Bureau submits evidence to UN expert’s Indigenous rights investigation

Last year, I spent several months leading an international team of reporters in interviewing 100 Indigenous people from the world’s tropical forests. If that sounds like a lot, it’s because it was.

Ten years on from the historic Paris Agreement to tackle climate change, I wanted to find out how life has changed for those on the frontlines of environmental breakdown. We spoke to 100 people, collected their stories and presented them in a unique interactive feature ahead of the Cop30 climate talks in Brazil.

On the streets of the host city Belém, on the edge of the Amazon rainforest, Indigenous people were out in full force during the negotiations. Their righteous anger was palpable. One protest led to people storming the conference venue, demanding to be listened to. The message echoed what I’d heard over the previous months. And although some progress was made during the talks to strengthen land rights for some Indigenous communities, many campaigners came away angry and disappointed.