Three Basins Summit Statement

A statement by Indigenous, environmental, and human rights organisations expressing concern over the Three Basins Summit initiative. The signatories argue that the initiative neglects the impacts of extractive industries on rainforests and marginalises civil society, calling instead for a rights-based approach to forest protection and a just energy transition.

• The signatories express concern that the Three Basins initiative focuses more on carbon markets than on the human rights of Indigenous Peoples and frontline communities, while failing to adequately engage civil society in the process.
• Research indicates that countries within the three rainforest basins are advancing plans for oil and gas extraction that overlap significantly with intact forests and Indigenous territories: 65 million hectares (13%) in the Amazon Basin, 72 million hectares (39%) in the Congo Basin, and 34.8 million hectares (nearly 20%) in Southeast Asia.
• The document highlights the persecution and killing of Indigenous Peoples and environmental defenders who protect forest lands, noting that perpetrators often use influence over authorities to act with impunity.
• The signatories call on Three Basins governments to implement several measures, including the legal recognition of forest communities' lands, respecting the right to free, prior and informed consent, and establishing a global moratorium on industrial activities in primary and priority forests.
• The statement urges the international community, specifically global north governments, to reduce consumption of forest-destroying commodities and create a new funding architecture for forests involving a global carbon levy, debt relief, and direct funding to grassroots organisations and Indigenous Peoples.

APA

Trend Asia (n.d.). Three Basins Summit Statement. https://trendasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Three-Basins-Summit-Statement_EN-2.pdf

Chicago

Trend Asia. Three Basins Summit Statement. n.d. https://trendasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Three-Basins-Summit-Statement_EN-2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Trend Asia |title=Three Basins Summit Statement |url=https://trendasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Three-Basins-Summit-Statement_EN-2.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{trendasiandthree, author = {{Trend Asia}}, title = {{Three Basins Summit Statement}}, publisher = {Trend Asia}, url = {https://trendasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Three-Basins-Summit-Statement_EN-2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }