SEO Riders:
– Study finds Afro‑descendant-managed territories in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Suriname have significantly reduced forest loss.
– These lands hold 3× more threatened species and store more carbon per hectare, despite covering only ~1% of national territories.
– Conservationists call for secure land tenure and greater participation of Afro‑descendant communities in climate forums.
According to a recent study published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment, territories managed by Afro‑descendant communities in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Suriname experienced deforestation rates up to 55% lower than comparable areas not under their stewardship. The research assessed 873 legally recognised Afro-descendant lands—despite representing just about 1% of total land area, they store higher levels of irrecoverable carbon per hectare, host three times more threatened species, and reflect long-standing conservation values rooted in ancestral knowledge systems, spiritual bonds with the land, and sustainable collective approaches.
These findings reinforce broader evidence showing the effective stewardship role that Indigenous and Afro‑descendant peoples play in biodiversity protection. As noted by Hugo Jabini, a Saramaka leader in Suriname, it’s now “scientifically validated” that their territories are environmental strongholds where forest loss does not merely shift elsewhere—no displacement effects were observed in adjacent areas. However, the only country where consistent forest protection wasn’t seen was Suriname, due to ongoing issues around legal recognition of Afro-descendant land rights.
Conservation advocates are urging governments to formalise land rights for Afro-descendant communities—many of which remain unrecognised despite ancestral ties—and to elevate their role in global biodiversity frameworks, including CBD COP16 and UN Nature conferences. Such legal rights and participatory inclusion are seen as essential for scaling agroecology, climate resilience, and equitable approaches to meeting global conservation commitments.
