Less than 1% of international climate aid reaches Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, despite their deep connection to forests and essential role in sustaining biodiversity and climate stability. This session explores what it takes to shift that reality through direct-access funding mechanisms and community-based and Indigenous-led governance initiatives.

Drawing on experiences from Peru, Brazil, Colombia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the session will highlight how Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities are designing and testing funding models that reflect local priorities, strengthen territorial governance and deliver tangible outcomes. Speakers will share what is working, what remains challenging, and what lessons have emerged along the way.

The discussion will also include recent developments in national policy and practice, from new legislation in Peru and Brazil, to policy shifts in Colombia and local initiatives in the DRC, and examine the role of data in forest monitoring and territorial protection. How can data help identify threats, inform advocacy, guide investments and respond to deforestation before it escalates?

The session will also consider what these efforts mean for the global forest and climate agenda. As the world moves toward key discussions at COP30, it will explore how initiatives such as the Tropical Forests Forever Facility, the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership’s tenure commitment, and the donor pledge on Indigenous tenure and guardianship can align with and help scale what is already being led by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities.

With shrinking civic space and increasing risks on the ground, the case for direct, long-term and flexible funding has never been stronger.