Amazonian Youth Begins Drafting COP30 Vision
Written by the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC)
The SPA’s Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) virtually connected Amazonian youth in a collaborative workshop that will initiate the development of a regional youth vision to be launched at COP30.
On May 22 and 23, 2025, the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) of the Science Panel for the Amazon (SPA) held the first virtual workshop in a series of five that will culminate in the development and launch of an Amazonian youth vision at COP30 in Belém, Brazil.
More than 60 young leaders and scientists from Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru participated in two days of virtual collaborative work focused on Amazonian connectivity from ecological, cultural, and economic perspectives. The workshops are part of the process of developing a document that the YAC will present at COP30 in November, outlining the recommendations and commitments of Amazonian youth for the conservation of the region.
The Workshop
The event brought together young researchers, students, practitioners, and Indigenous and local community leaders from Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru. The diversity of participants ranged from representatives of Indigenous Peoples to young mestizos living in Amazonian territories, fostering rich intercultural exchanges.
Dr. Daniel Larrea, a Bolivian researcher and member of the Panel, participated as a guest specialist, providing scientific context on Amazon connectivity and linking youth discussions with the Panel's most recent scientific evidence.
On Day 1, participants engaged in a regional diagnosis in three simultaneous thematic rooms. Each room focused on a specific topic, identifying key threats to Amazonian connectivity and defining the main actors needed to drive solutions. This setup allowed for a targeted and in-depth analysis of the issues within each thematic area.
On Day 2, the focus shifted to proposals and commitments. Participants developed specific recommendations based on different stakeholder types and defined their commitments as Amazonian youth. The day concluded with a collaborative prioritization process, using digital voting to identify the most urgent proposals.
Three Thematic Approaches:
Ecological Connectivity: Rivers, forests, biodiversity, and ecosystem services
Cultural Connectivity: Peoples, traditions, Indigenous and local knowledge, and interculturality
Economic Connectivity: Livelihoods, socio-bioeconomies, and alternatives to extractivism.
Initial Results
Workshop Outputs: Participants identified the three most urgent threats by type of connectivity, highlighting extractivism, the loss of Indigenous and local knowledge, and youth migration as cross-cutting issues. They developed a list of specific demands for governments (more ambitious policies and youth participation), the private sector (real social responsibility), academia (participatory research), and local communities (governance strengthening). Additionally, they identified five to seven commitments specific to Amazonian youth and prioritized proposals.
Regional Connections: Participants identified similar patterns across countries, especially in the impacts of extractive activities (mining, oil, logging), the loss of traditional knowledge systems due to youth migration, the urgent need for direct funding for community-led conservation, and the critical importance of youth participation in climate policy. This regional convergence strengthens the common ground for the manifesto.
Basis for the Amazonian Youth Vision: The systematic results of the workshops will form the conceptual core of the regional youth vision. The three dimensions of connectivity will become the pillars of the document, while the prioritized demands will constitute the central political content of the manifesto to be presented at COP30, conceived by and with Amazonian youth.
Next Steps
Workshop Series: Four workshops are scheduled to take place through October 2025, each focusing on specific countries and topics, with open participation by young Amazonians from across the region. The next workshop will be held on June 24 and 25, 2025, with invitations to youth from Colombia and Venezuela. Subsequent meetings will be held for representatives from Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana, providing a comprehensive Pan-Amazonian perspective.
Amazonian Youth Vision Document Development: The process will include a rigorous systematization of the results of all workshops, collaborative drafting between May and October 2025 through thematic working groups, and the official launch during COP30 in Belém, presenting a unified voice of Amazonian youth.
Continuity: The YAC plans to keep the Amazonian youth network active after COP30, using the workshop series and vision launch as a basis for coordinated regional actions, sustained political advocacy, and collaborative projects that strengthen Amazonian connectivity from within youth communities.
For more information on the SPA’s Youth Advisory Committee, read their statement.
