Providing support for communities to secure rights to unlock the potential for a more just and better future.

Globally, Indigenous Peoples and local communities have long been custodians of biodiversity. Their customary territories are estimated to contain 36% of the world’s remaining intact forest landscapes and 80% of the world’s biodiversity. Global data demonstrates that Indigenous and community rightsholders’ lands have lower rates of deforestation, store more carbon, and hold more biodiversity than lands managed by either government or private entities. When rights are protected, people, forests and wildlife can thrive.

The lack of legal recognition of Indigenous customary institutions and self-governance systems is underpinned by insecure tenure rights over ancestral customary territories. According to researchers, only 8.7% of the region’s territories held by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities are legally recognized.

We support Indigenous People and Local Communities across land and sea to secure rights over biodiverse and at-risk ecosystems. Our team partners with these communities and helps them navigate the tricky and often corrupt legal process to support customary rights through community forests, social forestry, locally managed marine areas, and agrarian reform. We encourage regulations that recognize community rights to natural resources in terrestrial and marine ecosystems.