For generations, Indigenous Peoples and local communities have safeguarded the world’s forests—sustaining biodiversity, storing carbon, and carrying cultural knowledge that benefits all of humanity. They manage more than 50% of the world’s land and over one-third of intact forests, yet they historically have received less than 1% of global climate finance directly. This injustice has limited their ability to lead in climate solutions, despite their proven record of stewardship.¹
The recent approval of Resolution No. 19/2025 by Brazil’s National REDD+ Commission (CONAREDD+) represents a significant step toward correcting this imbalance. The Resolution sets clear requirements for jurisdictional programs and private carbon projects in public and collective lands. It mandates alignment with territorial management plans, prohibits restrictions on traditional land use, requires free, prior, and informed consultation, guarantees independent technical and legal support for communities, and establishes protections for human rights defenders along with community-led grievance mechanisms.²
This is more than a regulatory reform: it is a recognition that development and climate action must proceed on the firm foundation of rights, equity, and justice. Without these safeguards, markets risk perpetuating the very inequalities they claim to solve.
At Forest Trends’ Communities and Territorial Governance Initiative (CTGI), we have long upheld the principle that Indigenous and traditional peoples must be at the center of any climate solution. Our new partnership with Brazil’s Ministry of Indigenous Peoples embodies this vision: ensuring that Indigenous leadership shapes both jurisdictional frameworks and voluntary projects. The emphasis must remain clear—Indigenous Peoples are not stakeholders to be consulted after decisions are made. They are rights-holders and leaders, whose governance systems provide resilience and integrity.
Experience shows why this matters. At COP26, international donors pledged US $1.7 billion to support IPLC tenure, but by COP27 only US $321 million had been disbursed.³ Promises alone are not enough. Binding mechanisms, such as those now embedded in Brazil’s Resolution, are essential to ensure that resources truly reach the communities who need them.
Science also affirms this truth: in the Amazon, Indigenous territories function as net carbon sinks, absorbing more than they emit, while many other areas have already become net sources.⁴ Strengthening Indigenous governance is not only just—it is also the most effective way to protect forests and stabilize the climate.
Forest Trends has also helped pioneer the Equitable Earth standard, designed with and for Indigenous and local communities, to channel finance transparently, with scientific rigor and governance led from the ground up.⁵ Initiatives like this, combined with Brazil’s new safeguards, show that progress is possible when we prioritize equity and rights above short-term gains.
This is not the end of the road—it is the beginning of a new standard for accountability. Brazil’s leadership offers hope, but also sets a responsibility: to prove that it is possible to reconcile policy, finance, and rights in a way that uplifts communities rather than marginalizes them.
The future of climate action will only be credible if it is community-driven and rights-based. Indigenous Peoples and traditional communities have always been the guardians of forests. With clear rules, innovative standards, and recognition of their leadership, they can now help define a more just and sustainable path forward.
Beto Borges is a Brazilian conservationist and Director of the Communities and Territorial Governance Initiative at Forest Trends.
- Nature4Climate (2022); Ford Foundation (2021): Data on land managed by IPLC and share of direct climate finance.
- Brito, C. & Santilli, M. (2025). “Novas regras apertam o cerco a projetos de carbono em terras públicas e coletivas.” Valor Econômico.
- Nature4Climate (2022): Tracking pledges and disbursements for Indigenous and community forest tenure (COP26–27).
- RAISG & World Resources Institute (2021): Evidence on Indigenous territories as net carbon sinks in the Amazon.
- Equitable Earth Coalition (2023): Standard for community-centered forest conservation and carbon finance.
Viewpoints showcases expert analysis and commentary from the Forest Trends team.
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