“We are dying silently. Without knowing it, our mothers are feeding their babies with breast milk contaminated by mercury.”

Standing before representatives of the Dutch government, Alessandra Korap Munduruku described a reality that rarely reaches ministerial offices in Europe. While the price of gold rises and the world debates trade, investment and global supply chains, Indigenous communities in the Amazon live every day with the impacts of expanding soy production, cattle ranching and illegal gold mining: contaminated rivers, destroyed forests, violence and a public health crisis that threatens entire generations.

Alessandra’s testimony was one of dozens shared by Indigenous leaders from the Brazilian Amazon during The True Cost of Gold tour, organized by Greenpeace Brazil. Over ten days, Alessandra Korap Munduruku, from the Munduruku people; Megaron Txucarramãe and Beptuk Metuktire, from the Kayapó people; traveled across France, the Netherlands and Belgium, bringing firsthand accounts of the threats facing their territories and ways of life directly to governments, parliamentarians and international institutions. During the first leg of the tour in France, the delegation also included Juma Xipaia, from the Xipaya people, who helped amplify the voices and demands of Amazonian Indigenous Peoples in key political and public forums.

The delegation’s message was clear: while international markets continue to consume and profit from gold, soy and other commodities linked to forest destruction, Indigenous Peoples continue to bear the real costs of this exploitation. Decisions that affect the Amazon cannot continue to be made without listening to those who have protected these territories for millenia.

“Many companies enter the forest saying they are searching for wealth. But what kind of wealth is that?” asked Chief Megaron Txucarramãe during the tour. “For Indigenous Peoples, wealth means food, health and peace.”

The tour took place just days after the release of Greenpeace Brazil’s investigation, Gold Laundering in the Amazon: Anatomy of a Fraud, which revealed how regulatory loopholes allow gold extracted illegally from Indigenous Territories and protected areas to be laundered and sold as if it were legally sourced, eventually entering global supply chains and international markets.

But the message brought to Europe went far beyond the cost of gold.

Bringing Amazon Voices into Decision-Making Spaces

Throughout the tour, Indigenous leaders met with civil society organisations, journalists, supporters, policymakers and Indigenous representatives from other territories. Among the highlights were a series of high-level meetings with government officials and international institutions.

One of the most significant moments took place in the Netherlands during a meeting with Minister of Nature and Agriculture Jaimi van Essen.

During the discussion, Indigenous leaders highlighted the impacts of expanding infrastructure linked to agribusiness in the Amazon, particularly the Arco Norte project, a vast network of railways, ports and waterways designed to facilitate commodity exports such as soy. The delegation also drew attention to the role that Europe, and the Netherlands with its giant port of Rotterdam in particular, plays in global supply chains and the need to reduce the pressure that current production, consumption and trade patterns place on Indigenous territories.

The conversation also addressed the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the importance of recognising and protecting Indigenous territories as a fundamental strategy for achieving the global biodiversity target to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030. The meeting was marked by constructive dialogue and an acknowledgment by the Dutch government of the crucial role Indigenous rights play in nature protection.

The minister and his staff confirmed their commitment to protecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights in the CBD process and said they will bring these concerns to the next negotiations in autumn, while also acknowledging the relevance of the Netherlands and the EU in the context of agribusiness.

In France, another key moment was a meeting with representatives from the office of the Ministry for Ecological Transition, Biodiversity, Forests, the Sea and Fisheries. The discussion with diplomatic adviser Gabriel Normand and his team provided an opportunity to present directly to French policymakers the impacts of illegal mining and other destructive activities affecting Indigenous territories in the Amazon.

The French agenda also included a meeting with Barbara Pompili, France’s Ambassador for the Environment, and her team. In addition, the delegation met with members of the France-Brazil Friendship Group in the French National Assembly, expanding dialogue around international responsibility, supply chain accountability and the urgent need to strengthen protections for Indigenous Peoples and their territories.

