Photo: CTV News

Actor Alec Baldwin says his passion about preserving the planet for future generations was sparked by meeting indigenous people who are guardians of their lands at the 2015 Paris conference that adopted the landmark agreement to tackle global warming.

Baldwin was at U.N. headquarters Tuesday night to moderate a panel on threats to "Forest Defenders" on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

He told several journalists he finds it "very, very unsettling" that indigenous people who understand better than anyone else the places where they live face strong opposition from those in power who want "to get rid of them by whatever means necessary" and control the natural resources on their lands. Baldwin pointed to killings of indigenous activists.