WASHINGTON DC, September 27 (IPS) – $270 million sounds like a lot of money, especially for just one year. But it is only a small part – less than one per cent – of the total global funding for climate change adaptation and mitigation. However, this fraction is the annual amount invested in forest ownership and management by Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IZs and LCs) over the past decade.
This month, we learned that the actual amount of funding going to IPs and LCs is only a fraction of a fraction: only 17% goes to activities specifically named a local organization.
This figure may overestimate the actual share reaching these communities as intermediaries also have project implementation costs as part of this funding. The discrepancy raises questions about whether the $1.7 billion pledged at the United Nations climate change meetings for Indigenous Peoples and local communities for conservation and land ownership initiatives. whether they really reach them or not.
The rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities are inextricably linked with conserving key ecosystems and maintaining carbon stored in tropical forests and peatlands. At least 36 percent Major Biodiversity Areas globally found on IP and LC lands, along with at least 25% aboveground carbon storage in tropical forests.
Efforts to mitigate climate change and biodiversity loss depend on these intact landscapes, and IP and LC forest management have proven more effective in this respect than any other form of forest management. any other. For example, while 2020 saw the highest rate of deforestation in Brazilian history, the rate of deforestation reached three times lower in native territory.
Most recent United Nations climate reportaccepts this view, stating: “Supporting indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination, recognizing indigenous peoples’ rights and supporting indigenous knowledge-based adaptation are critical to reducing the risk of climate change. climate and effective adaptation.”
In a report our organizations released in September, we found that between 2011 and 2020, donors disbursed approximately $2.7 billion (an average of $270 million per year). years) for projects supporting IP and LC ownership and forest management in tropical countries. We have aggregated data on this funding stream and evaluated grants against various aspects of the “fit for purpose” criterion — meaning funding is delivered in effective ways, appropriate and consistent with IP and LC.
The application of “Fitness for Purpose” criteria to IP and LC funding over the past decade is educational. We found that:
- IP and LC lead: Only 17 percent of IP and LC ownership and forest management funding from 2011 to 2020 refers to an indigenous organization, indicating that a low share of funding is led by indigenous organizations. locality and community.
- Mutual responsibility: Lack of donor accountability and transparency for IPs and LCs, limited understanding and influence of IPs and LCs on donor priorities and decisions. Most private organizations, which represent the majority of IPLC’s Forest Tenure Pledge sponsors, do not systematically share data about their projects.
- Flexible and long-termFunding: Sponsors increasingly offer funding through long-term sponsorship agreements, providing IP and LC organizations with much-needed predictability and security. However, the lack of flexibility to change or adjust priorities in projects limits IP and LC organizations from addressing diverse community needs, impending threats, or grasping catch opportunities.
- Sex: Only 32 percent of IP and LC ownership and forest management funding include gender-related keywords, despite the essential role of women in IP and LC forest management and notable exclusion. their discretion from many governance structures and forest management decisions.
- Timely and accessible: Due to the stringent eligibility and administrative requirements of bilateral and multilateral donors, IP and LC institutions must overcome significant barriers to accessing funding. As a result, funding for IPR and LCs and forest management is often based on traditional development aid funding structures, with national and international organizations acting as intermediaries.
Securing and protecting the use rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities is one of the most cost-effective, equitable and effective means of protecting, restoring and sustainably using tropical forest land. and the ecosystem services they provide.
Many things stand in the way of funding Indigenous Peoples and local communities, but ultimately we will not solve the dual crisis of climate change and biodiversity extinction unless we accept demand for more equitable partnerships. We’ve committed funding to support them, now we have to make sure they get it.
Solange Bandiaky-Badji, PhDis the Coordinator of the Rights and Resources Initiative
Torbjørn Gjefsen is a Senior Policy Advisor, Climate, for the Rainforest Foundation Norway.
© Inter Press Service (2022) – All rights reservedOrigin: Inter Press Service
