Climate finance isn't working for Indigenous Peoples. This must change

As my father and I watched the flames consume our local forest, we were overtaken by a sense of helplessness. “I hope the fire does not reach the houses,” I remember him murmuring.

April 2024 was the hottest month on record in the Philippines, with climate change amplifying the effects of El Niño. My village in Paracelis, Mountain Province, is just one of many that suffered forest fires, with thousands of trees burning down and local water springs running dry.

On this occasion, we were lucky. But Indigenous communities such as ours – whose livelihoods often depend on our natural environment – will continue to bear some of the toughest consequences of climate change. It's high time the global community stepped up to support us.

As a member of the Kadaclan community, I have seen the impact of climate change on Indigenous Peoples firsthand.

After April's fires dried up the local spring, my family lined up to fetch water at a trickling spring a kilometre away. They barely gathered enough for a day's drinking needs.

For the first time ever, after generations of living in balance with our natural resources, my community had no choice but to pay for water to be delivered. “People are buying water for as much as US$ 2 per drum,” my mother told me.

The fires came during an already long and damaging drought. During the summer, Kadaclan farmers usually plant upland rice, corn and other vegetables, but this year many have been forced to abandon fields in the face of scant rainfall.

Even edible weeds such as parya (wild bitter gourd), sapsappon (redflower ragleaf) and amti (black nightshade) are nowhere to be found. My community should already be tilling paddy fields for the upcoming rice planting season, but they are not yet wet enough.

The worst may be over now that El Niño has passed, but it's clear the full knock-on effects of the fires and the drought are still to come.

As our forests burned, world leaders more than 10,000 km away in Germany were discussing our collective future. Yet the Bonn Climate Change Conference concluded with disturbing news: there is still no clear path forward to meeting present climate finance goals.

It is clear to everyone that financial resources are essential to achieving both climate adaptation and mitigation. The problem is that the global community cannot agree on the target amount needed by developing countries, nor who should pay what.

Meanwhile, the needs continue to climb. The UNFCCC estimates that developing countries will require around USD 5.9 trillion until 2030 to implement the Paris Agreement. While last year's COP28 reported an increase in global financial flows to developing countries, they still fall far short.

And the little climate finance that does exist hasn't been going where it needs to go. Less than one percent of international climate aid went towards Indigenous Peoples’ land tenure and forest management between 2011-2020.

Too often, we are left out of the conversation altogether. Last year's COP28 included no data at all about Indigenous Peoples’ access to climate finance.

These facts are especially alarming considering Indigenous Peoples’ critical role in the fight against climate change.

Our close relationship to nature and to our land has enabled us to be effective guardians of the Earth for generations. As stewards to more than 25 per cent of the Earth’s surface, deforestation on Indigenous lands is often lower even than in national parks.

Small-scale farmers in Indigenous communities have been practicing sustainable farming for centuries. This makes their traditional knowledge invaluable to climate mitigation and adaptation, particularly in agriculture.

Increased, targeted climate finance is essential for Indigenous Peoples to continue playing these crucial roles. It can strengthen our ability to determine and implement climate priorities, to the whole world's benefit.

Global leaders must understand that it is not just Indigenous livelihoods that stand to improve. If strengthened, our communities and territories can continue serving as bases of global climate resilience, while contributing to transforming entire food systems for the better.

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It's time to make climate finance work for Indigenous Peoples. It is not enough to simply increase the available funds for climate finance – the global community must make the necessary choices to ensure that investments reach them.

Supporting the climate priorities of Indigenous communities is not just a moral imperative. It is essential to promoting sustainable development, social justice and inclusive growth for all.

Helen Biangalen-Magata is an Indigenous climate activist based in the Philippines. She currently works as a Communications Officer at Tebtebba, an NGO working for the protection and promotion of Indigenous rights.