Rituraj Phukan in Panama for a Biodiversity Revolution Rooted in Indigenous Wisdom

Rituraj Phukan in Panama for a Biodiversity Revolution Rooted in Indigenous Wisdom

PAHARI BARUAH

Panama City, October 27, 2025 – As the humid air of Panama City hums with the urgent cadence of global voices, Rituraj Phukan stands at the epicenter of a pivotal moment for our planet’s fragile web of life. The Climate Editor of Mahabahu and a fierce convenor of the Mahabahu Climate Forum, Phukan has journeyed from the lush, flood-prone valleys of Assam, India, to the Atlapa Convention Center, where the United Nations’ machinery grinds toward halting the relentless tide of biodiversity loss.

Today, as the first-ever meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Article 8(j) (SB8J-1) unfolds, Phukan’s presence is more than a footnote in diplomatic annals-it’s a clarion call for justice, a defiant weave of ancient indigenous knowledge into the fabric of modern policy. In a world teetering on the brink, where species vanish at a rate 1,000 times faster than natural baselines, this gathering isn’t just talk; it’s the battleground where science meets soul, and equity could tip the scales against extinction.

From October 20–30, 2025, over 196 nations, scientists, and civil society warriors have converged under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) for the 27th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA-27) and the groundbreaking SB8J-1. These aren’t sterile boardrooms; they’re crucibles forging the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), the 2022 pact that dares us to reverse nature’s hemorrhage by 2030.

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With only five years left to protect 30% of Earth’s lands and seas-Targets 2 and 3 of the KMGBF-these Panama sessions are the prelude to COP17 in Armenia next year, feeding directly into the climate-biodiversity nexus at COP30 in Brazil. But let’s be unflinchingly clear: without centering Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs), who steward 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity on just 20% of its land, this framework is a hollow vow, a greenwashed betrayal of the most vulnerable.

Phukan, a TEDx speaker, adventurer, and founder of the Indigenous People’s Climate Justice Forum, embodies this fusion. His boots have trodden the melting ice of Antarctica and the Arctic, the eroding slopes of the Eastern Himalayas, and now the vibrant corridors of Panama’s biodiversity hotspots. As National Coordinator for Biodiversity with The Climate Reality Project India and a member of IUCN’s Wilderness Specialist Group, Phukan doesn’t just report from the frontlines-he ignites them. “We’ve treated indigenous knowledge as folklore while bulldozing sacred territories for profit,” he told Nilim Kashyap Barthakur of Mahabahu.

“In Panama, we’re not negotiating; we’re reclaiming. The KMGBF must be a pact with the guardians of nature, not a decree from afar.” His voice echoes the cries of Assam’s Tai-Ahom communities, where rising Brahmaputra floods-fueled by upstream deforestation-have displaced thousands, mirroring global injustices where IPLCs bear 70% of climate adaptation costs despite emitting less than 1

SBSTTA-27, wrapping up on October 24, laid the scientific scaffolding: delegates dissected IPBES assessments on pollinators, soil health, and invasive species, hammering out recommendations for ecosystem restoration and monitoring under KMGBF Targets 6 (invasive aliens) and 15 (pollinators). A standout was the push for human rights-based approaches, as urged by the ICCA Consortium’s brief, embedding free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) into spatial planning.

Biodiversity-climate interlinkages took center stage, with calls to align GBF Targets 8 (sustainable agriculture) and 11 (forests) with COP30’s ambitions, recognizing that every hectare of restored forest sequesters carbon and shields communities from floods. Yet, as CDKN’s Ecosystem-Based Adaptation Lead Nadia Sitas noted in side events, these links demand “integrated, just action”-no more siloed policies that ignore how deforestation in the Amazon mirrors erosion in Assam’s tea gardens. Phukan, amplifying voices from South Asia’s indigenous network

But it’s SB8J-1, kicking off October 27, that ignites the revolutionary fire. Born from COP16’s consensus in Cali-a hard-won victory after decades of advocacy-this permanent body is the CBD’s boldest nod to Article 8(j), mandating respect for IPLCs’ traditional knowledge, innovations, and practices. For the first time, a dedicated forum finalizes operational procedures and a 2025–2030 work plan, zeroing in on equitable participation and resource mobilization.

