Major international coalition renews $1.8 billion commitment to protect indigenous land rights and combat climate change

A powerful coalition of four governments, philanthropic organizations, and private donors has announced the renewal of their groundbreaking $1.8 billion Forest and Land Tenure Pledge, dedicating the next four years (2026-2030) to protecting Indigenous and traditional community lands worldwide. This represents a continuation of the original pledge made at the 2021 U.N. Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, which provided $1.86 billion in funding through 2024.

The renewed commitment comes with a crucial improvement: donors have pledged to significantly increase the percentage of funding that goes directly to Indigenous peoples and local community organizations, bypassing intermediary organizations. Currently, only 7.6% of 2024 funding reached communities directly—a figure the coalition aims to substantially improve in the coming years.

The announcement, made in Belém, Brazil, ahead of the upcoming COP30 climate conference, recognizes the vital role Indigenous communities play in global environmental protection. “Despite threats to their lives and rights to their territories, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and Afro-descendant communities lead much of the global effort to mitigate and adapt to climate change and to halt and reverse biodiversity loss,” the signatories stated in their pledge.

This funding represents more than financial support—it’s an acknowledgment that Indigenous communities are among the world’s most effective environmental stewards. The coalition has committed to providing “direct, long-term, and flexible financing” while ensuring these communities maintain genuine decision-making power over how the funds are utilized, marking a significant shift toward community-led conservation efforts.