The Human Consciousness Now...Our World in the Midst of Becoming...to What? Observe, contemplate Now.
BANGKOK, Thailand, Nov 13 2025 (IPS) - The 183 Parties to the global health treaty, WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) will convene in Geneva from 17 – 22 November with one objective – to strengthen their efforts to arrest the No.1 preventable cause of disease and 7 million deaths annually – tobacco use.
Credit: Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control
In October, the WHO FCTC Secretariat issued an alert to Parties preparing to head to Geneva for the eleventh session of the Conference of the Parties (COP11) urging them to stay vigilant against the industry’s tactics and misinformation.
According to the Andrew Black, the Acting Head of the Secretariat of the WHO FCTC, “This is not just lobbying; it is a deliberate strategy to try to derail consensus and weaken measures to further the treaty’s implementation.”
Despite government efforts to implement the treaty adopted 20 years ago, the tobacco industry is a lucrative business. It is projected to generate a revenue of more than US$988 billion in 2025. Low- and middle-income countries bear the bulk of the tobacco burden where 80% of the world’s 1.2 billion tobacco users live.
Governments have identified tobacco industry interference as their biggest barrier to implementing tobacco control measures to save lives.
But the tool to address tobacco industry meddling is in governments’ hands. Known as Article 5.3, this obligatory clause in the FCTC, is based on principles of good governance and outlines specific actions governments can take to limit their interactions with the tobacco industry to only when strictly necessary for regulation.
The Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2025, a civil society report card on governments’ implementation of this article, found many governments were lacking in protecting public health. The Index covering 100 countries has exposed how the tobacco industry targeted and persuaded willing senior officials, especially from the non-health sectors, to protect its business and lobby on its behalf.
The newly released Index found the industry has not only become more aggressive in its meddling, but it is also more blatant and lobbied legislators including parliamentarians, ministers and governors who as elected officials can influence policy at the legislature.
Parliamentarians in 14 countries filed pro-industry bills, accepted industry input that resulted in delayed adoption of tobacco control laws or promoted legislation to benefit the industry.
The Index revealed very senior officials had accepted sponsored study trips to tobacco company facilities, the most common facility visited being the Philip Morris International’s research facility in Switzerland.
The tobacco industry has also used its charity to lure public officials and governments to endorse its activities and whitewash its public image. While 32 countries have banned tobacco-related CSR activities, 18 governments from LMICs, such as Bangladesh, Bolivia, El Salvador, Fiji, Gabon, Jamaica and Zambia, collaborated and endorsed industry activities such as tree planting, community programs, assistance to farmers and cigarette butt cleanups.
Evidence shows tax increases on tobacco products is the silver bullet to reduce tobacco use. The Index found more than 60 of 100 countries were persuaded to not to increase tobacco tax, delay tax increases, lower tax rates, or give tax exemptions for certain products.
Over 40 countries resisted the tobacco industry’s misleading narrative on so called harm reduction and have banned e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. However, when a government prevails with stringent legislation, the industry has used the courts to challenge the law. In Mexico for example, when the government banned e-cigarettes in 2023, Philip Morris Mexico obtained an injunction from the Supreme Court to allow it to continue sales of these products.
Industry interference has obstructed tobacco growing countries such as Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia from even having basic bans on cigarette advertising and promotions. Now Big Tobacco is pushing new nicotine products in these countries and others, and creating the next generation of nicotine addicts.
The lack of transparency in governments’ interactions with the industry has provided a breeding ground for interference. The absence of lobby registers and disclosure procedures, and the failure to inform the public about meetings with the industry lets this interference continue.
But there is hope and positive outcome for public health when governments acted without compromise. Botswana, Ethiopia, Finland, Netherlands and Palau all show low levels of interference by protecting their bureaucracy. These countries are a testament to standing up to a powerful industry and arresting interference so they can fulfill their mandate to protect public health.
Dr Mary Assunta is the head of Global Research and Advocacy at the Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control
IPS UN Bureau
As climate leaders gather in the Amazon, the world’s green transformation is speaking with a southern accent—powered by markets, technology, and a new economic logic.
‘It’s not only our traditional knowledge that can help mitigate climate change—we can also influence scientific knowledge,’ says Indigenous leader Elcio Severino da Silva Manchineri at COP30.
BELÉM, Brazil, Nov 12 2025 (IPS) - Concerned scientists at the UN climate conference in Belém are appealing for collective action to combat climate change-related misinformation and disinformation.
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) sounded the alarm over the widespread dissemination of climate disinformation across multiple fronts, including social media and traditional media platforms, warning that it impacts public health, undermines democracy, and weakens the effectiveness of climate policies.
“Disinformation is everywhere. It’s sophisticated. It’s evolving rapidly,” said J. Timmons Roberts, Professor of Environmental Studies and Sociology at Brown University. “Structural power deploys disinformation to preserve the status quo. The fossil fuel industry spends about 10 times as much as the environmental and renewable energy sectors combined.”
Experts at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) climate information integrity press conference at COP30. Credit: Tanka Dhakal/IPS
Roberts, the Executive Director of the Climate Social Science Network, emphasized the need to understand the tactics, key actors, and the flow of power, money, and information to tackle climate disinformation.
“There’s a series of tactics that offer effective solutions to this disinformation—for example, appealing to conservative identities, to the identities of the people you’re speaking to, and using debunking and pre-bunking strategies,” he said. “You have to have the right messengers.”
In an open letter, a global coalition of scientists, civil society groups, Indigenous Peoples, and faith leaders called on policymakers to take immediate action to combat climate misinformation and uphold information integrity. They emphasized that both the UN and the World Economic Forum have identified climate change and disinformation as among the greatest threats to humanity.
“Governments need to see this [climate disinformation] as a kind of public safety issue,” said Ben Backwell, CEO of the Global Wind Energy Council. “This is not freedom of speech. This is the control of libraries and communications by very confident people.”
He stressed the importance of democratizing media and increasing independent journalism to counter a media ecosystem dominated by a wealthy few.
At a press conference on Tuesday—designated as the official thematic day on information integrity—experts warned that climate misinformation causes real-time harm and that major platforms, including Meta, X, and TikTok, are actively spreading misinformation, disinformation, or false information.
“Disinformation and misinformation are their business model,” said Pierre Cannet, Global Head of Public Affairs and Policy at ClientEarth. “This is why we are calling on countries to join this effort for information integrity—not just at the conference, but also back home—and to enforce laws that address misinformation and disinformation.”
Experts emphasized that collaboration across all levels of society is essential to overcoming coordinated misinformation campaigns, which are often driven by profit motives, particularly from the fossil fuel industry.
Rayana Burgos, a Brazilian political scientist at the Network of Terreiro Communities for the Environment, stated that without truth, there can be no climate justice or final action.
“The fossil fuel industry has polluted our art, and now it’s polluting our information. So, we clearly say: stop the lies, stop the delay,” she added. “We need to act together. Access to information is a human right.”
This feature is published with the support of Open Society Foundations.
IPS UN Bureau Report
Excerpt:
The fossil fuel industry has polluted our art, and now it’s polluting our information. So, we clearly say: stop the lies. —Brazilian political scientist Rayana Burgos
DOHA, Nov 12 2025 (IPS) - Qatar hosted the Second World Summit for Social Development from 4–6 November. According to the United Nations, more than 40 Heads of State and Government, 230 ministers and senior officials, and nearly 14,000 attendees took part. Beyond plenaries and roundtables, more than 250 “solution sessions” identified practical ways to advance universal rights to food, housing, decent work, social protection or social security, education, health, care systems and other public services, international labor standards, and the fight against poverty and inequality.