A Global Struggle for a Shared Future

Throughout the tour, Indigenous leaders emphasised that decisions made in parliaments, ministries, financial institutions and consumer markets around the world have direct consequences for forests and the people who depend on them.

At the same time, they demonstrated that solutions to many of today’s environmental crises already exist. They can be found in Indigenous territories, in forest-based economies that keep ecosystems standing, and in communities that have cared for land, water and biodiversity for generations.

The message from the Indigenous leaders is clear: protecting Indigenous rights is not only a matter of justice. It is one of the most effective ways to protect tropical forests, tackle the climate crisis and secure a livable future for all.

Meet the Indigenous Leaders

Juma Xipaia

Juma is one of the most prominent Indigenous leaders in the Amazon and a powerful advocate for Indigenous rights, environmental protection and gender equality. She became the first woman Chief in the Middle Xingu at the age of 24, leading the Xipaya Tukamã village. In 2020, she founded Instituto Juma, dedicated to environmental conservation, Indigenous self-determination and women’s empowerment. Due to her opposition to illegal mining and criminal activities in the Amazon, she survived multiple assassination attempts and spent a period in exile in Switzerland. Her story is featured in the acclaimed documentary Yanuni (2025), executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio.

Megaron Txucarramãe

Megaron is a renowned Indigenous leader, environmentalist and key figure in Brazil’s Indigenous rights movement. A member of the Kayapó (Mẽbêngôkre) people and the nephew and designated successor of Chief Raoni Metuktire, he has spent decades defending Indigenous territories, forests and constitutional rights. 

Beptuk Metuktire

Beptuk is an emerging Indigenous leader from the Kayapó (Mẽbêngôkre) people and a coordinator at Instituto Raoni. As the grandson of Chief Raoni Metuktire, he represents a new generation of Indigenous leadership, combining traditional knowledge with contemporary advocacy. 

Alessandra Korap Munduruku

Alessandra is an internationally recognized Indigenous activist whose advocacy has helped bring global attention to the impacts of illegal mining, logging and infrastructure projects in the Amazon. Her campaigning contributed to Anglo American’s withdrawal from mining projects overlapping the Sawré Muybu Indigenous Territory in 2021. In recognition of her leadership, she received the 2023 Goldman Environmental Prize. Today, she is a prominent voice in international debates on climate justice, biodiversity and the future of the Amazon.

Indigenous Peoples and local communities are the best guardians of the Amazon and other forests around the world, and must be recognised as such. Greenpeace is calling on world leaders to stop the industrial destruction and recognise Indigenous Peoples’ territories and rights.

Defend the defenders

Demand the recognition of Indigenous rights and their territories.

Join now

Jaqueline Sordi is the Communications and Engagement Lead for the Tropical Forests campaign at Greenpeace International.

A big fan of peace, an A-list red carpet, and a robust defence of science. Here are some of our favourite images from Greenpeace work around the world this week.

Aotearoa / New Zealand – To celebrate World Wind Day and mark the 100th day of Donald Trump’s war on Iran, which has seen oil prices spike and cost of living rise worldwide as a result, Greenpeace Aotearoa activists visited Te Uku wind farm near Raglan and transformed wind turbines into peace signs with the message “THIS MACHINE STOPS WARS”.

Germany – At the 2026 Bonn Climate Conference, a group of countries and civil society representatives hosted by Friends of Science spoke to the press to defend science as the heart of decision-making in the UNFCCC process, and discuss how science paves the way for a future that is secure, safe, and healthy for everyone.

Speakers included:
Manjeet Dhakal (Least Developed Countries Group)
Felix Wertli (Switzerland)
Sivendra Michael (Fiji)
Sindra Sharma, PHD, Pacific Islands Climate Action Network (PICAN)
Gabriel Kapka (Sierra Leone)

Spain – Greenpeace Spain has used a thermal camera at high schools around the country to record temperatures far above recommended levels in public schools in Alicante, Barcelona, Madrid, Ourense, and Seville. This illustrates the heat endured by students and school staff during Spain’s hottest days.

Greenpeace joins forces with other organisations in the sector to demand urgent measures to cool classrooms and schoolyards. In the face of increasingly intense and frequent heat waves, public spaces must serve as climate-controlled refuges to prevent the worst effects of climate change on the health of children, who are especially vulnerable to high temperatures.

Malaysia – Over 1,500 Orang Asli and Orang Asal (Indigenous Peoples) from six different states in Peninsular Malaysia marched along the streets of Putrajaya’s Persiaran Perdana to protest in front of the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development calling for the recognition of their customary land rights.

Kenya – To mark the start of the Our Oceans conference, Greenpeace Africa volunteers and community members gathered at Pirates Beach/ Jomo Kenyatta Beach in Mombasa, Kenya, around a sand installation carrying the message ‘The Ocean Connects Us All’ to highlight the interconnected challenges facing coastal communities across Africa and the need for ocean protection

Netherlands – Greenpeace Netherlands activists hold a banner at an Allseas ship in the Rotterdam harbour. Greenpeace warns Allseas that deep sea mining under American legislation is a violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and call on the Dutch government to take action.

USA – Actor and activist Jane Fonda on the red carpet at the the theatrical release of the Greenpeace documentary GASLIT, directed by Katie Camosy. The feature-length film follows actor and activist Jane Fonda as she traveled across the oil fields of Texas and Louisiana, visiting communities and hearing stories from those directly impacted by the petrochemical industry. Theatrical events were held in New York City, Los Angeles, Houston, TX, Washington, DC, New Orleans, LA, and Oakland, CA.

The Netherlands – An Indigenous delegation from the Brazilian Amazon visits The Hague during their European tour. Here the Indigenous leaders present the Amazon petition to Minister Jaimi van Essen (Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature). The core message of the petition is: protect the Amazon rainforest and stand with the Indigenous peoples.

Spain – Tens of thousands of people took part in a massive demonstration against the Altri/Greenfiber mega-cellulose plant project in Palas de Rei (A Ulloa, Galicia) and the reopening of the Touro-O Pino mine under the slogan “In defense of the Ulla River and the Arousa estuary. Let’s stop Altri and the Touro-O Pino mine.” Both projects would have a massive environmental impact on the Ulla River basin, which flows into the Arousa estuary—the most productive yet also the most environmentally degraded in Galicia.

Hawaii – Kanaka Maoli artist Kaiʻili Kaulukukui, Native Hawaiian leaders, and cultural practitioners dedicate a 6,500-square-foot mural in Kapālama Kai on Oʻahu inspired by the Kumulipo, the Hawaiian genealogical creation chant. The artwork reflects Native Hawaiian relationships with the ocean and comes as Indigenous leaders across the Pacific call for greater representation in decisions about ocean protection and deep sea mining.

From left:
– Angéla Árvai ~ Project Manager. Artwork of Kai
– Kanaka Maoli mural artist Kaiʻili Kaulukukui
– Solomon “Uncle Sol” Kaho`ohalahala, Kanaka Maoli cultural practitioner and Indigenous Knowledge Keeper
– Edwin “Ekolu” Lindsey III, Director & Co-Founder, Maui Nui Makai Network.
– Brittany Lehua Kamai, Kanaka Maoli Ph.D. Astrophysicist, apprentice navigator, and ocean advocate (Mana Moana Institute)

Greenpeace has been a pioneer of photo activism for more than 50 years, and remains committed to bearing witness and exposing environmental injustice through the images we capture.

To see more Greenpeace photos and videos, visit our Media Library.

Bonn, Germany – The Bonn Climate Change Conference has ended with important work still to be done to progress efforts to phase-out fossil fuels, protect forests and deliver progress on climate and adaptation finance.

Jasper Inventor, Deputy Programme Director, Greenpeace International said: “Stalled talks around climate finance for developing countries and a repeated deadlock on mitigation played out in Bonn again. It’s this repeated playbook that took some of the shine off the emergence of a coalition of countries supporting a transition away from fossil fuels at a time where the climate and energy crisis is set to be supercharged by the El Niño.

