Indigenous representative joins UN climate summit: 'They need us'

Tuntiak Katan emphasized the need for indigenous inclusion and pointed out 'we protect 80% of the world's biodiversity'

As presidents, prime ministers and corporate executives gathered at the UN climate action summit on Monday, for the first time, an indigenous representative joined the event in a formal capacity.

Tuntiak Katan of the Ecuadorian Shuar people spoke on behalf of the International Indigenous People's Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC), a caucus of indigenous rights advocates who, for years, has been working towards more robust participation and inclusion at the UN level in response to the climate crisis - even more so after the importance of traditional knowledge was mentioned in the 2015 Paris accord.