In these difficult times for multilateralism, the summit delivered a global agreement, the Doha Political Declaration, that many feared would not materialize. The UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the text a “booster shot for development,” urging leaders to deliver a “people’s plan” that tackles inequality, creates decent work and rebuilds social trust.
Isabel Ortiz
Even so, veteran voices urged pragmatism. Both the Copenhagen Declaration and Doha’s recommitment are workable texts to advance social justice. While not the ideal many hoped for, the Doha outcome addresses the key issues—and, above all, constitutes an international consensus adopted by all countries amid a crisis of multilateralism.
Juan Somavía, former UN-Under Secretary General and a driving force behind the 1995 Summit, welcomed the Doha’s Declaration as a meaningful foundation to move the agenda forward. Roberto Bissio, coordinator of Social Watch and a lead participant in Copenhagen, added “Let’s revive hope in these turbulent times… Now in Doha our governments are renewing their pledges of three decades ago, and adding new commitments that we welcome, to reduce inequalities, to promote care and to ensure universal social protection, which is a Human Right.”
However, Somavia, Bissio and many UN and civil society leaders in Doha, also stressed the distance between pledges and delivery. The pressure mounted through the week. At the closing, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said that the message from unions, civil society and youth was unequivocal: people expect results, not rhetoric. “The outcomes of this Summit provide a strong foundation,” she said. “What matters most now is implementation.”
The test now is whether governments will translate the Doha declaration into action: budgets, laws and programs that reach people. Magdalena Sepulveda, Director of UNRISD, called for bold political action: “What we need now is that states are going to take the political will to implement the Doha Declaration in a swift manner with bold measures.”
The trend, however, is moving the other way, as many governments adopt austerity cuts and have limited funding for social development. More than 6.7 billion people or 85% of the world’s population suffer austerity, and 84% of countries have cut investment in education, health and social protection, fueling protests and social conflict. “The concept of the welfare state is being eroded before our eyes in the face of an ideological commitment to austerity and a shrinking state” said Amitabh Behar, Executive Director of Oxfam International. “A wave of youth-led Gen Z protests is sweeping the world. A recurring slogan during the recent protests in Morocco was ‘We want hospitals, not stadiums’… Public services are being dismantled while wealth is hoarded at the top. The social contract will not survive this neglect.”
The good news is that governments do have ways to finance the Doha commitments. Austerity is not inevitable; there are alternatives. There are at least nine financing options for social development: raise progressive taxes (such as on corporate profits, finance, high wealth, property, and digital services); curb illicit financial flows; reduce or restructure debt; increase employers contributions to social security and formalize employment; reallocate spending away from high-cost, low-impact items such as defense; use fiscal and foreign-exchange reserves; increase aid and transfers; adopt more flexible macroeconomic frameworks; and approve new allocations of Special Drawing Rights. In a world awash with money yet marked by stark inequality, finding the funds is a matter of political will. In short: austerity is a choice, not a necessity.
History will not judge Doha by its communiqués but by whether the promises made—on rights, jobs and equity—reach people. Implementation is feasible, as there are financing options even in the poorest countries. If leaders go ahead, Doha will be remembered not as an echo of 1995, but as the moment words gave way to action.
Isabel Ortiz, Director, Global Social Justice, was Director at the International Labor Organization (ILO) and UNICEF, and a senior official at the UN and the Asian Development Bank.
IPS UN Bureau
BELÉM, Brazil, Nov 12 2025 (IPS) - In a departure from the past three COPs, in Egypt, Dubai and Azerbaijan, there have been increasingly intense demonstrations from activists at the COP30 venue in Belém, the capital of the northern Brazilian state of Pará.
At times there are up to four protests in just one day. One at least grabbed the headlines and there were moments of pandemonium on Tuesday night (November 11) when dozens of indigenous and non-indigenous activists stormed into the COP30 venue in the capital of the northern Brazilian state of Pará as thousands of delegates were leaving the venue, having wrapped up the day’s events.
