Forests are more than stretches of trees for the Indigenous peoples and local communities who have lived among them for generations.
asserted
who → live → generations
They provide food, shelter and livelihoods, while also carrying cultural traditions and ancestral ties to the land.
asserted
They → provide → land
Yet securing legal rights to these territories remains a challenge in many parts of the world, even as forests play a recognised role in addressing climate change and protecting biodiversity.
asserted
forests → secure → biodiversity
The Ford Foundation has directed $158.5 million towards organisations working on these issues over five years, surpassing an original $100 million commitment.
asserted
Foundation → direct → commitment
Its funding has supported hundreds of organisations, including groups seeking greater control over their traditional territories and more direct access to climate-related funding.
asserted
funding → support → funding
Ford Foundation exceeds its original $100 million pledge
asserted
Foundation → exceed → pledge
The funding forms part of an international effort launched at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in 2021.
asserted
funding → form → 2021
Governments and philanthropic organisations came together with a collective pledge of $1.7 billion to support the land rights and forest stewardship of Indigenous peoples, local communities and Afro-descendant peoples.
asserted
Governments → come → peoples
The Ford Foundation was among the signatories, committing $100 million over five years.
asserted
Foundation → commit → years
Its final update, published on May 13, 2026, put its total pledge-aligned funding at $158.5 million, covering support approved across the five-year period and reaching 324 organisations.
uncertain
update → publish → organisations
The foundation said it had approved a further $41.5 million between August 2024 and December 2025, taking its contribution well beyond the original target.
asserted
it → say → target
The additional funding was made possible in part through the foundation's Building Institutions and Networks (BUILD) initiative and its social bond, which was issued in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
asserted
which → make → crisis
The foundation's final report also noted that the wider Forest Tenure Funder’s Group had exceeded its collective financial commitment during the first four years of the pledge.
asserted
Group → note → pledge
How Ford Foundation funding reaches Indigenous and local communities
How funding reaches local organisations has been an important part of the initiative.
asserted
reaches → reach → initiative
Money intended to protect forests does not always pass directly to the people who live in and manage them.
asserted
who → intend → them
Grants can move through intermediary organisations, each with its own administrative requirements, before reaching community-led projects.
asserted
Grants → move → projects
During the five-year pledge, the Ford Foundation provided $43.2 million in direct funding to Indigenous, local community and Afro-descendant organisations and their territorial funds.
asserted
Foundation → provide → organisations
This represented about 27% of its total pledge-aligned grants.
asserted
This → represent → grants
Nearly $6 million went to Indigenous and territorial funds, including Indonesia's Nusantara Fund and other funding mechanisms operating in Africa and Latin America.
asserted
million → go → Africa
These funds can help communities navigate the financial and reporting requirements attached to philanthropic support.
asserted
communities → help → support
They also offer a way for locally led organisations to decide how resources should be used, rather than relying entirely on outside institutions to set priorities.
asserted
resources → offer → priorities
The foundation reported that direct funding accounted for 28% of its aligned grants during the final reporting period.
asserted
funding → report → period
It also channeled more than $7 million directly to at least 16 Afro-descendant and Quilombola organisations.
asserted
It → channel → organisations
Quilombola communities in Brazil are descended largely from people who escaped slavery and established settlements, many of which continue to defend their territorial rights.
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many → descend → rights
Ford Foundation supports Indigenous communities beyond direct grant funding
The Ford Foundation therefore also supported programmes intended to strengthen the organisations receiving its funding.
asserted
Foundation → support → funding
Its work with Spring Strategies included an accompaniment programme offering group learning sessions, individual technical assistance and opportunities for participating organisations to meet and exchange experience.
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organisations → include → experience
The aim was to help these groups develop their own institutional capacity and manage funding on terms suited to their circumstances.
asserted
groups → help → circumstances
The foundation also continued working with fiscal sponsors and technical advisers chosen by its grantees, recognising that intermediaries can provide useful support even when funding is intended to reach communities directly.
asserted
funding → continue → communities
This aspect of the pledge addressed a practical problem in grant-making.
asserted
aspect → address → making
Long-term community work often depends on more than the initial amount awarded.
asserted
work → depend → amount
Organisations also need the capacity to plan, report on spending, maintain operations and continue their work after a particular funding period ends.
asserted
period → need → work
Why direct funding for Indigenous land rights remains limited
asserted
funding → remain → rights
Despite the size of the five-year commitment, the foundation's report points to a continuing imbalance in international climate finance.
asserted
report → point → finance
Citing global funding figures, it said less than 1% of climate aid supports the tenure rights of Indigenous peoples, local communities and Afro-descendant peoples.
asserted
% → cite → peoples
The report also highlighted figures from the Forest Tenure Funders Group, which showed that only 7.6% of its funding went directly to organisations representing these communities in 2024.
asserted
% → highlight → 2024
That distinction matters because money allocated to a broad conservation or climate programme does not necessarily give the people living in the affected territories direct control over the resources.
asserted
money → matter → resources
The foundation's account of the pledge therefore included both the amount it had provided and the limits of the wider funding system.
asserted
it → include → system
Direct grants formed a significant part of its own work, but they remained a relatively small share of the collective funding landscape described in the report.
asserted
they → form → report
Land rights are closely linked to the ability of communities to manage forests and other ecosystems over time.
asserted
rights → link → time
Without secure rights or a meaningful role in decisions about their territories, communities can struggle to protect the places on which their livelihoods and traditions depend.
asserted
livelihoods → struggle → which
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia
