They set the priorities, design and implement the program, and decide how the money will be disbursed. The initiative provides funding to locally established sustainable farm and forestry enterprises, as well as those run by women, young people, and those who lack land tenure, but what’s most unique is that it places the decision-making power in the hands of community members. To combat these challenges, the World Bank established an innovative financing program that’s being piloted in 14 countries. More than half of these communities face extreme poverty, immediate climate change threats, and high levels of youth out-migration. For example, a 2000-2012 study of the Amazon found that annual deforestation rates on tenured Indigenous forestlands were two to three times lower than outside these areas.Īlthough nearly 75 percent of Mexico’s forests are managed by 12 million Indigenous and local peoples, these numbers don’t automatically add up to secure livelihoods. Over time, these communities have repeatedly produced conservation results that are on par with-or even exceed-those of government-managed protected zones.
This means that the land they steward is home to approximately 80 percent of our planet’s biodiversity and contains a significant share of the forest carbon that reduces the impacts of climate change.Įven with their often-limited access to financial resources or legal support, Indigenous peoples have proven themselves to be the best guardians of the world’s forests and the valuable ecosystem services that these landscapes provide, such as clean water. They manage at least one quarter of the world’s lands-a figure that would likely be doubled if we factored in territories for which they currently lack legal tenure. Indigenous peoples and local communities have an unsurpassed connection to the Earth’s forests.
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