Side Event/Panel Discussion
November 12, 2025 | 11:30 AM-1:00 PM (GMT-3) | CARICOM Pavilion, Belém, Brazil
Moderator: Karena Mahung
Panel Discussions: Expert panel featuring representatives from:
- Julian Cho Society/Toledo Alcaldes Association – Pablo Mis, Executive Director
- Climate Finance Unit (Government of Belize)- Leroy Martinez, Acting Director
- Caribbean Community Change Centre- Colin Young PhD, Executive Director
- Green Climate Fund- Kristin Lang, Director, Department of Latin America and Caribbean Region
- Tenure Facility- Nonette Royo, Executive Director
This side event will explore how Indigenous Peoples, governments, donors, and accredited entities can jointly operationalize Indigenous-led access to climate finance, moving from pilot projects to systemic models of partnership and accountability. From convening actors across the full chain of climate finance, from communities to the Fund, the session will move the discussion from advocacy to implementation, demonstrating what shared governance and partnership look like in practice.
Contact Information: For more information, please contact Irene Cruz at icruz@caribbeanclimate.org.
Background:
Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPs and LCs) manage at least one-third of the world’s lands and safeguard an estimated 80% of remaining biodiversity, despite representing less than 6% of the global population. Their territories store approximately 20–25% of global forest carbon, acting as a vital buffer against climate change. Recent analysis shows that deforestation rates are significantly lower in lands legally recognized as under Indigenous or community control, confirming that tenure security and traditional stewardship are among the most effective and cost-efficient climate solutions available today.
However, the potential of IPs and LCs to contribute to climate mitigation and adaptation remains under-realized. While Indigenous Peoples and local communities play an outsized role in maintaining global ecological stability, they continue to face systemic exclusion from climate finance. Rigid fiduciary and safeguard systems, and underinvestment in institutional readiness, all constrain the ability of Indigenous organizations to access and manage funds directly. Less than 1% of climate finance reaches IPs and LCs directly, creating an implementation gap between global ambition and local reality.
A powerful example comes from southern Belize, where the Q’eqchi’ and Mopan Maya Peoples of Toledo are confronting escalating climate threats from prolonged droughts, erratic rainfall, rising temperatures, and intensifying wildfire risks. Guided by the Julian Cho Society (JCS) and the Toledo Alcaldes Association, they have embarked on a journey to realize their collective vision articulated in “The Future We Dream”. That vision is rooted in ancestral knowledge, community decision-making, and environmental stewardship, and is grounded in climate resilience, cultural renewal, and territorial governance. The Belize Maya experience demonstrates how Indigenous Peoples can move from vision to implementation by co-designing climate projects that align with national systems and global standards while maintaining cultural integrity and local leadership.
