Aug 09, 2022
“The world is in great need of nature-based solutions that place Indigenous peoples and local communities at their center, a strategy I have been pursuing since the 1980s.”
So said the globally famous primatologist, conservationist, and UN Messenger of Peace Dr Jane Goodall, before going on to acknowledge the Climate Investment Funds, who she said, “recognizes the interdependency between land use, climate change, and people, and are championing this cause using their proven model through a new investment program, Nature, People and Climate, which has my support."
CIF’s recently launched Nature, People and Climate (NPC) program is a timely intervention into the world of international climate finance, as are Goodall’s comments - Tuesday August 9th marks the UN International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples – an event originally launched in 1994 to raise awareness and protect the rights of indigenous populations, while celebrating their achievements in improving global issues such as environmental protection. Their abilities in this area were proven this year when it was shown that lands managed by indigenous groups sequester over twice the amount of carbon than lands that aren’t managed by them. In Brazil, Columbia, Mexico, and Peru, which account for just 5.1% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions, lands managed by Indigenous groups in all four countries store a massive 28% of global carbon.
Clearly, effective ancient wisdom is at play, and it’s the significance of indigenous peoples’ traditional knowledge, particularly women, that is being recognized on International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2022, as it is within the design of the NPC…
Nature, People and Climate and Indigenous Peoples
NPC promotes the participation of indigenous peoples through a unique feature – the Dedicated Grant Mechanism (successfully piloted within CIF’s Forest Investment Program) aims to directly finance indigenous peoples to lead in driving nature based solutions, while harnessing their ancient knowledge, their experience, and capacities into climate action. These communities are critical to the success of nature climate solutions change, but their important role is often undervalued. The program aims to reverse that perception and is crucial to giving a much-needed voice to those who stand to shoulder the biggest climate change losses. Women are intrinsic to the success of this goal...
The theme for this year’s celebration of indigenous people is the role of women in the preservation and transmission of traditional knowledge. They’re the backbone of indigenous communities and play a crucial role in the preservation and transmission of ancestral knowledge. They have an integral role as carers of natural resources. Many are taking the lead in the defence of their territories and advocating for indigenous peoples’ rights worldwide.
Despite this critical role as caretakers, knowledge keepers, leaders, and human rights defenders, they suffer discrimination on the basis of gender, class, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Women also suffer more from climate change impacts than men –which Dr Jane Goodall acknowledged in her speech on International Women’s Day in March.
How CIF is helping equality in climate finance
Like all CIF programs, NPC which is currently undergoing its initial country selection process, is built on the philosophy of a just transition – which demands that the benefits of the transition to a cleaner, greener world are shared equally. By working collaboratively with key regional and local actors across a diversity of land uses, the NPC aims to deliver multiple benefits, which not only includes biodiversity conservation, GHG emissions mitigation, climate resilience strengthening, and poverty reduction, but also to empower women as agents of change in climate action. A factor which may have further inspired Dr Jane Goodall’s support of the NPC program.
