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Investing in Land Rights and Climate Equity: Strategies for Corporate Sustainability in a Changing World - Thought Leadership by #SustXGlobal50 Awardee Amy Coughenour Betancourt, United States
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Summary
In this thought leadership article, "Land Rights and Equitable Climate Finance: Missing Strategies in Corporate Sustainability" by Amy Coughenour Betancourt, President & CEO, Cadasta Foundation, United States, and a recipient of The SustainabilityX® Magazine Global 50 Women In Sustainability Awards™ 2024 delves into land rights and equitable climate finance, which are vital yet often overlooked pillars of corporate sustainability. Despite the urgent need for climate action, insecure land tenure and limited access to funds hinder the ability of Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant communities, and local populations to mitigate and adapt to climate change. This article explores the connection between land rights, climate resilience, and equitable finance, highlighting the need for businesses to embrace global conventions, implement proactive policies, and champion direct funding to frontline communities for a sustainable future.
“Science has confirmed what Indigenous Peoples have been saying for years–we are already at 1.5 degrees and things are going in a bad direction. I believe in the capacities of Indigenous communities and organizations. All we need is to get access to climate finance as partners.” - Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Chair of UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Climate Week 2024
Sustainability is no longer just a buzzword—it’s at the heart of conversations in boardrooms, global institutions, and within civil society. Nowhere was this more evident than at 2024's Climate Week NYC in September, the world’s largest annual climate event held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. The global gathering aims to accelerate climate finance and action, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and help communities adapt to the impacts of climate change.
Despite the urgency and importance of these discussions, two critical strategies are often overlooked by companies and investors: investing in secure land rights and ensuring frontline communities have fair access to climate finance.
Why do land rights matter for climate action? An important study by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change highlights the connection: “insecure land tenure affects the ability of people, communities, and organizations to make changes to land that can advance climate adaptation and mitigation” (IPCC 2019) (1). When people have land tenure security, they can break the cycles of poverty, enhance their food security, boost agricultural productivity, and more effectively combat climate change.
In many developing economies, insecure land rights persist due to weak political will, flawed legal frameworks, inadequate enforcement, historical discrimination, and widespread corruption. These challenges are compounded by limited capacity within communities and governments, as well as insufficient resources for legal recognition and climate actions—leaving frontline communities vulnerable to displacement and exploitation.
Tenure insecurity isn’t just a personal or community issue; it’s a barrier to achieving broader development and climate goals. According to Prindex, a survey of tenure security in over 130 countries, over 1.1 billion people worldwide live with the fear of eviction or loss of land.
This reflects the fear of continual threats to property rights and to territorial rights of Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, and local communities (2). According to the United Nations, Indigenous Peoples customarily claim and manage more than 50 percent of the world’s land, yet legally own only 10 percent of it (3).
Land Rights and Climate Finance
Land rights are a cornerstone of sustainability, shaping how communities interact with their environment and each other. For Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, and local communities, strong tenure rights enhance community land governance, allowing local voices—especially those of women and marginalized groups—to shape land use according to their values and traditional ecological practices. Investment in land rights boosts climate resilience, enabling vulnerable communities to plan and adapt better to environmental changes while relying on natural resources for their livelihoods.
However, despite the well-researched links between tenure rights and improved climate outcomes, little of the hundreds of billions of dollars being invested in climate finance each year has directly reached communities. Pioneering steps were taken by a group of donors to address this at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in 2022. The $1.7 billion Pledge for Tenure Rights and Forest Guardianship of Indigenous Peoples set a precedent acknowledging the role that Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, and other local communities play in the stewardship of critical biodiversity and climate hotspots.
However, since its inception, the $1.7 billion Pledge has faced challenges in delivering direct funding to the intended rights-holder organizations and communities. A 2023 report by Indufor for the Forest Tenure Funders Group revealed that only 2% of these funds have directly reached the communities (4). Although some funding reaches communities through trusted allies and intermediaries, it is still not enough.
Looking ahead to the UN Conference on Climate Change, COP30 in Brazil in 2025, Indigenous Peoples’ and local community organizations are calling for a new tenure pledge to increase direct funding and for more meaningful participation in decision-making and resource management. Strengthened accountability mechanisms are essential to ensure that climate finance reaches these critical stewards of biodiversity and climate resilience.
