Hindou Ibrahim: Living in harmony with nature.

Thirty years ago, the Earth Summit, which took place in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, paved the way for the establishment of three major conventions on the environment - specifically on biodiversity, climate change and desertification.

As countries meet on all three conventions in 2022, SDG Advocate and indigenous rights activist Hindou Ibrahim talks about the indispensable role that indigenous communities around the world play in protecting life on our planet - its biodiversity, land and climate.

'As indigenous peoples, we say, we are not different than the rest of the species, we are only one species of nature, so we cannot harm the rest of them. So that's why living in harmony, it's connecting each other, respecting each other and trying to keep the balance without harming the rest of the species - species of nature,' says Ms. Ibrahim.

She is no stranger to international climate change, human rights and sustainability processes. In 1999, at just 15 years of age, she founded the Association of Indigenous Peul Women and Peoples of Chad, a community-based organization that promotes the rights of girls and women in Chad's Mbororo community which she belongs to.

In the years following, she became the co-chair of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change, and today she is one of the 17 eminent global leaders known as the SDG Advocates.

For centuries, indigenous communities like hers have protected our environment. They care for more than 20 per cent of our planet's land and 80 percent of its biodiversity.

'For centuries and centuries, my great grandparents have always used the ecosystem. They know the ecosystem, they move from one place to another one to find work in pastures, but in this way of living, it is giving back to nature; it is helping nature to get regenerated in a natural way. So for all the indigenous peoples around the world, this is the deeper connection we have. And that's also why we are protecting 80 per cent of the world's biodiversity. Because for us, it is not a passion, or a job. It is our way of living. And that's what we have done for all generations.'

Their way of life - rich with traditional knowledge and respect for nature - and their ability to manage natural resources sustainably supports the lives and livelihoods of 2.5 billion people or about 1 in 3 people in the world.

'We are very happy that now - from the private sector to the public, to UN agencies, all people are saying how...