By Nayiri Mullinix | U-M School for Environment and Sustainability
Katie Constantine | Rights and Resources Initiative

The 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30), held by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025, saw record participation by Indigenous Peoples who achieved major wins. On Jan. 14, 2026, several of the leaders representing Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and Afro-Descendant Peoples' movements gave their first public presentation of their achievements and their vision of the path forward to meet the 2030 climate and conservation targets. 

Organized by the University of Michigan School for Environmental and Sustainability (SEAS), the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI), and Pathways Alliance for Change and Transformation (PACT), the event saw more than 500 registrants and more than 200 people in attendance for the hybrid event in Ann Arbor, Michigan and online, showing high interest in learning more about what comes next.

The leaders brought together for this event successfully pushed a group of 36 governments to formally recognize and register 160 million hectares of their lands, and, in addition, a group of donors to commit over $1.8 billion to finance it before 2030.

“This event is crucial in ensuring the achievements of COP30 resound widely across the globe, informing students, scholars, leaders, and professionals about some of the most important directions and needs for climate action that are led by people who are affected negatively by climate change yet hold some of the best knowledge of the solutions,” says SEAS Professor Kyle Whyte, one of the organizers of the event. 

Other commitments were made, too, including the commitment of Indigenous and Community networks for $500 million to implement the proposed targets, and a commitment to require Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) for Indigenous Peoples and respect the self-determination of People in Voluntary Isolation in the "Just Transition Work Programme." Local communities and Afro-Descendant Peoples also achieved significant breakthroughs, achieving formal recognition and representation within UNFCCC’s core negotiation documents. 

“It’s inspiring to learn how these leaders worked diligently for decades to achieve these historic changes, and then strategized together, across the Indigenous, Community, and Afro-Descendant movements over the last two years to raise the ambition and support of governments and donors. This strategic collaboration, despite differences, provides another critical lesson for all of us as we push for action on climate change,” says Andy White, an organizer of the event and a professor of practice at SEAS. 

In conversation, the leaders were in agreement that the work must now shift to how to implement solutions and that planned action is needed to move forward. They each gave a debrief, sharing what they fought for at COP30, what they achieved, and what the roadmap to 2030 looks like. 

The leaders who participated in the event were:

• Rukka Sombolinggi, secretary general, Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago, Indonesia, Pathways Alliance for Change and Transformation
• Gustavo Sánchez Valle, president, Network of Community Forest Organizations of Mexico
• Juan Carlos Jintiach Arcos, executive secretary, Global Alliance of Territorial Communities, Ecuador
• Kimaren Ole Riamet, executive director, Indigenous Livelihoods Enhancement Partners, Kenya, Pathways Alliance for Change and Transformation
• Bharati Pathak, member of parliament, Nepal, and former secretary general, Federation of Community Forest User Groups
• Kátia Penha, national coordinator, National Coordination of the Articulation of Rural, Black, Quilombola Communities
• Solange Bandiaky-Badji, Rights and Resources Initiative and president, Rights and Resources Group

The youth leaders who participated in the event were:

• Sabba Rani Maharjan, convenor, Global Youth Network
• Keneyia Parkire, Indigenous Peoples' Livelihood Enhancement Partners, Kenya
• Sharana Sherpa, communication associate, Center for Indigenous Peoples' Research and Development, Nepal

Kimaren Ole Kiamet, the founder and director of Indigenous Livelihoods Enhancement Partners in Kenya, praised the efforts made during COP30, saying, “There was an interesting decision around a commitment to a roadmap [for countries] to move away from fossil fuels, with 87 countries actually committing to it. Not a decision yet, but I think a step in the right direction.” Looking toward what’s next, he stated, “We need to see more research to demonstrate Indigenous knowledge’s contribution to climate change,” a sentiment that was echoed by others at the event.

Sabba Rani Maharjan, a convenor of the Global Youth Network, which was launched at COP30, said, “[the Global Youth Network] is truly going to be the one of its kind that intentionally is trying to bring all of these constituencies in the same place...We cannot fight isolated.” It’s these innovative launches that “move collective youth voices into global decision-making space.”

Solange Bandiaky-Badji, president and coordinator of RRI, stated in her comments that while much was achieved at COP30, what happens next is critical. 

“Our Pledge We Want campaign launched before COP30, helped us get to $1.8 billion in funding commitments to support communities, but as we’ve heard, $1.8 billion is good, but it’s not enough. We still need advocacy around transparency of funds, around how much reaches the ground, and around who makes the decisions about those funds.” 

She went on to stress the importance of gathering data from the ground to obtain critical goals determined at COP30. “I believe that PACT and UM-SEAS could really help with grounded research around this. We particularly need their help to do research around how much of the development funding is supporting Indigenous and local community-led research." 

The event, which included simultaneous translation provided by RRI in Spanish, French, Portuguese and English, concluded with a moderated discussion.

Watch Making History: The Leadership of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and Afro-Descendant Peoples at COP30 and the Path Forward.