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Marcos Terena

Marcos Terena is a member of the Call of the Earth Steering Committee. Marcos is from the Terena people of the Pantanal region in Matto Groso do Sur in Brazil, near the borders with Bolivia and Paraguay.

In 1977, he founded the first indigenous political movement in Brazil, the Union of Indigenous Nations. In 1992, Marcos organized a landmark event in the struggle for Indigenous peoples' rights, the World Conference of Indigenous Peoples on Territories, Environment and Development, which was held the week before the United Nations Earth Summit. At this historic gathering Marcos was chosen by over 700 indigenous leaders from around the world to deliver their message to world leaders at the Earth Summit.

Marcos has been active in gaining a space for indigenous peoples in the United Nations system. He was one of the indigenous spokespeople at the UN Working Group on Indigenous Peoples to move forward the creation of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. He was also one of the indigenous leaders that helped articulate and move forward the process of the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Marcos was responsible for organizing the first dialogue meetings in Brazil to defend the traditional knowledge of Shamans. He created an organizing committee to deal with indigenous traditional knowledge and intellectual property which resulted in the creation of the Brazilian Indigenous Institute on Intellectual Property (INBRAPI).

He was previously General Coordinator of Indigenous Rights at FUNAI, the Brazilian government agency that deals with Indigenous issues.

Marcos is a member of the Inter-Tribal Committee, a founding member of Land is Life, an international coalition of Indigenous communities and organizations, and a member of the editorial board of the UN Environment Programmes periodical.

At present, Marcos is an indigenous writer and has published two books on indigenous diversity, culture and identity. He studied Business Administration and is a professional pilot.

Marcos Terena (Brazil) Photo:Marcos Terena