Biodiversity COP17: WCC claims space for grassroots voices

Biodiversity COP17: WCC claims space for grassroots voices

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Thu, 10/22/2026 - 14:04

Three UN conventions were born at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, and in 2026 all three hold their Conference of the Parties (COP). After the desertification COP17 in Ulaanbaatar in August, the biodiversity COP17 opened in Yerevan, Armenia, on 19 October. From Mongolia to Armenia, the World Council of Churches (WCC) brings the same case: the crises of land, biodiversity, and climate are bound together, and none can be solved without the communities who live with them.

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Members of the ecumenical delegation during the first week of the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP17) in Yerevan, Armenia, the second of three UN conferences in 2026.

Photo: Faiths for Biodiversity

“ In Ulaanbaatar we said that land will not be restored without the communities who hold it. Indigenous Peoples are rights holders, and young people are partners, not guests. The biodiversity framework will move from promises to action only if their voices shape it,” said Athena Peralta, director of the WCC Commission on Climate Justice and Sustainable Development.…