Push had come to shove at the entrance as a crowd of protesters chanted and shouted holding banners, and managed to push a door off its hinges and injure at least two security guards in the confrontation.
The Tuesday night intrusion was the most intense yet and seemed to be one big protest made up of various small groups, all angrily demanding access to the COP30 venue.
Following the incident, the COP30’s main entrance was undergoing repair late into the night. The Brazilian government has encouraged freedom of expression and provided expanded spaces for civil rights activities.
IPS caught up with a group of protesters still outside the COP30 venue moments after the protesters were pushed out of the venue.
They included Jeane Carla, a 24-year-old activist and member of the CST UIT-QI, which refers to the Corrente Socialista dos Trabalhadores (CST) or socialist chain of workers, and is the Brazilian section of the international revolutionary socialist organization, the Unidade Internacional dos Trabalhadores – Quarta Internacional (UIT-QI). This is a social organization and strongly promotes socialist values.
“We are protesting here in Belém for climate health. We want to speak about the environmental catastrophe that we are living through today, in our time. So, we came walking, together with the Indigenous people and the youth, and we went through several blockades, including the army’s own blockade,” she said.
“There were even repressions, but we are here,” she continued, “we came in front of COP30 to put forward what we believe. The need for the fight in defense of the climate systems goes beyond the defense of the Indigenous people and the defense of the environment, and, unfortunately, COP30 needs to start providing a way out, as it hasn’t yet. It must.”
Carla listed her prescriptions for COP30.
“First of all, COP30 should be a space formed by the workers and the youth so that we can present concrete and real alternatives to reverse the climate crisis. In our perspective, it would be necessary to build a new model of society and a new world order, to destroy the capitalist system, which is the axis of environmental destruction.”
“As a matter of urgency, COP30 must put up a real fight against climate change.”
Security personnel form a human shield at the exit of the COP30 venue during the violent confrontation with protestors that took place at the main entrance. Credit: Farhana Haque Rahman/IPS
“If I could meet the COP president, I would speak to him about the need to preserve the environment, to truly preserve it, alongside the Indigenous people. I would also speak about the need to put life above profit.”
“We are in dire need of an effective transformation of the environment, which goes beyond the struggle and the organization of the indigenous people, the workers, and the youth so that we can fight for a better world. A world that goes beyond exploitation and oppression. It is my strong belief that such change can only happen with a government of the workers and youth.”
Security closed the COP30 venue after demonstrators breached the entrance, leaving delegates inside. Credit: Cecilia Russell/IPS
The socialist group was not the only one. There were those with a yellow flag protesting oil drilling in the Amazon. Brazil’s environmental agency, IBAMA, granted Petrobras, which translates to Brazilian Petroleum Corporation, a license to explore oil in the marine biodiversity-rich Foz do Amazonas Basin. This area is home to Indigenous, Quilombola, and traditional communities that rely on the coastal Amazon for their survival. The license was issued less than a month before the UN climate summit in the Amazon City of Belém.
Another group had a large Palestinian flag. Others protested about ongoing industry and developments in the Amazon forest. The Amazon rainforest is known for its immense biodiversity, hosting 10 percent of Earth’s known species, and for its role in regulating global climate by storing vast amounts of carbon.
The Amazon is the world’s largest tropical rainforest, with a significant impact on regional weather patterns and a home to many indigenous peoples and cultures. Its river accounts for 15–16 percent of the world’s total river discharge into the ocean. The Amazon River flows for more than 6,600 km.
Most importantly, the Amazon is home to millions of Indigenous people, who number at least 2.2 million and are part of more than 300 distinct ethnic groups. These communities have lived in the Amazon for millennia and their ancestral territories are crucial for the region’s biodiversity and the global climate
Spanning 6.7 million km², or a size twice the size of India, the Amazon Biome, a large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat, is simply unrivalled. There was a banner that read, ‘Our forests are not for sale.’ Others wore T-shirts that read ‘Juntos,’ which translates to ‘together.’
