The Forest Remembers Everything

This is part of our “Letters from Belém” series — reflections written from afar as the world gathers for COP30 in Brazil. Though we’re joining virtually, our hearts are with those working for climate justice across the globe.

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Dear Leaders,

In Belém, the forest did not whisper. It arrived in the footsteps of Indigenous peoples who moved toward COP30 with purpose and power. As reported by CNN, hundreds of Indigenous Brazilians marched to the conference gates, singing, drumming, and carrying symbols of their homelands. They pressed forward until security lines bent, briefly halting negotiations inside. It was not chaos. It was clarity.

They reminded the world that climate justice begins with the protection of the people who protect the land.

Inside the conference, their presence reshaped the atmosphere. Delegates felt the truth in the room shift. As Mongabay described, Indigenous participants carried a familiar mix of hope, solidarity, and disappointment. They celebrated unity and the strength of their shared voice. They also named the pain of promises delayed and protections diluted once again.

And still, they came. Still, they led. Their leadership was not symbolic. It was strategic. It pointed the way forward with conviction that policy teams could feel in their bones.

This is what guidance looks like when it walks straight to the door and refuses to be ignored.

A Promise Worth Keeping

So when leaders say “protect biodiversity,” let it be more than a line in a speech. Match the courage of those who marched to the gates of COP30. Match the guardians who carry memory, sovereignty, and responsibility. Match the clarity of those insisting that protection must begin with the people who safeguard the forest.

The forest is listening. And this time, it heard truth spoken at full volume.

Join the Movement

Support the organizations on our Take Action page, uplift Indigenous defenders, and share this letter. Climate hope grows when many hands hold it together.

The Road Ahead

Indigenous leaders in Belém showed us what moral direction looks like. Our work now is to honor their call and turn hope into daily practice.

Here is to clarity. Here is to community. Here is to a future shaped by courage.

With gratitude,

ClimateHope.us and Boogie