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This briefing, produced by the International Indigenous Peoples’ Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC) and the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), compiles the decisions and conclusions of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that reference Indigenous Peoples and traditional knowledge. It serves as a reference tool to remind State Parties of their commitments to respect Indigenous rights and integrate traditional knowledge into climate mitigation and adaptation policies.

This advocacy briefing outlines a 'participation blueprint' for the Board of the Loss and Damage Fund (LDF), arguing that meaningful participation by rightsholders and vulnerable communities is essential for the Fund's legitimacy and effectiveness. The document provides detailed recommendations for governance, operational modalities, and capacity-building to ensure the LDF adheres to human rights obligations and climate justice principles.

This guide by the Center for International Environmental Law provides a framework of guiding questions for organizers of international meetings to ensure that the shift toward virtual formats during the COVID-19 pandemic does not undermine the meaningful participation of civil society, Indigenous Peoples, and local communities.

This evaluation report by the Office of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) examines a complaint regarding the Pangue hydroelectric project in Chile. The report analyzes the International Finance Corporation's (IFC) role as a minority shareholder and lender, focusing on social mitigation failures, lack of transparency, and the cumulative environmental impacts of the Pangue and Ralco dams.

This report examines the evolving role of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) in addressing the intersection of climate change and states' obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). It details the Committee's initial steps toward integrating climate-related concerns into its state reporting procedures and recommendations, particularly regarding Indigenous Peoples and people of African descent.

A guide by Friends of the Earth International designed to help indigenous peoples and local communities understand and resist carbon markets, which the organization characterizes as a false climate solution that threatens land rights and ecosystems.

This policy brief by Friends of the Earth International argues that forests managed by Indigenous Peoples and local communities (PICL) are essential for biodiversity conservation and climate justice, but are threatened by extractive industries and exclusionary conservation models due to a lack of supportive public policies.

This policy brief from Friends of the Earth International argues that forests managed by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC) are essential for biodiversity conservation and climate justice, but are threatened by extractive industries and certain conservation programs due to a lack of public policies recognizing their collective rights.

This briefing presents a proposal by the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) to implement Decision XXXI/16 from the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP-31). The proposal suggests creating two separate advisory committees for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities to ensure their distinct knowledge systems and rights are respected, rather than grouping them as a single unit.

This guide provides a framework for communities to implement a Biocultural Community Protocol (BCP) to engage with external actors, raise awareness, participate in decision-making, and resolve conflicts regarding their territories and resources.

This guide provides a framework for Indigenous peoples and local communities to use biocultural community protocols as tools for engaging with external actors, participating in decision-making, and resolving conflicts. It details strategies for proactive communication, raising awareness through participatory media, and navigating national and international legal processes to protect customary rights and territories.

Natural Justice, a pan-African organization, submitted comments and recommendations on the Draft Climate Change (Carbon Registry) Regulations, 2025. The submission advocates for a more transparent, inclusive, and publicly accessible carbon registry system in Kenya that safeguards the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

This briefing, compiled by the Human Rights in Biodiversity working group, provides guidance on integrating a human rights-based approach (HRBA) into the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). It argues that an HRBA is a necessary condition for equitable and sustained biodiversity conservation and offers specific recommendations to strengthen the GBF's draft text, including explicit references to international human rights law, the protection of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs), and the empowerment of women and youth.

This report by Natural Justice and Kalpavriksh analyzes the legal and institutional frameworks affecting Indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ conserved territories and areas (ICCAs). It identifies systemic threats to these areas, including a lack of legal recognition for customary land rights and the imposition of exclusionary conservation models. While noting positive developments in international law and specific national initiatives, the report argues that state institutions often continue to undermine ICCAs through discriminatory legislation and inaccessible judicial systems. It provides comprehensive recommendations for governments and international bodies to recognize the self-determination of Indigenous peoples and support the integrity of ICCAs through both legal reform and non-legal support mechanisms.

A joint statement submitted to the seventeenth Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues by Natural Justice, Forest Peoples Programme, SwedBio, and the Sengwer Indigenous Peoples Programme, calling for strengthened accountability and redress mechanisms for indigenous peoples facing injustices in the name of conservation.

This report documents a thematic workshop held in February 2020 in Chiang Mai, Thailand, focused on integrating a human rights-based approach into the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. Co-convened by several organizations including Natural Justice and UN Environment, the workshop aimed to provide text proposals and strategic options to ensure that biodiversity conservation, sustainable use, and benefit-sharing are aligned with international human rights standards.

This briefing by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) examines the role of women environmental defenders in advancing transformative disaster risk reduction (DRR) in Nepal. It argues that while marginalized groups—including women, Indigenous peoples, and Dalits—are disproportionately vulnerable to disasters due to structural inequalities, they also possess critical traditional knowledge and strategies to mitigate risks. The document highlights how these defenders move beyond traditional DRR to address the root causes of vulnerability through legal action, capacity building, and multi-stakeholder collaboration, and provides recommendations for decision-makers to better support these efforts.

This executive summary from the World Resources Institute argues that securing and protecting the legal forest rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities is a critical but undervalued tool for reducing carbon dioxide emissions and mitigating climate change.

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.

This research paper examines how global climate actions may undermine women's land tenure security in three Indigenous matrilineal communities in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama. It highlights that failing to account for gender dynamics and traditional tenure systems during the implementation of climate initiatives can lead to the loss of land entitlements and the erosion of matrilineal culture.