COLOMBO — When Indigenous groups converged at the entrance of the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP30) summit in Belém, Brazil, halting the flow of delegates, it became clear that this was not just a brief interruption. It was a stark reminder that the global climate agenda cannot progress without addressing the political and ecological struggles endured by frontline communities already living through climate shocks. Their calls for secure territories, an end to destructive extraction, forest protection and a fair energy transition underscored a truth often missing from scientific briefings and diplomatic statements: The climate crisis being rooted not only in emissions, but in long-standing injustices over land, decision-making power and resource control. That powerful scene in Brazil found a strong echo far beyond the Amazon, reaching Sri Lanka, where earlier this year, the third Nyéléni Global Forum for Food Sovereignty (Nyéléni 2025) brought together more than a thousand farmers, Indigenous people, fisherfolk, pastoralists, agricultural workers and climate‑justice activists from across the globe. Though not as high‑profile as a U.N. climate summit, the forum produced one of the most comprehensive grassroots declarations on food and climate sovereignty in recent times, articulating many of the same demands voiced by Indigenous protesters outside the COP30 fence. The third Nyéléni Forum held in Sri Lanka brought together farmers, fisherfolk, Indigenous communities, activists and policymakers to strengthen the global movement for food sovereignty. Image courtesy of Movement for the Land and Agricultural Reform (MONLAR). An alternate gathering At Nyéléni in Sri Lanka, Chintaka Rajapakse of…This article was originally published on Mongabay