Colombia grants indigenous groups new environmental authority ahead of COP16 biodiversity summit

The Colombian government issued a decree recognizing indigenous peoples as environmental authorities in their territories.

"With this new regulation, indigenous authorities will build, together with other entities, direct mechanisms to guarantee the protection of the country's ecosystems and their territories, taking into account their ancestral knowledge," the Environment Ministry said Tuesday in a statement.

The decision comes as Colombia prepares to host the UN's COP16 conference on biodiversity from Oct- 21-Nov. 1 in Cali. The summit will bring together 196 countries that have ratified the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity, an international environmental treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.

Environment Minister Susana Muhamad reported that under the decree, 115 Indigenous communities will wield new powers within their territories, including land use, ecosystem protection and conservation rulemaking.

"This is one of the main messages of COP16. It is the constructive dialogue between science and institutions with ancestral and traditional knowledge that is really going to be able to make peace with nature," said Muhamad.

Critics of the decree, including departmental agencies that oversee conservation efforts in the country, have said the decree would allow indigenous governance to clash with community-led projects, from agriculture to eco-tourism.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro celebrated the new regulation.

"No one knows better than indigenous communities how to achieve a balance between humanity and nature," he said. "Today, we reaffirm their rights by signing this decree, which acknowledges their role as custodians of the environment."