“We demand that the rights of Mother Earth are respected. ” – Antonio Emitis, Community Member, Pastos, Colombia

From the ancestral Indigenous territory of the great Cumbal, an affectionate greetings to all departmental, national and international entities. From this millenary and spiritual territory, we demand that the rights of Mother Earth are respected. Especially its lagoons, its rivers, its streams, its wetlands and our moors. We demand respect for everything contained in the subsoil. For us water is sacred. All its minerals are sacred. From this spiritual and millenary territory we greet you all. My name is Antonio Emitis, a member of the Pasto ethnic group. Thank you very much.

“I want to tell you that as I breathe, the mountains and the animals breathe as well.” – Hipólito Esequiel Jamioy Chindoy, Traditional community doctor and expert in medicinal plants, Kamëntsá (Camsá), Colombia

I want to tell you that as I breathe, the mountains and the animals breathe as well. I want to invite everyone to unite and protect all of this biodiversity. And to help us to keep conserving it, like we're doing here. We recognize those rights and we support all of those who protect this biodiversity.

“Nature is not separate from us. We are one.” – Jonas, Community Member, Guajajara, Brazil

My name is Henaky. I am Indigenous Guajajara, from this great island "Brazil". I am from the Araribóia territory. We have the authority, right and responsibility to speak for Nature has rights. No one owns Nature. She owns herself. Nature is not separate from us. We are one.

“We must take care of Mother Earth. We all have this responsibility because she is our Mother. Mother Earth gives us everything. If we kill our Mother Earth, where are we and the children going to eat from, of the new generations that are coming? That is why we must live taking care and protecting Mother Nature.” – Mama Ines, Medicine Custodian and Leader, Imantag community, Kichwa, Ecuador

Good afternoon everyone, ladies and gentlemen. I come from the community of Imantag. I come today to talk to you about the rights of Mother Earth. We must take care of Mother Earth. We all have this responsibility because she is our Mother. Mother Earth gives us everything. We are hurting Mother Earth. We are killing her, because we use many medicines from the Earth. If we kill our Mother Earth, where are we and the children going to eat from, of the new generations that are coming? What are they going to eat? That is why we must live taking care and protecting Mother Nature. Thank you very much.

“So long as we humans continue perceiving ourselves as being different from Nature, and as long as we continue to make our decisions with ambition and self-interest as the central points we will continue to deplete the resources that the Earth, with so many years of evolution, has given us and to date, and continues to sustain us as a species.” – Yazuri Reinoza Sánchez, Community Member, Huasteco, Mexico

So long as we humans continue perceiving ourselves as being different from Nature, and as long as we continue to make our decisions with ambition and self-interest as the central points we will continue to deplete the resources that the Earth, with so many years of evolution,has given us and to date, and continues to sustain us as a species. My name is Yasuri Reynosa Sánchez, I am Mexican with Huastecan roots, and today I feel especially honored to be a part of the voice for the rights of Mother Earth. First of all, Mother Earth has the right to ecosystems free of pollution, the right to not be exploited of her natural resources, the right to a responsible tourism, sustainable tourism. The right to have agricultural and livestock production, focused on restoration and conservation. A right where industry act to reduce their environmental impact. Through the entire production chain in the use of energy, in transporation, un waste management. The right to clear and concise legislation, The right to know what Mother Earth’s rights are.

Being human for me means having one main value, the value of respect, and we must start by respecting ourselves, respecting our cycles, but also respecting our environment. By respecting the rights of Nature, which is my invitation, we would be respecting ourselves and future generations. And above all, respecting ourselves as species and our stay in this home.

“From the cosmovision of the Indigenous peoples, health is conceived as the harmony between Mother Earth and the people who inhabit within her.” – Ana Isabel Lopez Rojas, Representative of the women's association Awa Ashampa Wamis, Awa, Colombia

I am Ana Isabel López Rojas and I belong to the Awá people, in Putumayo, Colombia. Why should we take care of the Rights of Nature? From the cosmovision of the Indigenous peoples, health is conceived as the harmony between Mother Earth and the people who inhabit within her. That is why we do not recognise Nature as an isolated entity within our own existence. On the contrary, we call her Mother Earth, which implies that it is part of our family, since she is the one that provides us with food and the one that provides us with protection. That is why if we affect Mother Earth, we are threatening our own existence. On the contrary, if we take care of her and keep her in good condition, we are guaranteeing our own existence. In the case of Indigenous peoples, not only is existence enough as a mere concept of living. This implies taking care of our identity, and also the care of our right to live in a healthy environment and to be able to develop all our cultural processes and to be able to develop all our cultural processes.

“Mother Nature har rights. No one on planet Earth owns Nature. We are connected to her and united through one ancestry. We have to defend her and keep her alive.” – Rômulo de Souza Elias, Community coordinator, Kambeba Omágua, Brazil

Good morning, my name is Rômulo Kambeba Omágua. I belong to the great Indigenous nation of the Kambebas Omáguas. I am here in the territory of the upper Solimões River, in our dear and beloved state of Amazonas.

As an Indigenous leader, I represent my people. Like every Indigenous nation, Omágua Kambeba is represented by the great leaders of our region. And we, as representatives of our people, have the right, we have the responsibility and the authority to speak for our Mother Nature. Mother Nature who has rights.

No one on planet Earth owns Nature. Nature owns itself. Mother Nature is free, and is not separate from us. We are connected to her and united through one ancestry. We have to defend her and keep her alive. That's why we're here in our territory of the Upper Solimões River, in the state of Amazonas.

I call on all friends and universal relatives To be in one tribe defending Planet Earth. So that we can continue protecting our treasure for the future generations, guarantee their right to live on this Earth. Monti mã Thank you very much, and see you later.

“Nature is asking for help. Nature. Mother Nature. She's asking for help. Because we live within her.” – Orlando, Community Member, Kokama, Brazil

Good day, my name is Orlando I am a resident of the Kokama indigenous village, with roots in Ayahuasca. In the municipality of Santo Antônio do Içá, Alto Solimões. Today, I came to talk about Nature. Nature is asking for help, because we are not taking good care of her. She's asking for help. It’s not just from here in Alto Solimões, no. Nature, Mother Nature, asks for this help, because we live here in her. We, as Indigenous people, village leaders, defend Nature. We preserve the streams, the rivers, the fauna, the flora. Right now, here in the Amazon, this is the lungs of the world. So, we are defenders of the Amazon, defenders of Nature. Okay. Thank you very much.

“This is the gold we take care of, this water is for the benefit of ous and our future generations.” – José Modesto Beltran , Cacique, Lache, Colombia

My name is José Modesto Beltrán, from the community of the Laches in the heaths of Pisba. This is the gold that we take care of, this water is for the benefit of us and our future generations. We should take care of this water resource. We are the descendants of Laches ancestors who lived in this territory. This should protected at a global level. Let this be a subject of rights. Let the heath of Pisba be a subject of rights. We want this to be a participation at a global level for all our water resources our water resources. Thank you very much.

“As Nature is our Mother, she has her own rights. She gives us our food, gives us life, this is where we can live and coexist with Nature.” – Naomi Acelga, Community Member, Kichwa, Ecuador

Hello, my name is Naomi Eselga, from Imantag Indigenous people. Today we are here to talk about the rights of Nature. As Nature is our Mother, she has her own rights. She gives us our food, gives us life, this is where we can live and coexist with Nature.

“We are her administrators and we have to be respectful. Because Mother Nature has no owner.” – Jhony Lopez Adarmes, Community leader, Pastos, Colombia

"I am Hector Jhony Lòpez, the president of the 'Tigres del Alto' municipality, descending from the Pastos Indigenous people.

I work with the conservation of Mother Nature, like the jaguars, the spectacled bear, and traditional medicine, that's what we care for here in this territory and on this planet, because we are born this way, I have the responsibility in my life to always to be connected with Mother Nature and with all that is natural. This has originated from God for all humanity and for all of us who live here, be it the animals, the water sources, jungles, everything in general. Nature has proper rights due to what God has left on the Earth. We are her administrators and we have to be respectful, because Mother Nature has no owner. Only God is the owner and he left us this responsibility to all human beings. so we can survive from her and so she can survive from us. Through the mutual care."

“Without her we can't live. Without her, we the Indigenous poeple, we're nothing. Because Nature and Indigenous people are connected.” – Marciane, Cacica, Kokama, Brazil

Hello, my name is Tatira Cacique Marciane. I'm the leader from the Kokama Indigenous Association of Santo Antônio do Içá. From Alto Solimões, Sol do Amazonas. I want to kindly ask you in this video to keep our Nature standing. Without her we can't live. Without her, we the Indigenous peoples, we're nothing, because Nature and Indigenous people are connected.

Because without Nature we can't raise our children or get our food, because that's where we get it from. We need clean rivers and streams, because with the river polluted, our food, our children will have problems, but we don't want that.

So that's why I'm asking to keep our Nature alive, because we do everything to have our nature, our river, our streams. Together with us, because we, original peoples, are where we find ourselves, together with nature, we live with it, because if Mother Nature cries, we cry along with her.

