“Nature, the First People, and the spirit of our ancestors are giving you loud warnings… If we humans do not wake up to the warnings, the great purification will come to destroy this world just as the previous worlds were destroyed.”
According to reports, including NASA, the temperature record has been shattered. 2024 was the hottest year since record-keeping began in 1880. It has never been more imperative to comprehend our relationship with the natural world and the impact of human activity on Mother Earth.
International Mother Earth Day was established on 22 April 2009 by the United Nations General Assembly through Resolution A/RES/63/278. On behalf of Indigenous Peoples the world over, Juan Evo Morales Ayma, the first Indigenous president of Bolivia, introduced the Resolution.
Currently, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is convening with the theme “Implementing the United Nations Declaration On The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples within United Nations Member States and the United Nations system, including identifying best practices and addressing challenges.”
Indigenous Peoples, comprising only 5% of the world’s population, are caretakers of 80% of its biodiversity. The full implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is crucial for ensuring human health, planetary and territorial health, and the well-being of all living things.
“We, the Indigenous Peoples, walk to the future in the footprints of our ancestors.” Join us on International Mother Earth Day, in raising awareness about humanity’s shared responsibilities and profound interconnectedness. In the KARI-OCA DECLARATION signed during the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Indigenous Peoples affirmed our commitment to preserving our ancestral heritage and ensuring a sustainable future for the coming generations.
It is imperative that we collectively work together towards ending the destruction of our remaining pristine wild places, sacred sites, and irreplaceable natural resources. By doing so, we can safeguard Mother Earth and all our relations.