In Mato Grosso do Sul, much of the native Cerrado forest has been converted to eucalyptus plantation in the past decade by Suzano. Photo: Orin Langelle

Events in Panama

In just a few weeks, all eyes will be on Panama City, where two critical meetings will decide the future of forests worldwide:

→ The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (SB8J-1) — focused on Indigenous rights and biodiversity

→ The Forest Stewardship Council’s General Assembly — where members will vote on whether to uphold or dismantle the global ban on genetically engineered (GE) trees.

The outcomes will shape forest policy and Indigenous land rights for decades to come. And with COP30 looming in November in Brazil, these meetings are our one chance to set the stage for strong global resistance to GE trees.

“We must not allow GMO forests to be created.” – Francisco Calí Tzay, UN Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples (2020 – 2024)

The stakes couldn’t be higher

We need to be in Panama for these meetings.

To send our team to Panama, we must raise $9,000 before October to cover travel, translation, and on-the-ground advocacy that ensures frontline voices are heard at these two important meetings.

 $2,000 – Press conferences, events + protests to ensure front line voices are heard!

 $2,000 – Live interpretation to ensure language access for all

 $3,000 – Travel + accommodations

 $2,000 – Materials + multilingual translation (Spanish, Portuguese, French, English)

Every dollar ensures Indigenous leaders can confront the GE tree industry and strengthen global alliances before COP30 in Brazil.

Donate now to help protect forests and stop GE Trees ➜ https://stopgetrees.org/donate-today/

The threat is real

GE trees are being pushed by corporations for carbon offsets, biofuels, and profit and have devastating consequences:

 Forest ecosystems bulldozed

 Gene-edited trees spreading uncontrollably

 Indigenous sovereignty erased

 Global climate action undermined

Brazil already approved GE eucalyptus trees. If the FSC reverses its ban, we could see GE tree plantations explode worldwide.

 “GMO trees threaten the way of life, ancestral knowledge and food systems of Indigenous Peoples.” – Gustavo Ulcué Campo of the Nasa People and the National Commission of Indigenous Territories (CNTI) of Colombia 

Why us? Why now?

Since 2000, the Campaign to STOP GE Trees has led the global movement to keep GE trees out of our forests  through science, advocacy, and frontline Indigenous leadership.

Thanks to your past support, we launched the Indigenous Peoples’ Global Campaign Against GE Trees and built powerful alliances across Latin America.

Members of the Huni Kui Indigenous community from the state of Acre, Brazil stand up against GE trees at the UN Biodiversity Convention in Colombia, 2024.

Now we must show up strong in Panama — to defend the FSC ban, confront industry, and strengthen global alliances before COP30 in Brazil.

This is our moment. Together we can safeguard forests, biodiversity, and Indigenous rights worldwide.

Donate now to help protect forests and stop GE Trees ➜ https://stopgetrees.org/donate-today/

“Who has the foolishness [and] ugliness to take the seed from this relative and alter it in whatever manner they do and whatever way those laboratories allow them? It hurts how these humans are coming up with these false solutions to what they have created – what they call climate change.” – Casey Camp-Horinek, Ambassador on the Environment, Ponca Nation