So that's why I strongly ask you to keep our Nature alive, because without her we are nothing. We, the Indigenous people, we need Nature. It's my surupáki.

“We are the defenders and the resistence of the Nature of this planet. Because there's no other planet. That's the one we have. There's no other planet to go. So we need to protect this planet all in all.” – Hyjnõ Krahô, Community Coordinator, Krahô, Brazil

Here we are, talking about the Cerrado, the life of the Cerrado. How a human being, non-Indigneous, we know how a white man destroys Nature, and we are the defenders and the resistance of the Nature of this planet. Why are we fighting to protect the Amazon, the Cerrado, and the Caatinga? Why? Because we want to survive in peace with Nature. Together with what's on Earth. We breathe better, we have good health.

We have a peaceful diet. Because there is no other planet. There isn't another one for us to go to. So we need to protect it. The Earth in general. Not just for the Krahô Indigenous land, but in general. And we don't want only the Indigenous people to protect the planet. Every human being has to observe this in order to breathe better, to have good health. Healthy eating, healthier breathing. So that's it. Stop making garbage.

“The Earth is autonomous. The Earth is savvy. The Earth is intelligent. It can't be considered something private.” – Aruák Kopenoty, Community Member, Terena, Brazil

Hello, I'm Aruák Kopenoty, I am from the Terena people. My territory is located in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, in the municipality of Aquidauana, which is considered the Gateway to the Pantanal. There are several Indigenous territories, several Indigenous peoples.and our message, our concern is in relation to the environment. With Mother Nature. Mother Earth, our people and our territories as well. It's currently an area with the highest concentration of biodiversity. Of fauna, and flora and some of it is still intact. The Terena people, since their creation, were taught to live in harmony with the environment, with nature, and take enough for existence, for survival and contrary to what was taught by other societies, that the land was something to be dominated and explored.

Every time you explore, every time you dominate a being, talking about the environment, talking about the Earth as a living being, it causes transformations, changes and the extermination of something important for the existence of that being or for the existence of life. Human beings didn't realize this, didn't stop to think about it, didn't reflect on it in this sense that dominating, exploring is also an act of ambition. The Earth is autonomous, the Earth knows, the Earth is intelligent. The Earth has the flowering season, the harvest season, the fruiting season, and a season to renew the leaves. In short, Nature is this life itself. Nowadays, what's happening to the environment? These transformations, these evolutions, global evolution, is no longer global warming, it is global evolution, they are consequences of not living in harmony with Nature. The message from us Indigenous peoples is to be able to live in harmony with Nature, because we want to leave a clean society, a pure society for the next generations. And we have to do this while there is still time. This message is a healing message for the Earth, a healing message for the environment, and a healthy generation, that we are to leave behind, because as the Earth says, it cannot be considered private property. The Earth belongs to everyone, it's for everyone. So our message is to reflect and create an alternative way of life, preferably living in harmony with Nature.

“We must take care of Mother Earth so that no disease reaches our Mother Earth.” – Mama Dolores, Medicine Custodian and Leader, Kichwa, Ecuador

My name is Maria Dolores Panama, I am from the Kutakachi People, and I live in the community of Arrayanes. Today I come to talk about the care of the rights of Mother Earth. And we must take care of Mother Earth So that no disease reaches our Mother Earth. That is why we sow and harvest. We also take care of our children of the next generations. So that they do not make Mother Earth sick.

“We are making a call and Nature is making this call to respect her. ” – Juan Guillermo Chindoy, Taita, Inga Condagua, Colombia

My name is Juan Guillermo Chindoy, I’m Colombian. I belong to the Inga people from Condagua. At this moment we are practicing traditional medicine. We are making a call and Nature is making this call to respect her. Because it's there where we have water, the mountains, our ancestors, and that's why we have to take care. Mother Nature is also making a claim to take care of her, to respect her. We have to take care, we have to respect Mother Nature,

because that is where we get all our clothing, our food. Thank you very much, God bless you.

“We need to care and respect. You have to follow the message from above. This is how we have to live as the guardians of the jungle. ” – Jattöpa Rufino Antonio Ponare, Cacique and Master of Tradition, Huottoja, Venezuela, , Huottöja, Venezuela

“In our territory, we the Saamaka people are struggling to protect and defend our forest..” – Hugo Jabini , Lawyer, human and environmental rights defender, Saamaka, Suriname

"This is a view from Bakaaboto, Suriname River, in the middle of the Amazon Forest, in South America from the Saamaka land, I just want to show you the green, the Nature, the beauty of our territory, where we as Saamaka people, are struggling to defend and protect our Forest. Right behind me, you can see the nice River, clean water, what we used to enjoy.