A peaceful protest at COP30 as demonstrations intensify. There have been as many as four vibrant protests every day, agitating over various issues. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS
Overall, calm was quickly restored and the incident will no doubt significantly shape discourse in a COP that has a record-breaking number of Indigenous participants, with estimates of around 3,000 representatives from across the globe.
COP30 has the highest Indigenous mobilization in the history of the UN climate change conferences and by a large margin. The high participation is a result of a concerted effort by the Brazilian government and Indigenous organizations to place Indigenous voices at the center of the climate debate.
Overall, more than 1,000 Indigenous leaders are participating in the official negotiations within the “Blue Zone,” or a restricted access area for delegates, with another 2,000 in the public “Green Zone.”
Additionally, the Brazilian presidency has established a “COP Village” at the Federal University of Pará (UFPA) to serve as accommodation and a venue for cultural and political activities for the Indigenous participants, fostering community and dialogue.
The Brazilian presidency has also created the “People’s Circle” as an official mechanism to ensure meaningful participation from civil society, including Indigenous peoples and traditional communities, in the conference’s discussions. This significant presence highlights the widely recognized role of Indigenous peoples as essential guardians of biodiversity and a crucial part of the solution to the climate crisis.
Excerpt:
If I could meet the COP president, I would speak to him about the need to preserve the environment, to truly preserve it, alongside the Indigenous people. I would also speak about the need to put life above profit. —Jeane Carla, activist at COP30
VICTORIA, Nov 12 2025 (IPS) - COP30 Brazil, though shadowed by the absence of many world leaders, remains a pivotal milestone in the global fight against climate change, tasked with building on the Paris Agreement’s momentum. Yet the glaring lack of commitment, coupled with withdrawals from the accord casts a grim shadow over the future. The planet continues to warm, and scientists warn that current targets may not prevent a catastrophic temperature spike. While the summit’s focus on implementation not just new promises—is a welcome shift, it’s clear: words alone won’t cool the Earth.
James Alix Michel
The Stakes Are Dire.
The IPCC warns: we’re on track for 2.5–3°C warming by 2100 if pledges are not met. This spells ruin: crippling droughts, unlivable cities, mass migration, and ecosystems collapsing. The Amazon, a vital carbon sink, is nearing a ‘tipping point’ of irreversible dieback. Island nations face existential threats. The climate crisis is not a distant threat—it’s here.
Why COP30 Matters
1. Implementation Over Pledges: Past summits yielded lofty goals, but delivery has lagged. COP30 must hold nations accountable. No more empty vows.
2. Climate Finance: Developing countries need predictable funding, not charity. The $100 billion/year promise remains unfulfilled. Wealthy nations must pay their share.
3. Adaptation and Resilience: Frontline communities in Africa, Small Islands States, the Global South can’t wait. Funding for early warnings, flood defenses, and drought-resistant crops isn’t a favor; it’s justice.
4. Global Unity: Geopolitics must not derail progress. The world needs cooperation, not competition.
The Human Cost:
Millions already suffer. Cyclones , wildfires, famine, mass migration sea-level rise. This isn’t ‘someday’ it’s now. Indigenous groups, youth activists, and scientists plead: stop debating. Act.
Yet amid the urgency, COP30 saw glimmers. Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva pushed for Amazon protection. African nations demanded reparations for historical emissions. Global South called for “Equity first.”
The Road Ahead: COP31 and Beyond.
Future summits must:
– Enforce transparency: Track emissions cuts, not just promises.– Prioritize loss & damage: Compensate those already paying the price.
– Work towards ending fossil fuels: No new coal projects.
– Empower youth: Include communities, not just politicians.
A Call to Leaders: Pledges Aren’t Leadership
When leaders make commitments, they bind their nations to honor them. Empty promises are not leadership. The world isn’t a battleground for wars—it’s our only home. We’re all in this together. No more excuses. Action isn’t optional.
