Problem

Around half of the world’s land is governed by indigenous peoples, which is estimated to support the protection of around 80% of global biodiversity while providing other ecosystem services. Across the Amazon, indigenous people protect 200 million hectares of forest, supporting the storing and sequestering of carbon dioxide. Yet national laws globally recognise only 10% of land as belonging to these communities, with a mere 8% designated for their use. 

In Peru, which has the second-biggest share of the Amazon Rainforest after Brazil, deforestation is happening continually, losing an average of more than 132,000 ha (326,000 acres) of forest area per year since 2001. Despite the scientific proof that Indigenous practices are compatible with the effective conservation of nature, the traditional knowledge owned by Peruvian Indigenous communities has not been taken into account in forest conservation efforts as it should have. In 2017, the Peruvian Amazon lost 150,000 ha (370.000 acres) of forest in one year.

By failing to utilise indigenous knowledge to protect the forest and their ancestral land rights, governments are missing out on a low-cost, high-reward public policy investment.

Responses
In 2014, the first Indigenous strategy to combat climate change, "Amazon Indigenous REDD+ (RIA)," was launched in the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve in Peru’s Manu province, in Madre de Dios, Peru. This reserve is co-managed by ten Harakbut, Yine, and Machiguenga communities alongside the Peruvian State. As a pilot area selected by Indigenous organisations from Peru and the Amazon basin, the reserve seeks to exemplify the integration of Indigenous voices into conservation efforts in a region renowned for its biodiversity and ancient cultural heritage.

In Peru, Indigenous communities reportedly manage over 30% of the Amazon, and the RIA initiative aims to integrate 2.2 million hectares of Indigenous lands into its framework. After years of advocacy, these communities secured a Government commitment to conserve 54 million hectares of forest as part of the REDD+ program, though its impact on Indigenous peoples has reportedly been mixed.

The RIA project seeks to demonstrate the potential for collaboration between public institutions and Indigenous groups. Supported by Germany’s BMU IKI fund and WWF, it combines carbon financing with traditional agroforestry practices and collective land rights to ensure sustainable forest management. The preservation of the Amarakeri Communal Reserve, which covers a territory of 402,335.96 hectares, showcases how Indigenous-led initiatives can effectively protect critical ecosystems while amplifying the voices of Amazonian communities.

Find out more: World Resources Institute