But, a couple of hundred kilometres from here, there is a lot of Forest destruction taking place, caused by multinational logging companies, who trapped our people, our livelihoods, trapped the forest. We are now calling for action, to strengthen our people, to help us to protect and save this beautiful part of the world. Thank you for listening. My name is Hugo Jabini, a Saamaka, environmental, and human rights defender."

“The Earth, the Mother Earth, includes all the ancestral beings from the jungle .” – Herminsul Lucitante, Taita, Cofán, Colombia

Hello, I am Taita Herminsul Lucitante. I am a native of Cofán, Santa Rosa de Sucumbios Indigenous reservation. We want to take care of the Nature and of our land. The Earth, the Mother Earth includes all the ancestral beings from the jungle that accompany us. That is why we take care of the territory. That is life. That is why it includes also us. This is why we can breathe strongly. If we deforest the mountain we are left without air. We are part of the mountain. It serves us to live."

“Nature has the same full rights as us. Today we are fighting to protect Nature, but we need more support for Nature. Because it's Nature that protects us and always takes care for us..” – Luzia Cruwakwyj, Community Member, Krahô, Brazil

"Hello everyone. My name is Luzia.I am from the Kraho people. I am here to speak about Nature. The Nature that we live in here So, Nature has full rights, like our rights, we fight to protect Nature, because we are required more and more to support Nature, because Nature is unique and we need to preserve her, and take care of our Nature because it is only this Nature that protects us and always takes care of us. Because we Indigenous always take care, but the Westerners don’t, simply they are deforesting, making all kinds of threats to Nature. We have to think and unite to protect Nature, to protect our life and take care of our life, we have to take care of Nature. Thank you."

“Let us not forget that we live within her and we are part of Earth, Mother Nature needs our care.” – Shirlley Mamani, Community Member, Aymara, Peru

(Greetings in Aimara). My name is Shirley Mamani, and I am Peruvian. I was born in the Puno region, in a city situated at 3,800 meters above sea level, and I lived in the province of Yunguyo, an agricultural province, Part of Aymara culture. The Aymaras believe in the union of humans with the Earth, Mother Nature, we also believe in the mountains, the Apus, and other symbolic representations, that this union possible. Today I come to speak to you on behalf of my Aymara brothers, because we believe that Mother Nature has rights, no one owns it, and as such we must protect it. Nowadays, with pollution and environmental impact, more and more of it is destroyed. Let us not forget that we live within her and we are part of Earth, Mother Nature needs our care.

“Calling for the care of the rights of Mother Earth, Mother Nature, recognizing from there is born the life of all living beings…” – Josefa Kirvin Kulix , Community Member, Huottoja, Mexico

“Greetings from the heart of Mother Earth. I am Josefa Kirvin Kulix, from the community of the Candelaria, municipality of San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas Mexico. Mayan Tsotsil Indigenous. Calling for the care of Mother Earth’s rights, the Mother Nature, recognizing that this is the source life, for all living beings, the biodiversity, oxygen, water, for the life of all living beings, the animals, vegetables, minerals and the human beings that we are, we call upon you to take care and to be respectful.”

“I am thinking deeply how and what I should do in the conservation field, so that the vanishing wildlife including animals, birds, and plants will be increased from now on in and around the sanctuary..” – Lian Kamlova, Village council president, Mara, India

My name is V Liam Kamlova, a VCP (Village Council President ) of Lungpuk, India. I have the opportunity to speak about our biodiversity and anthropogenic pressure of our wildlife, animals, plants. They are vanishing day by day, activity of people and hunters are the main cause of our decreasing flora and fauna diversity as our village Lungpuk is near the Sanctuary I cannot ignore this fact, hence I am ready to bring strategies to conserve the vanishing birds, animals and plants thinking deeply how and what, we should do in the conservation field, so that the vanishing wildlife including animals and plants will be increased. Now I am thinking on conducting an awareness program among hunters to help shift their perspective towards conservation. I am also planning to do an awareness campaign “No to cutting trees and slashing forest for Jhum cultivation“ for better conservation efforts. I need full support including the locals as it is hard by myself. Currently I have informed people from this village, as well as other villages, not to use firearms during the breeding season. Birds, animals, plants and all are created by God for the well being of humans. They are not meant to be destroyed. Destroying them by killing is not our work, it’s not good to be greedy as we are provided with enough. I think people know and will understand when education on such things will be given. Slowly in the road to conservation, wildlife will thrive in and around Lungpul and of course it isnt in the Sanctuary as well. This not a two person effort We should put all of our effort into conservation. From now on I am aiming to conduct awareness among school students, NGOs, churches and other meetings too to bring the real change with the help of this program. Let’s not finish it in one night as it is long process. Slowly we will get the result. It might take some years for the wildlife population to increase. The animals we don’t see these days, all those species will return back to our forest. I am very happy to speak about this matter today, because this is not only my concern. We all should be concerned about this. Because this is betterment for ourselves and all support is welcome.