Discussions pulse with urgency: integrating traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) into conservation, as in the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative’s side event showcasing IPLC-led landscape resilience. Delegates debated guidelines for indigenous territories under Targets 2 and 3, ensuring FPIC in restoration and spatial planning-vital when 40% of protected areas worldwide overlap IPLC lands without consent. A thematic dialogue on funding spotlighted gaps: IPLCs receive less than 1% of global biodiversity finance, yet their practices c

Phukan’s interventions cut deep. Representing the Mahabahu Climate Forum and his forum’s global network, he championed TEK’s role in adaptive agriculture, citing Assam’s community seed banks that preserve 500 rice varieties resilient to floods-knowledge that could safeguard global food security amid climate chaos. “Indigenous women, who hold 80% of TEK on medicinal plants, are the unsung architects of resilience,” he urged, aligning with Women4Biodiversity’s calls for gender-just integration in GBF targets.

In a side event on biocultural data systems, hosted by IMPACT and partners like the ICCA Consortium, Phukan rallied for tools that map IPLC territories into KMGBF reporting, ensuring “equitable conservation informed by frontlines.” Echoing UN Permanent Forum recommendations, he pushed for mechanisms to repatriate digital TEK stolen by biotech firms, a digital colonialism that patents indigenous innovations without royalties.

This isn’t abstract advocacy; it’s visceral. In Panama, as Executive Secretary Astrid Schomaker declared in the opening presser, “We owe it to IPLCs to make COP16’s promise count.” Phukan’s work bridges Assam’s vanishing hornbill habitats to Panama’s Darién Gap, where Guna Yala indigenous rangers combat traffickers and poachers with ancestral tracking skills. Yet challenges loom: Drynet warns that land degradation-exacerbated by industrial agriculture—must anchor Article 8(j)’s program, insisting on tenure rights and non-market land values. The OECS Commission hailed SB8J-1 as a “historic milestone” for Caribbean Kalinago peoples, whose sea knowledge could fortify reefs against bleaching.

As sessions close tomorrow, the stakes are existential. Outcomes will shape National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), channeling $200 billion annually in finance by 2025-a pittance against the $1 trillion needed, per IUCN’s pleas. Phukan’s journey-from polar expeditions to UN halls-reminds us: biodiversity isn’t a luxury; it’s life. We’ve lost 68% of wildlife populations since 1970; indigenous-led conservation has preserved 1.2 million square kilometers in India alone. But without enforcing FPIC and TEK in NBSAPs, we’ll fail the KMGBF, dooming COP30’s climate pledges to irrelevance.

Phukan departs Panama not as a delegate, but a torchbearer. Back in Assam, he’ll rally forums to localize these wins: Mahabahu Climate Forum, community-led monitoring in Manas Tiger Reserve, TEK-infused agroforestry against landslides. Globally, his call resonates: amplify IPLC voices, or watch nature’s library burn. As he posted from the halls, “From Panama to the poles, harmony with nature demands justice now.” In this climate activist’s lens, Panama isn’t a checkpoint—it’s the spark for a world where indigenous wisdom isn’t consulted, but commanded. The clock ticks; will we listen before silence falls?

[ About Rituraj Phukan: Founder, Indigenous People’s Climate Justice Forum; Co-Founder, Smily Academy ;National Coordinator for Biodiversity, The Climate Reality Project India; Member, IUCN Wilderness Specialist Group; Commission Member – IUCN WCPA Climate Change, IUCN WCPA Connectivity Conservation, IUCN WCPA Indigenous People and Protected Areas Specialist Groups, IUCN WCPA South Asia Region and IUCN WCPA-SSC Invasive Alien Species Task Force; Member, International Antarctic Expedition 2013; Climate Force Arctic 2019 ; Ambassador, Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary. Rituraj Phukan is the Climate Editor, Mahabahu and Convenor, Mahabahu Climate Forum.]

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