Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Fund for Climate Justice
According to evidence, fighting climate change involves listening to and directly supporting the people and communities that have always inhabited and managed territories with respect for the environment and people’s well-being. Based on this, in November 2023 the Brazil Fund launched Raízes—Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Fund for Climate Justice.
This fund provides grants to strengthen the self-organization of Indigenous peoples and traditional communities, promoting their leadership in public discussions on this topic.
Raízes represents a focused effort to raise funds and provide ongoing support to these peoples and communities.
According to a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), more than 40 percent of the world’s population are already highly vulnerable to climate change. In the Global South, this vulnerability is even deeper, aggravated by intrinsically related historical factors, such as social inequality, land injustice, and environmental racism, among others.
According to the IPCC report, the successful protection of forests and other ecosystems relies on cooperation and inclusive decision-making with local communities and Indigenous peoples, as well as the recognition of the inherent rights of these peoples.
In this context, Raízes—Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Fund for Climate Justice proposes to build and improve our support by continuous listening to and engaging with these peoples and communities. It also proposes to conduct this work from a systemic and intersectional perspective, strengthening the idea that protecting territorial rights is part of the solution to the climate crisis we are facing.
The definition of traditional communities in Brazil encompasses dozens of culturally differentiated groups, which are characterized by their own forms of social organization and which maintain a deep and respectful relationship with their territories and natural resources.
These groups include andirobeiras, sempre-viva collectors, caatingueiros, mangaba collectors, quilombolas, extractive workers, riverine groups, caiçaras, gypsies, terreiro communities, cipozeiros, Brazil nut producers, faxinalenses, fundo e fecho de pasto, geraizeiros, islanders , isqueiros, morroquianos, pantaneiros, small-scale fishers, piassabeiros, pomeranos, babassu coconut breakers, retireiros, rubber tappers, vazanteiros, and veredeiros.