“We have a symbiotic relationship with Nature. With the trees, the water, the land, earth, and lifeforce.” – Ginamarie 'Tracker' Rangel Quinones, Sundancer, Apache, United States.

I am “Tracker” Ginamarie, I’m from the Chiricahua Apache, Ute Aztec and Pasquale Yaqui. We have a right to Nature. Nature does not own us, we do not own Nature. We have a right to take care of Nature, Nature is not separate from us, we are one with Nature, we are all united. We have a symbiotic relationship with Nature, with the trees, the water, the land, Earth and life force. Nature has Rights and no one owns it. I have the authority and the right and responsibility to speak to Nature

“She is our Mother. Just as our mother takes care of us, so we should take care of her too... Sometimes we should give her a gift. ” — Sayuri Guitarra, Community Member, Kichwa, Ecuador

Greetings, how are you? My name is Sayuri Guitarra. I come from the community of Imantag. Now we are here to talk about the life of our Mother Earth. She is our Mother. Just as our mother takes care of us, so we should take care of her too. We should not throw garbage anywhere, and sometimes we should give her a gift.

“Our life depends on the jungle for food, building materials, medicines, and our culture and values are based on harmony with the jungle. ” — John Brian Anthony, President of BPA, Sarawak, Malaysia

Hello, my name is John Brian Anthony, speaking from the Bintalu region of Malaysia. I am of the Dayak Iban tribe, in Sarawak, Borneo. Our ancestors lived in the Borneo jungle, our life dependes on the jungle, for food, building materials, medicines and our culture and values are based on harmony with the jungle. Government and business should be careful with the jungle, to ensure that we are all in harmony with the will of the Creator.

“The Earth is the mother of us all and if we neglect her we neglect ourselves. As she is not something separate from us but she's the essence of our being, and her rights should be recognized. ” — Sof’ Elle Beaivvi Mira, Community Member, Sápmi, Finland

My name is Sof´Elle Beaivvi Mira, and I come from Sápmi, and my people, Sámi, are Arctic Indigenous people, I'm currently here in Brazil and recording this video as a part of a bigger collaboration, that intends to highlight the rights of Mother Nature as my people say, "I en aliya nimpur kai etni" which means the Earth is the Mother of us all, and if we neglect her, we neglect ourselves, as she is not something separate from us, but she's the essence of our being and her rights should be recognized.

“A llamamiento formal para una voz global unida. Necesitamos que los derechos de La Naturaleza sean reconocidos formalmente en la ONU. “ — DLN

Un llamado formal a una voz global unida. Necesitamos que los derechos de La Naturaleza sean reconocidos formalmente en la ONU.

1) Firma la petición bit.ly/rightsofnaturenow

2) Donar bit.ly/indigenous-leaders

3) ¡Únase a nosotros! bit.ly/join-RightsofNatureNOW

#DerechosdeLaNaturalezaAHORA

“We have more value in Nature, there in the forest. We feel that this is our home.” — Autu Patrick, Autu, Batwa, Uganda

Hello, my name is Autu Patrick, I am the son of the king if the Batwa, Geoffrey of Semuliki Park, Bundibugyo, western Uganda. We used to live in the national park forest, that is our home, we originated from the Congo Mahoya to Semulik National Park that’s where we used to live and we used to get medicine from there, medicine trees that help us to treat ourselves locally and the animals and fishing, we used to do well from there. It felt that was our home and we own it and we have a right over it still we have more value in Nature, there in the forest. We feel that was our home. Nature keeps its own self like Semulilki National Park, we are just staying there to protect it, but we don’t own i

“Nature has life and feels pain just as we feel it when we are sick.”

— Anonymous, Cofán, Community president, Cofán, Ecuador

I add my voice to claim the rights of Nature. We kept this territory intact until now since our ancestors have left us this great inheritance. That the territory will never be seen as an economic resource for communities to develop. For this reason, companies or enterprises that think that a territory or a forest is an economic resource are very wrong. Nature is alive and feels pain just as we feel it when we are sick. For this reason, I add my voice to defend the rights of Nature.