“Still, Bonn laid some foundations for COP31: climate finance work is on the COP31 agenda, creating a political pathway for negotiations. The negotiating text on just transition will also form a basis for further negotiations, but no conclusions were reached on mitigation, showing that while this process is still moving, it is far away from political breakthroughs.

“To bridge the 1.5°C ambition gap, governments must now sustain and strengthen international cooperation in and outside the UNFCCC. Instead of systematically trying to renegotiate 1.5°C and eliminate science from key negotiating tracks, what’s required is a fair, fast and funded just transition and an end to forest destruction by 2030.”

Shiva Gounden, Head of Pacific, Greenpeace Australia Pacific said: “An unrelenting war on climate science took place in Bonn as fossil fuel producing nations attempted to erode the 1.5°C mandate, cutting into the negotiation tracks meant to guarantee the dignified survival of the most vulnerable to climate change. But we refuse to let these rooms become detached from the Pacific’s reality, where a breached 1.5°C will drown our history and displace our heritage, as saltwater bleeds into the Vanua (land) that has sustained us for generations.”

“This crisis requires more than diplomacy; it requires Pacific courage. The COP31 Presidency must take the helm, grounded in our deeply held values of guardianship and collective survival. True leadership demands the domestic, regional and global bravery to chart a course away from fossil fuels and with moral clarity, stop every new coal, oil, and gas project in its tracks.”

Emel Türker Alpay, Climate and Energy Campaigner, Greenpeace Türkiye said: “The COP31 presidency put electrification on the global agenda, showing it understands the scale of the challenge. But an electrification vision without a fossil fuel phase-out is incomplete and global leadership must be matched by action at home. COP31 can be historic if the electrification ambition is matched by clear commitments to make it real. For Türkiye that means a commitment to no new coal power plants, a coal exit date and a just transition away from fossil fuels that leaves no worker or community behind. Türkiye has the opportunity and the responsibility to make it happen.”

An Lambrechts, Biodiversity Policy Expert, Greenpeace International said: “We lose one football field of forests every 2 seconds and we heard many parties recognise the need to act fast and support Brazil’s forest roadmap initiative. It’s now time to shift from endorsement to ownership to effectively halt forest destruction by 2030. At COP31, a group of 2030 forest target champions must make sure the roadmap doesn’t get lost as yet another document that doesn’t connect ambition with action and an international system that works for forests and people.”

ENDS

Photo and Video from the conference available to download via the Greenpeace Media Library

Contacts:
Beyza Kural, Senior Communication Expert, Greenpeace Türkiye, +90 5336 417 123, beyza.kural@greenpeace.org

Kate O’Callaghan, Communications Manager, Greenpeace Australia Pacific, +61 4062 31892 kate.ocallaghan@greenpeace.org

Greenpeace International Press Desk, +31 (0)20 718 2470 (available 24 hours), pressdesk.int@greenpeace.org

This story was originally posted by Greenpeace Africa for World Environment Day.

For millions of rural women living alongside logging concessions, industrial agriculture and mining sites across Africa, urgency is a daily reality. The extra two hours walked to reach a water source that dried up last dry season. The harvest that failed again because the rains came three weeks late, or came all at once and drowned the fields. The forest that fed and healed a family for generations, gone within a single industrial concession cycle, and with it, the seeds, medicine, income, and knowledge of how to use them. The weight of absorbing every climate shock first, hardest, and alone is left to communities while they remain legally invisible on the land they have managed for centuries.

Women’s vulnerability is not an accident but by design 

Rural women are dealing with the consequences of decisions made by others, elsewhere. Vulnerability is manufactured through competition for natural resources in a system that extracts wealth from their forests and lands while leaving rural women with none of the benefits but all of the consequences.

When rain cycles delay, rivers run dry and harvests collapse, women and girls in rural areas who are highly dependent on local natural resources for their livelihood absorb the shock first and hardest. When logging concessions, oil and gas or mining operations move in without their consent, the forest and land they depend on disappear, taking their food, their medicine, their shelter and centuries of knowledge with them.

