Indigenous Peoples and local communities manage more than half of the world´s land. These biodiverse ancestral lands are vital to the people who steward them and the planet we all share. But governments only recognize indigenous and community legal ownership of 10 percent of the world´s lands.  Secure tenure is essential for safeguarding the existing forests against external forces. This is specifically true for forests managed by Indigenous Peoples, where much of the world’s carbon is stored.

This series of three webinars features indigenous and non-indigenous leaders in a virtual roundtable to discuss both the key effects that COVID-19 is generating in their communities as well as possible solutions and the way forward.

Acknowledging the centrality of land issues to end hunger and achieve sustainable development, countries have agreed to meet ambitious land targets by 2030. Five years into the SDGs, persistent land insecurity, land evictions, threats to land rights defenders and other challenges show that the land promises are not being delivered.

Informal settlements in areas that are already disaster prone are an increasing problem. Climate adaptation is also often used as an excuse fo evictions to redevelop sites in a more climate-proof manner in what is often referred to as ‘climate gentrification. Nature-based solutions to climate change, such as increasing green spaces, may increase home values, but the question of who benefits from these initiatives arises. How can the side effects of climate interventions that can lead to inequality, such as increase in value, be avoided?

The interconnection of land rights and climate responses at micro, meso and macro level.