Governments increasingly banking on Indigenous communities to tackle climate change

Instead of looking to fancy, futuristic technologies to solve our climate woes, policymakers are increasingly banking on Indigenous communities to tackle climate change.

A 2021 report by global Indigenous and conservation experts found that 91% of the lands managed by Indigenous peoples are in good or moderate ecological condition.

As knowledge partners and experts in managing local environments, Indigenous peoples are considered vital players when it comes to implementing nature-based climate solutions – and there is immense untapped potential in capitalising on their expertise for climate initiatives.

Nature-based climate solutions, also known as NbS – climate mitigation strategies embedded in natural ecosystems – took the centre stage in COP28.

At the highly anticipated United Nations (UN) climate summit, NbS saw a boost in climate finance support, with new funding of US$186.6 million going towards forests, mangroves, and the ocean. The COP28 presidency also underlined the crucial role played by the Indigenous peoples in enabling NbS.

Beyond international organisations like the UN, a number of governments have recently announced initiatives targeted at partnering with their local Indigenous populations in climate initiatives. 

Supporting Indigenous climate leadership

Late last year, both the United States and Canada announced funding and partnerships targeted at supporting Indigenous-led climate initiatives.

The third annual White House Tribal Nations Summit saw more than 190 new agreements signed between tribal leaders and the US government to collaborate on the management of federal lands, waters, and resources.

The Associated Press reported that "top federal officials" are saying that incorporating more Indigenous knowledge into decision-making can help spur conservation and combat climate change.

The US federal government agencies involved include the Department of Energy, Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, and more.

These partnerships range from clean energy transition, restoration and expansion of plants and animals, and meat processing, to disaster recovery.

Up north, Canada’s environment ministry has launched an Indigenous Leadership Fund, a new funding programme developed in collaboration with its Indigenous populations.

The new funding, of up to CA$180 million (US$134 million), will support Indigenous-owned and -led renewable energy, energy efficiency and low-carbon heating projects led by the First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people.

“Supporting Indigenous climate leadership is key to helping Canada meet its 2030 emissions reduction target and net-zero emissions by 2050,” stated the ministry’s press release.

The Canada government acknowledged that while Indigenous peoples are experts of the local environment and “first guardians of nature and true stewards of environment conservation and protection,” they are also being disproportionately harmed by climate-related risks and disasters.

As many Indigenous peoples live close to land, they are vulnerable to changes in the environment.

Mongabay, a conservation news site, earlier reported that Indigenous peoples across Africa, Arctic to Central America reported heat waves, droughts, storms, wildfires and extremes that impact their hunting and gathering activities.

Direct and easier access to funds to avoid climate funding gaps

A report highlighted at COP28 revealed “significant flaws in global [funding] efforts,” as only a small portion of the money usually reach these local efforts.

"The money often appears to evaporate in complex transactions through numerous layers of multilateral institutions,” explained Lord Goldsmith, the United Kingdom’s former Minister for Overseas Territories, Commonwealth, Energy, Climate and Environment at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, as quoted in Euronews.

That said, a common thread binding these recent government initiatives is the direct funding of people on the ground who are already protecting nature.

Both the US and Canada have made it a point to work with their local Indigenous governmental organisations to develop these partnership agreements, and ensure that funds are allocated and disbursed in phases to specific Indigenous communities.

According to its recent announcement, the US also aims to make it easier for Tribal Nations to access existing federal resources by setting aside a team and channel to address Indigenous-specific needs.

Bringing project implementations closer to investments is one way to bridge the climate funding gap, as Thomas Brzostowski, country director of Singapore office, The Nature Conservancy, a global environmental NGO told GovInsider earlier.

Meeting climate goals and protecting Indigenous livelihoods

Whether it be a salmon restoration project in Columbia River, US, or a community solar farm project in the Peavine Metis Settlement, Canada, local NbS projects may be small in scale but has a far-reaching impact on Indigenous communities.

Geneva E. B. Thompson, Deputy Secretary of Tribal Affairs for the California Natural Resources Agency, said that Indigenous-led NbS can achieve a two-fold benefit of protecting nature and addressing societal challenges, as reported by NBC.

Particularly when their livelihoods depend on nature, adapting their lived environments to climate change can help to ensure that the ecosystem continue to provide them with reserves of food, water, and income.

For example, traditional agricultural practices enable healthy soil that can retain more carbon. At the same time, Indigenous communities benefit from healthier plants and animals as a result of healthier land.

With an increasing shift towards Indigenous-led NbS for climate change, a concerted approach is needed.

To advance NbS, the US government announced at COP28 that it is looking at a whole-of-government approach to work with all federal agencies to build nature-based adaptation and resilience solutions in their facilities, land and water management.