The clock ticks. The Amazon burns. The oceans rise. We need solutions. And we know what are the solutions. Now we need action.
Let’s choose life. For the planet and for ourselves.
James Alix Michel, Former President Republic of Seychelles, Member Club de Madrid, Founder James Michel Foundation.
IPS UN Bureau
MEXICO CITY, Nov 12 2025 (IPS) - “This issue has been spiralling out of control year after year. The first responders are the communities themselves. There is no information explaining what a wildfire is in our native language (Mixtec), not even a pamphlet or video that can be distributed”, indigenous language education student Estela Aranda tells IPS.
The 30-year-old Ayuuk jä’äy (Mixe) student, who is from the Santa Anita community in the Copanatoyac town in the southern state of Guerrero, pointed out that the community doesn’t know how to deal with serious fires because “there has been no guidance from people who know how to handle them”.
In 2024, the community was alarmed by a fire, and there was another one in Tlapa de Comonfort, an adjacent municipality, in March. The first fire “lasted several days and destroyed a lot of vegetation”, says Aranda, whose 1364-people community relies primarily on small-scale livestock farming and growing corn, beans and squash.
“Nature feeds us, guides us and connects us. When it suffers fires, we care for it with great responsibility and all our heart because it is everything to us”, she affirms.
This is a major concern, given that Copanatoyac, located around 350 kilometres south of Mexico City, has experienced an increase in fires since 2023. After three fires consumed 1096 hectares in 2024, two fires ravaged 114 hectares this year in one of the country’s poorest states, which is plagued by violence and ranks fifth in terms of historical burned area.
In surrounding municipalities, meanwhile, the number of fires increased from nine incidents affecting 1535 hectares in 2022 to 12 incidents affecting 1941 hectares in 2025, posing a potential threat due to the risk of flame expansion.
The 2020–2024 Fire Management Programme and regulations on methods for using flames on forest and agricultural land have failed to curb fires, which are intensified by heat and drought — consequences of the climate catastrophe. Added to this is the insufficiency of government resources.
Sight of a forest fire in the southeastern state of Quintana Roo in August 2025
Credit: Conafor
Since 1970, for which official records exist, there have been 397 143 fires, with an average of over 300 000 hectares burned, totalling more than 18 million hectares.
The trend has been upward since 2020, in line with rising temperatures and drought, although there was a decrease in 2025, mainly due to abundant rainfall.
The first responders are the communities themselves. There is no information explaining what a wildfire is in our native language (Mixtec), not even a pamphlet or video that can be distributed
The central state of Mexico, neighbouring Mexico City, has reported the highest cumulative number of fires (88 274), followed by Mexico City itself (45 758) and the western state of Michoacán (44 243).
In terms of affected areas, the western state of Jalisco has suffered the greatest loss (1,67 million hectares), followed by the southern state of Chiapas (1,6 million) and the northern state of Chihuahua (1,56 million).
After three years, the intensity has subsided and the number of fires has dropped to 6824, affecting 1,16 million hectares.
Despite the decrease in the number of fires, the area burned per incident has been rising since 2020, almost tripling from 64 to 172 hectares by October 2025.
Regulations have also failed. The 2023 regulation on fire use in forests, agricultural land and surrounding areas instruct technical and environmental guidelines for controlled burns, but these have been violated, given that one-third of the fires originated from agricultural activities and another third from unknown causes in 2024, a category which also encompasses this possibility.
Similarly, the 2018 General Law on Sustainable Forest Development incorporates fire management in forest areas, addressing their ecological, social and environmental roles within ecosystems, and defining burn prevention, fire use planning and management, and rapid and effective responses to forest fires.
Added to this are the issues of impunity for intentional fires and a weak prevention culture.
The 2020–2024 Fire Management Programme consisted of 15 strategies, five of which were related to flames, and two of which were related to prevention and agricultural fire management measures. These measures were ineffective.
