Financing Climate Justice: New Case Studies Share Practical Lessons on How Climate Finance Can Reach Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Examples from Guyana, Peru, Mesoamerica, and a global Indigenous alliance demonstrate practical solutions to overcome systemic funding barriers. New York, 18 September 2025 — Indigenous peoples and local communities protect more than a third of the planet’s most vital forests, yet receive less than one percent of international climate funding. Without adequate […]
Forest Carbon Data Helps Communities Benefit Financially from their Forests

By Isabela Barriga, David Gibbs and Cameron Ellis This article was originally published by Global Forest Watch and is republished here with permission. You can view the original article here. Indigenous Peoples and local communities play a crucial role in protecting forests and the areas they manage tend to experience lower deforestation rates than other […]
Contributing to a More Resilient Direct Funding Ecosystem for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities: Case Studies on Intermediary Support
Published by Rainforest Foundation US
How Climate Finance Can Reach Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities: Practical Lessons from Four Regional Case Studies

Indigenous peoples and local communities protect 36% of the world’s intact tropical forests, yet receive less than 1% of international climate funding. If you are familiar with this work, you know this contradiction intimately. But closing the gap requires more than good intentions—it demands practical strategies that navigate entrenched systems while building genuine autonomy. Four […]
Paving the Way Towards COP30: “The answer is us—all of us”

Last month in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, Indigenous peoples and local communities gathered to send a powerful message to the world: the future of Earth’s forests, and the survival of all life they sustain, hinge on Indigenous peoples and local communities.
The True Cost of Gold: Mining, Malaria, and the Fight for Indigenous Peoples’ Lands in Guyana

A growing dual crisis of public health and environmental devastation is unfolding in the Amazon rainforest. Over the past decade, a surge in illegal and unregulated gold mining has had the unexpected side effect of leading to a sharp rise in malaria cases, disproportionately affecting Indigenous communities across the Guiana Shield.
A Year of Resilience, Progress, and Hope for Rainforests and Indigenous Peoples’ Rights

As 2024 comes to a close, there’s much to reflect on. It was a year of immense challenges. Yet despite these challenges, we made significant achievements in protecting rainforests and supporting our Indigenous partners across the Amazon and Central America in their efforts to defend their ancestral territories—making 2024 a year defined by resilience, hope, […]
2024 A Year In Review

A Message From Our Executive Director Dear Friends and Supporters, As we look back on this year, we are both humbled and inspired by the progress made alongside Indigenous communities across the Amazon and Central America. Together, we have witnessed historic wins: from securing legal titles for 20 Indigenous communities in Peru’s Amazon to training […]
A Controversa Certificação de Créditos de Carbono da ART para o Governo da Guiana: Um Estudo de Caso sobre os Desafios dos padrões de “Alta Integridade” nos Mercados de Carbono
Publicado em parceria com a Amerindian Peoples Association & Forest Peoples Programme
La Controvertida Certificación de Créditos De Carbono de ART al Gobierno de Guyana: Un Estudio de Caso sobre los Desafíos de las Etiquetas de “Alta Integridad” en los Mercados de Carbono
Publicado junto a Amerindian Peoples Association & Forest Peoples Programme