Enhancing Climate Finance Access for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities: Insights From Payments for Ecosystem Services

This report by the World Resources Institute analyzes the access of Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPs and LCs) to payments for ecosystem services (PES) based on a review of 129 programs across 36 countries and a case study in Guatemala. It identifies systemic barriers to equitable participation and provides a multi-tiered framework of recommendations to improve rights recognition, representation, and financial benefits for these communities.

• Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPs and LCs) provide significant ecosystem service value, estimated at US$1.16 trillion annually from their lands, yet they receive minimal development assistance. Between 2011-2020, less than 1% of development assistance for forests, biodiversity, and climate was allocated to securing their land tenure and role in forest management.
• While PES programs offer opportunities to strengthen land rights, improve governance, and enhance livelihood resilience, the direct payments often fail to provide fair compensation. Some payments are as low as US$0.33 per household per year, and others cover less than 25% of opportunity costs.
• IPs and LCs encounter structural, institutional, and programmatic barriers to PES access. Structural issues include a lack of formal land rights and inadequate regulatory frameworks, while community-level challenges include weak governance and lack of upfront investment resources. Programmatic barriers include exclusionary enrollment requirements, such as minimum land size, top-down governance, and a design bias toward near-term success.
• Improving equitable outcomes requires a tiered approach across rights recognition, participation, and financing. Short-term priorities include recognizing customary land tenure and co-creating program designs. Medium-term actions focus on empowering local institutions and aligning PES benefits with local needs. Long-term systemic goals include legal reforms for land rights, increasing IP and LC leadership in high-level agenda setting, and improving ecosystem market stability.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Enhancing Climate Finance Access for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities: Insights From Payments for Ecosystem Services. https://www.wri.org/research/climate-finance-access-indigenous-peoples-local-communities-payments-ecosystem-services

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Enhancing Climate Finance Access for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities: Insights From Payments for Ecosystem Services. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/climate-finance-access-indigenous-peoples-local-communities-payments-ecosystem-services.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Enhancing Climate Finance Access for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities: Insights From Payments for Ecosystem Services |url=https://www.wri.org/research/climate-finance-access-indigenous-peoples-local-communities-payments-ecosystem-services |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendenhancing, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Enhancing Climate Finance Access for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities: Insights From Payments for Ecosystem Services}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/climate-finance-access-indigenous-peoples-local-communities-payments-ecosystem-services}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }