Under the umbrella of the Land Dialogues series, the last  webinar of this year’s series “Navigating Loss and Damage : A Path to Justice for Indigenous Peoples” took place on December 5th, 2024. The webinar drew in a little over 250  participants. The series is organized by a consortium of organizations, including the Land Portal Foundation, the Ford Foundation and the Tenure Facility.  

Latoya Abulu, Editor at Mongabay, moderated the panel, which featured the following speakers: 

• Andrea Carmen, Executive Director, International Indian Treaty Council 
• Janene Yazzie, Director of Policy and Advocacy, NDN Collective 
• Heather McGray, Executive Director, Climate Justice Resilience Fund 

Please see a brief recap of the full captivating conversation.  

So far countries have pledged $731 million to the fund, while some analysts say hundreds of billions more are needed. How much do you think should be raised and what types of funds should be available? Do you have any ideas on how the fund should be designed to get money from donor to recipient? 

Andrea Carmen:  Indigenous Peoples face immense challenges from loss and damage due to climate change, much of which cannot be quantified monetarily. For example, in the Sonora Desert, changing rainfall patterns threaten traditional food systems, such as the disappearance of the Sonora Desert Toad, essential for controlling insects during harvest. In Shishmaref, Alaska, coastal communities are losing their lands to rising seas, jeopardizing not only their homes but their sovereignty and cultural identity. Similar issues affect small island nations, where displacement erases self-determination. Our elders have emphasized that no price can compensate for these losses. However, direct funding is critical to help preserve, protect, and restore what remains of our knowledge systems and ways of life. This call for direct access to funding is vital to addressing both economic and non-economic impacts of climate change on Indigenous Peoples.

Janene Yazzie: Climate finance, particularly for addressing loss and damage, must go beyond the devastating consequences of inaction and acknowledge the intangible losses that cannot be quantified. The impacts on Indigenous Peoples—our nations, communities, lands, and the sacred ecosystems we are interdependent with—are not things that can be measured in dollar amounts. These losses are profound, and attempting to assign a monetary value to them diminishes their significance. Instead of quantifying these losses, we focus on highlighting the imbalance in resources. Nations continue to invest heavily in fossil fuel subsidies, militarism, and extractive industries—the root causes of the climate crisis. If these investments persist, at the very least, equivalent resources must be directed to address the repercussions. The $731 million that was mentioned is wholly insufficient. Estimates of billions of dollars annually are already falling short, especially as inflation and cumulative impacts increase the costs faced by our communities. We need to think long-term about the financial resources necessary to address these challenges effectively. As the Director of Policy and Advocacy for NDN Collective, I approach these conversations from the perspective of Indigenous-led solutions. There’s an assumption that because we’re situated in the Global North, we have access to climate finance. But that isn’t the reality. We’ve had to create our own funding mechanism, designed and led by Indigenous Peoples, to address our holistic needs. This mechanism prioritizes defending our homelands, building climate resilience, and advancing Indigenous rights, all while working to "rematriate" resources that have been taken from us through the exploitation of our lands and territories. Our funding model isn’t just about resources; it’s about collective power and self-determination. So many of the climate solutions we propose are tied to land rights—whether they’re enforced, resourced, or protected. For us, this is about more than getting lands back; it’s about exercising our right to care for the land in the ways the land needs, to heal, to restore, and to build resilience. When we talk about funding mechanisms, we are advocating for direct access to resources for Indigenous Peoples, minimizing intermediaries, and investing in Indigenous-led solutions. This ensures that resources are used effectively, in ways that honour our rights and align with our interconnected approach to addressing the climate crisis. 

What approaches should be taken to advocate for disaggregated data on economic and non-economic impacts? And why is this type of data important?

Heather McGray: At our fund, we approach loss and damage with an awareness of its complexity, particularly the difficulty in separating economic and non-economic impacts. Losses often overlap—what may appear as an economic loss can also carry profound cultural, heritage, or traditional significance, making it impossible to capture the full scope of harm through data alone. These losses are further shaped by age and gender, with youth, elders, women, and girls experiencing climate impacts differently. Our $6 million initiative, in partnership with the Scottish Government, focuses on loss and non-economic loss and damage in the Pacific, East Africa, and the Bay of Bengal. Rather than reinforcing a false dichotomy between economic and non-economic losses, we aim to reflect the lived experiences of those most affected. One key area we emphasize is gender-disaggregated data, responding to requests from partners, particularly in the Pacific. This approach centres women’s voices and highlights gendered distinctions in loss, damage, and responses. It provides critical insights, not just for addressing loss and damage but also for advancing broader climate action and equity. We encourage other funders to adopt this gender lens to guide their efforts.

Is it possible and relevant for the loss and damage fund to be a mechanism that can rapidly deliver aid to communities, and what needs to happen in its design in order for it to be a Rapid Response Fund as well? 

Andrea Carmen: At COP 28, the Santiago Network was operationalized, providing a unique opportunity for Indigenous Peoples to contribute to and benefit from climate expertise. As a significant gain, Indigenous Peoples, alongside the gender and youth constituencies, secured seats on the advisory board during COP 27 in Sharm El-Sheikh. Myself and Gideon Ole Sanago, who is Maasai from Tanzania, represent the Indigenous caucus, ensuring our knowledge is both recognized and utilized. The Santiago Network emphasizes 'averting and minimizing' loss and damage rather than focusing solely on compensation. This approach allows Indigenous communities, such as desert farmers in Arizona and Africa, to share and receive expertise, even with states like Tuvalu. Crucially, it recognizes Indigenous Peoples as both providers and recipients of solutions, fostering collaboration and prevention efforts. This mechanism offers hope amidst the challenges, refocusing on stopping and reversing climate change rather than settling for insufficient funds to compensate for irreparable cultural, environmental, and identity losses. While there are hurdles, including the ongoing push for extractive industries like lithium mining, progress is being made, and the Santiago Network stands as a valuable tool for collective action.

Janene Yazzie: Rapid response funding is crucial during climate crises to ensure effective and timely resource allocation, minimizing damage and averting further harm. At NDN Collective, we’ve structured our approach to address emergent issues faced by Indigenous Peoples, recognizing that immediate needs are just as vital as long-term solutions. For example, during the devastating Lahaina wildfire in Hawaii, while state mechanisms and traditional philanthropic processes lagged, our rapid response fund was able to quickly deliver resources to Indigenous communities. These communities, with their deep knowledge of the land and vulnerabilities, are best positioned to mitigate damage and protect ecosystems, food systems, and lives. This model is essential globally, as we’ve seen with floods in Africa, landslides, and forest fires in the Amazon. Rapid response resourcing can mean the difference between life and death, making it a critical component of strategies to avert and minimize the impacts of loss and damage.