This issue is further compounded by the fact that Conafor itself acknowledges that the area affected by fires largely corresponds to fire-dependent ecosystems.
While fires have intensified, Conafor has eliminated direct firefighting support since 2020, forcing forest communities to include land clearing and firebreak installation tasks under other categories.
Despite forest-fires’ high incidence, Conafor has also suffered severe budget cuts. While allocated funds totalled $573 million in 2014, this year they fell to $133 million — one quarter of that amount. Although the budget had been rising since 2022, it fell again this year.
In response to IPS enquiries, Conafor attributes the fires to the impacts of climate catastrophe and places responsibility with states and municipalities.
“Fire management policy is based on strengthening inter-institutional coordination at all levels, as well as on the distribution of responsibilities, where municipal and state governments play a leading role given that they must operate their own fire management programmes within their respective territorial jurisdictions”, the agency states.
It also indicates that 1700 firefighters are employed, and that 266 fire brigades are subsidised, as well as regulations on controlled burns being disseminated.
Brigades from the government’s National Forestry Commission fight a fire in a forested area in the northern state of Chihuahua in May of this year. That territory has experienced the third highest number of fires in Mexico since 1970.
Credit: Conafor
Guerrero is not an exceptional case. Neighbouring Oaxaca experiences a similar situation.
Juan Reyes, an indigenous Zapotec, knows well what it means to face forest fires from his experience as a municipal official and as a resident of at-risk communities.
“The fires were very intense; we couldn’t handle them, even with all our personnel. The authorities didn’t respond; the state government didn’t respond either. Things went badly for us. People became alarmed later when the fire spread and burned more hectares”, the elementary school teacher recalls to IPS in Las Cuevas, in the Oaxacan municipality of Santo Domingo de Morelos.
Reyes, who is 39 years old, is married and has two children, served as the councilman for Public Works between 2020 and 2022, and has also witnessed the impact of fire on his community since then. The village is home to around 1000 people, and the main crops grown there are hibiscus, mango, watermelon, melon, papaya and tamarind.
The village experienced the heat firsthand. “We had no knowledge of anything until, after three or four days and several calls from the mayor and the council, they finally responded. Conafor sent a small team. They called more people, and we organised and put in the firebreak”, he evokes.
However, the fire had already burned through four or five hectares and was threatening two other communities. “It lasted eight days, and we put it out”, he assures.
For hundreds of Mexican communities, the problem isn’t limited to the flames but begins with a lack of timely and culturally appropriate information and training. A combination of the consequences of climate catastrophe and government omissions has fuelled them.
Reyes, a corn farmer, summed it up: information is lacking. “This happens every year. They should send information so people can be careful”, he says.
As in Copanatoyac, fires in surrounding towns threaten these communities. For example, two fires consumed 45 hectares in an adjacent municipality in 2022. The following year, none occurred; however, four fires ravaged 214 hectares in 2024. This year, three fires burned 120 hectares.
Communities, set asideDiego Pérez, an academic at the Institute of Ecosystem and Sustainability Research at the public National Autonomous University of Mexico, questions the fire management scheme.
He says that communities are very aware of their environment and know how to conduct agricultural burns and control escapes. “Many people in rural areas are better prepared to deal with these issues. However, Mexican legislation works the other way around, as it is the owner or the community who must handle it. If they are overwhelmed, they must ask the municipality, the state and finally the federation for help”, he tells IPS.
In contrast, Conafor has adopted a reductionist approach, acting as a “fire department”. “What’s happening is that fires are coming back with more force. There’s negative public perception of fire”, he emphasises.
Monitoring and prevention involve improved monitoring through satellite technology, which Conafor already uses, as well as improved fire management practices, and greater community awareness and preparedness programmes, which are still pending.
Reyes remembers the lessons of his father and grandfather. “What is most urgent is to inform, not burn cleared lands, rescue older strategies. We have become very aware that the swiddens should not be burned and if they do, the elderly people have their strategies”, he explains.
