding environment protection agencies and created eight protected areas for Indigenous people. Soon after the beginning of his administration, his government expelled thousands of goldminers from the massive Yanomami Indigenous territory in the northern state of Roraima.
State and federal authorities this year also dislodged landgrabbers from the Alto Rio Guama territory. They threatened forcible expulsion of those settlers failing to leave, and pledged to eliminate access roads and irregular installations. Nearly all of the illegal residents departed voluntarily.
On September 20th 2025 across Canada there will be a series of strikes, marches, rallies and gatherings to protest the government and Canada's richest corporations hoarding wealth, gutting our public services, fuelling climate collapse, attacking migrants, exploiting Indigenous lands, and propping up the genocide in Palestine.
Please. Every single person that participates matters. It is extremely important that we don't just sit here and watch the world collapse. We are capable of making a difference so long as we stand together. The more people that share this and join, the stronger an impact that this protest has the ability to make.
More information about DRAW THE LINE can be found here: https://drawtheline.world/canada?r=CA&d=BC&lang=en
