AMAZON SYNOD, "INTEGRAL ECOLOGY" AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND THEIR SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP TO LAND

Abstract

In October 2019, following the intensity and scope of fires in the Amazon rainforest, bishops of the Roman Catholic Church, indigenous leaders and experts met to discuss the vulnerable situation of the people and biodiversity of the region. As a result, the Final Document of the Amazon Synod recognized the environmental crisis as a generational challenge having social and economic consequences. It appealed for society to seek more modest ways of living that respects nature, and called on everyone to have a profound “ecological conversion”. The notion of “integral ecology” that inspires this conversion is presented in the encyclical Laudato Si' as a relational paradigm and a process capable of establishing bridges between care for the territory and development. The protection of indigenous peoples and their territories is considered a fundamental ethical requirement and a moral imperative consistent with the “integral ecology” approach. In order to contribute to the debate around the notion of “integral ecology”, we propose in this article an analysis of the documents produced by the Synod of Amazonia, and those produced by the United Nations on the relationship of indigenous peoples to theirs lands. We will show that understanding this relationship is fundamental to the recognition of the vital role that indigenous peoples play in the fight against climate change, and that the preservation of indigenous territories is the best way to save the Amazon rainforest from destruction.