Globally, less than 1 percent of foreign aid to address climate change goes directly to Indigenous peoples and local communities, or projects to support their land tenure and forest management. This is despite studies regularly showing the important role they can play in driving effective and equitable conservation and environmental protection.

In Indonesia, home to as many as 70 million Indigenous people and over 1,300 different ethnic groups, a new initiative is aiming to bridge this gap. Launched in May, the Nusantara Fund will channel climate funding directly to Indigenous peoples and local communities based on their needs and wishes.

The fund has been created by Indonesia’s three largest Indigenous and civil society organisations: the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN), which represents 20 million people in 2,422 communities; the Consortium for Agrarian Reform (KPA), which brings together 143 agrarian organisations; and the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (WALHI), the country’s largest environmental group, comprising 487 NGOs.

Rukka Sombolinggi, secretary general of AMAN, said the funding will be used based on priorities set by the communities, not supporting organisations. “This is not just because we have the money and they will do the work, but is depending on their priorities,” she said.

The Nusantara Fund has so far attracted US$3 million in commitments from various international donors, including the Ford and Packard foundations. It aims to eventually attract US$20 million.

“We hear about pledges of one billion dollars for this, or governments putting hundreds of millions of dollars into that, but what’s news in this case is that with a very small amount of money, you can make a huge difference,” said David Kaimowitz, chief program officer with the International Land and Forest Tenure Facility, which focuses on securing rights for Indigenous peoples and local communities. “In many ways, you can be more effective with three million dollars in the hands of a community than 200 million dollars in the hands of a World Bank project. That’s the news here.”

Read the full article about climate fund for Indigenous communities by Fidelis Satriastanti at Eco-Business.