Recognizing a critical need to increase support for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC), a historic announcement was made at COP26 by 22 bilateral and philanthropic donors pledging $1.7 billion between 2021-2025 to advance forest tenure rights in tropical forest countries.
The IPLC Forest Tenure Pledge is a commitment to mobilize greater and more effective donor support for forest communities. This responds to a demand from IPLCs and civil society to increase the share of climate finance that supports IPLCs as guardians of forests and nature.
Why is greater donor support needed for IPLC forest guardianship?
Approximately 1.6 billion people live and use forest and land resources for their livelihoods, with an estimated 36% of intact forests within Indigenous Peoples’ lands. However, forest communities receive less than 1% of climate funding directed at reducing deforestation.
The Pledge is significant in its ambitions to advance the critical role of IPLCs in protecting forests and vital ecosystem services, and their global contribution to climate change mitigation, biodiversity preservation, and sustainable development.
The Pledge is independent from but linked to the COP26 Global Forest Finance Pledge, with the shared focus of protecting forests and preventing deforestation.
How will the Pledge be delivered?
The $1.7bn Pledge is not a new independent fund. Donors will decide how they allocate and spend their individual contributions.
Pledge contributions will include:
- Funding that channels increased support to IPLCs, including for capacity building, development of collective governance structures and sustainable livelihoods
- Activities that strengthen and protect IPLC land and resource rights, including support to forest tenure reforms and implementation
The Pledge also emphasises the importance of effective participation and inclusion of IPLCs in decision-making, programme design and implementation.
Who are the Pledge donors?
- Federal Republic of Germany
- Kingdom of Norway
- Kingdom of the Netherlands
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- United States of America
- Ford Foundation
- Good Energies Foundation
- Oak Foundation
- Sobrato Philanthropies
- The David and Lucile Packard Foundation
- The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
- The Christensen Fund
- Children’s Investment Fund Foundation
- The Wellspring Philanthropic Fund
- The Protecting our Planet Challenge (which includes Arcadia, the Bezos Earth Fund, the Bobolink Foundation, International Conservation Fund of Canada, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Nia Tero. Rainforest Trust, Re:wild, Wyss Foundation and the Rob and Melani Walton Foundation)
What is the Forest Tenure Funders Group?
The Funders Group has been established to coordinate donor collaboration on Pledge ambitions. This includes collective action to scale-up mechanisms enabling a greater share of donor funding to reach IPLC stakeholders.
The Funders Group is committed to ongoing dialogue with both IPLC leaders and wider stakeholders to facilitate exchanges of information, feedback on Pledge progress, and increase opportunities for collaboration.
Donors need to be held to account on delivery of Pledge Commitments. The Funders Group will report annually on Pledge progress to increase transparency, with the first report launched at COP27.
The Funders Group is currently chaired by the UK, and Ford Foundation as Vice Chair. The Funders Group meets quarterly to advance progress on Pledge commitments.
Updates on Pledge activities
The first Funders Group Annual Report was published at COP27. This provides an update on Pledge progress over 2021, including many examples of Pledge donors providing direct support to organisations representing Indigenous Peoples and local communities. With nearly 20% - one fifth – of funds spent, donors are on track to meet financial commitments. However, only 7% of donor spend went directly to organisations led by IPLCs, highlighting that a lot more is needed from donors to increase effective support for forest communities
The Funders Group is taking forward key priority action areas in 2022. These include:
- Reviewing the current funding and support landscape for IPLC forest tenure, identifying more effective mechanisms to scale-up donor funding to be accessed by IPLCs
- Developing good practice guidelines on how donors can best fund and support IPLC groups
- Maintaining ongoing dialogue with IPLC leaders and stakeholders, increasing opportunities for exchanges of information and feedback
- Ensuring IPLCs and their rights and vital protecting forests and nature remains high on the agenda at COP15, COP27 and other global events
- Ensuring transparency of Pledge progress – the first annual report will be published at COP27
Hear from Donors on why they joined the Pledge
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Approximately 1.6 billion people live in and around forest areas and use forest and land resources for their livelihoods: an estimated 36% of intact forests are within Indigenous Peoples lands. Clarifying land and resource rights and community forest management is critical for sustainable management of forests and natural resources, safeguarding livelihoods and supporting economic development. At COP26, a joint-donor Pledge was announced committing $1.7 billion to advance IPLC forest tenure rights from 2021 to 2025.