Women, youth and Indigenous People are the key to climate action

Let us be clear: climate change is not neutral. It’s also driven by industrial emitters of fossil fuels, agribusiness and commercial deforestation. Often, these are the same actors encroaching on community territories. Those who cause the damage must stop causing it, and they must repair what they have broken. As Central African countries seek to meet global demand for fossil fuels, timber, palm oil and other raw materials through industrial logging, large-scale agriculture and oil blocks concessions, the threats to the forests, and most vulnerable people (women, youth and Indigenous People) will only increase.

Rural women practise agroecology developed over generations,  protecting soils, selecting and preserving seeds with a rigour no industrial catalogue can match. They manage forests collectively, transmit ecological knowledge across generations, and adapt their farming systems to shifting conditions with remarkable creativity. They are the primary custodians of agrobiodiversity of the seed diversity, the medicinal plant knowledge, and the food systems that rural communities depend on. This is not folklore. It is a functioning climate adaptation infrastructure, built over centuries, that operates without subsidy, recognition, and more so without legal protection.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recognises that agricultural practices incorporating indigenous and local knowledge can address the combined challenges of climate change, food security, and biodiversity conservation simultaneously. Despite being its most effective stewards, in Africa communities hold formal legal rights over less than 2% of forest land. When a concession moves in without consent, that system does not pause, it is destroyed. The women who maintain forest lands leave with nothing: no compensation, nor recognition, and a climate bill they did not create.

One of the most effective climate adaptation strategies available is securing women’s access to land and recognising their rights over seeds and forest resources. Every hectare that remains outside legal community control is a hectare exposed to concession, to enclosure, to the erasure of everything communities have built, maintained and protected.

The IPCC agrees that insecure land tenure reduces adaptive capacity, while land policies that recognise customary tenure directly strengthen community resilience to climate change.

Climate finance, forecasting and adaptation tools must be delivered to the last mile

Climate finance exists, but if climate funds are flowing through banks and institutions that communities cannot access without formal land titles, then it is just a slogan. Weather forecasting tools, digital agriculture applications, green funds, real resources have been mobilised. But do they reach the women of Niabibeté, Nkoelon, or Zoulabot, Cameroon? In most cases, no.

Alerts arrive on phones they do not own, in languages they do not read, in zones without reliable internet.

Designing adaptation tools without designing their delivery to the last mile is not adaptation. It is a theatre. And rural women cannot afford theatre.

Driving change from climate awareness to climate action means four concrete things:

• Polluters should stop polluting and start paying for loss and damage. Our governments should cease granting land, forestry and mining concessions in areas of high conservation value and where communities, women and Indigenous Peoples are claiming and exercising their ancestral land rights.
• Decision makers must support the initiatives led by Indigenous People and local communities to ensure sustainable development, at least at the local level, by ensuring that the funding and technologies developed and made available are directly accessible to them. Today, these funds flow almost exclusively through states and large institutions. The communities who need them most are the furthest from them.
• National laws must protect the land and forest rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples, especially in areas targeted by large-scale investment. In Cameroon, ongoing land reform processes offer a real window. Civil society and the nation’s elected representatives must push hard to ensure these instruments protect communities.
• Policy makers must build solutions with rural women, youth, people with disabilities and Indigenous People, not for them. This will support women’s roles as guardians of food security and biodiversity, and deliver adaptation policies designed with their knowledge at the centre, not as a footnote.

It will take more than a generation to grow back the forests retreating today. The knowledge disappearing with them needs nurturing and renewing too. Climate action cannot wait for those who have already been waiting too long.

Action must include countering threats from predatory corporations, like the world’s largest meat company JBS, that are driving deforestation and climate destruction and setting their sights on massive expansion in Africa.

Demand the world’s largest meat empire JBS to reveal the true cost of their expansion.

Tell JBS: Release the files now

Send Email

Stella Tchoukep is Forest Campaigner at Greenpeace Africa, based in Cameroon.