Overview

• Afro-descendant communities in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Suriname manage 9.9 million hectares of land while achieving deforestation rates 29%–55% below national averages.
• Over 56% of these territories rank among the global top 5% for biodiversity, including 99% of those in Ecuador.
• Their lands contain more than 486 million metric tons of irrecoverable carbon, making their protection essential to avert severe climate impacts.
• Although nearly one in four people in Latin America identify as Afro-descendant, they remain largely absent from UN climate and biodiversity negotiations.
• Researchers urge formal land-title recognition, increased research funding, and integration of ancestral stewardship practices into global environmental policy.