He describes that they should clean around the land and not burn from the stream to the hill, but rather from the top of the hill downwards, because the stream cuts it. There shouldn’t be burns when there is a lot of wind, but rather after four in the afternoon.
In the face of a worsening climate catastrophe, affected communities are calling for greater attention from Conafor.
“As responsible institutions, it would be good if they organised training workshops on this problem that communities face year after year. They should also reforest these spaces and provide communities with information on how, where and why to prevent fires. There’s a lot of nature loss”, pleads Aranda.
Researcher Pérez proposes research and support in forest habitat management, fostering knowledge and good practices while recognising regional differences, and recovering traditional knowledge. He also suggests providing communities with the means to manage their ecosystems.
“There’s a lot of work to be done, and it’s not just about fires. It’s about paying the debt that has existed with rural areas. They know that some fires are necessary to remove fuel from the forest. A restoration regime for the fire regime is required — it must be communicated and worked on with communities. The conception of what Conafor can do must be reconsidered”, he recommends.
IPS produced this article with support from the Global Landscapes Forum.
The translation from the original article in Spanish involved the use of AI tools.
BELÉM, Brazil, Nov 12 2025 (IPS) - Generational lived experiences are key to confronting and living with a changing climate, say Indigenous knowledge holders and activists at the UN Climate Conference (COP30).
As the first COP to be held in the Amazon region, in Belém, representatives of Indigenous communities reiterated the importance of generationally transferred knowledge and skills to adapt to and mitigate the threats posed by climate change.
Allison Kellen, a canoe builder from the Marshall Islands, learned the craft from his elders. He emphasizes the need for this knowledge to be passed down to future generations with proper recognition.
“I want us to be acknowledged,” Kellen said. “A lot of the time, we talk about acronyms, we talk about oil, we talk about all this stuff-and we’re not talking about us. And ‘us’ is life. ‘Us’ is land. ‘Us’ is knowledge. So start thinking about us, because ‘us’ is our future, our kids’ future.”
He believes that focusing on people on the ground and their generational lived experiences is key to confronting and living with a changing climate. We pass knowledge from one forehead to another, just like transferring a picture from one phone to another.
During a coordinating meeting and the fifth annual gathering of knowledge holders at COP30, community members emphasized the importance of “climate action rooted in holistic stewardship” and collaboration with Indigenous knowledge and skills.
Viacheslav Shadrin, a member of the Facilitative Working Group (FWG) of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP), said it’s important to respect community knowledge and follow its teachings.
“We are not the owners of nature,” he said. “We should not take more than we need.”
Indigenous peoples possess unique knowledge systems, innovations, and practices passed down through generations, rooted in a deep understanding of and respect for ecological systems.
“We transfer knowledge from generation to generation,” Kellen said. “We pass it from one forehead to another, just like transferring a picture from one phone to another.”
He further stressed the need to blend Indigenous skills with both formal and informal methods of knowledge transmission.
At COP30, youth from Indigenous communities are also actively engaging in the conversation.
Gitty Keziah Yee, from Tuvalu—one of the most climate-vulnerable island nations—and a leader in last year’s climate justice case before the International Court of Justice, believes that ancestral knowledge is a key to connecting with history.
“The knowledge has always been there from the very beginning. It’s something practiced by our ancestors and passed on by our elders,” she said. “It’s really important to respect the past in order to preserve the future.”
Like other Indigenous leaders and knowledge holders, Yee stressed that community voices must not be sidelined.
“Indigenous people should have a voice in these spaces.”
IPS UN Bureau Report
Excerpt:
A lot of the time, we talk about acronyms … we’re not talking about us. And ‘us’ is life. ‘Us’ is land. ‘Us’ is knowledge. So start thinking about us, because ‘us’ is our future, our kids’ future. —Allison Kellen, canoe builder and Indigenous activist