William to end first trip to Brazil by meeting Indigenous peoples

The Prince of Wales will end his first visit to Brazil by meeting Indigenous peoples to hear about the role they play in protecting critical ecosystems.

William travelled to the South American country to stage his Earthshot Prize in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday and the following day gave a landmark speech at the Cop30 UN Climate Change summit in Belem, a city in the Amazon.

He told delegates, including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer: “Where Indigenous people and local communities have secured land rights, deforestation is lower, biodiversity is richer, and carbon is better stored.

“Let us build a future where Indigenous people and local communities are recognised as global climate leaders — where their rights are protected, their voices heard, and their knowledge respected as vital to the health of our planet.”

Indigenous organisation Tenure Facility was an Earthshot finalist in the restore and protect nature category.

It aims to help indigenous, Afro-descendant, and local communities secure ancestral land rights, enabling them to protect critical natural ecosystems for generations to come.

Earlier this week the prince pledged to back those “standing up and defending nature” with a new fund covering indigenous advocates protecting the Amazon.

William announced the initiative at his United for Wildlife summit in Rio and called on governments, businesses and civil society to “step up and play their role” in stopping environmental crime and destruction.

In his speech at Cop30, William said: “At London Climate Action Week, I convened governments, philanthropists, and Indigenous leaders to issue a Call to Action – for land tenure and forest finance pledges to be delivered at Cop30 here in Brazil.

“That Call to Action continued through New York Climate Week in September, and brings us here, to Belem, where we must listen to the voices and leadership of Indigenous people and local communities, who care for half of the world’s land and a third of its remaining intact forests.”