One opportunity is the emergence of Indigenous and Local Community-led funds. The Shandia Platform, an initiative of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities, has taken centre stage as a global mechanism to support regional funds in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The funds are formed and led by communities through representative structures and professional staff to channel resources to priority issues for community land use, protection, and management.
Concerns Around Land Rights and Corporate Engagement
The corporate sector is increasingly seeking strategies to step up its role in combating climate change by committing to sustainable practices and net-zero emissions. Companies are adopting renewable energy sources, enhancing energy efficiency in operations, and investing in carbon offset programs. However, persistent concerns remain around respecting international laws and principles that protect land and resource rights, especially those of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
Companies in industries like mining, energy, timber, and agribusiness frequently face criticism for violating rights and failing to adhere to the principle of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), which safeguards Indigenous and local communities’ rights. There are myriad cases that have caused displacement, environmental damage, and human rights abuses. Ensuring FPIC compliance is essential for protecting land rights and preventing harmful practices that affect communities and ecosystems. Yet, many projects still proceed without the necessary consent, undermining these protections and resulting in devastating harm and environmental degradation.
Take the example of the government of Suriname–dubbed the world’s most forested country–that illegally granted 447,000 hectares of forest to logging and mining concessions on the ancestral land of the Saamaka people, a traditional Afrodescendant tribe of over 30,000 people. This violation of FPIC was especially egregious given a landmark ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in 2007 in favour of the Saamaka people, who filed a case against the state for issuing concessions without their consent (5).
As sustainability becomes a growing imperative, many companies have made investments in voluntary carbon offsets central to their net-zero emissions strategies. However, these initiatives too frequently fail to adequately consider or respect the land rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities and are often viewed as a driving factor in government evictions of Indigenous communities off their ancestral lands. A striking example is the Ogiek in the Maasai Mau Forest in Kenya, where the government forcibly evicted over 700 families, despite a 2017 African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights ruling recognizing their land (6). This case highlights the tension between global environmental aspirations and the need to respect and safeguard the land rights of Indigenous communities, who have been stewards of these resources for generations.
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Call to Action to Support Land Rights and Equitable Finance
Companies must proactively invest in actionable solutions to respect the land rights of communities throughout their supply chains, operations, and investments. Here are some practical steps:
Ensure Adherence to Global Conventions and Guidelines
A body of international declarations and conventions, such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), among others, addresses the protection of human rights and territorial rights of Indigenous Peoples. This includes respecting the rule of law and upholding the rights of Indigenous Peoples to their land, territories, and resources. As a body, these instruments protect self-determination; gender equality, including land and property rights for women; adequate food, housing, water, and sanitation; and the human rights of land defenders. The Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries, and Forests (VGGT) promote equitable, transparent, and sustainable governance of land, fisheries, and forests, emphasizing the protection of legitimate tenure rights, especially for vulnerable groups.
Understand and Create Proactive Policies Around Land and Community Rights
The first step is to identify where and how a company’s operations, supply chains, and sustainability investments (like carbon offsets and renewable energy) intersect with land rights. Companies and their suppliers must ensure clear policies and procedures for FPIC are in place before investments are made. It’s essential to engage Indigenous Peoples and local rights-holder communities in decision-making. For carbon offset programs, it is critical to both decrease carbon emissions and prioritize high-integrity programs that guarantee equitable benefit sharing and give communities a seat at the table.
Invest in Innovative Local Solutions
Companies should consider directly supporting initiatives that promote secure land titling and community-led conservation, particularly in light of global “30 x 30” targets to protect 30 percent of Earth’s land and seas by 2030. Options for direct investments include Indigenous-led funds, such as the Shandia Platform, the Community Land Rights and Finance Initiative (CLARIFI), or through trusted intermediaries accountable to local communities. For example, Cadasta Foundation channels direct financial and technical support for tenure mapping and land recognition projects led by Indigenous Peoples’ and Local Communities across 13 countries in forested territories. In one project in the Peruvian Amazon, Awajún and Asháninka communities documented over 300,000 hectares and are using real-time data, satellite information, and biodiversity monitoring to combat challenges such as land invasion, drug trafficking, and illegal logging.
Support Efforts to Deliver Responsive Land Administration Approaches
National governments are responsible for managing land and recognizing Indigenous Peoples' territorial rights, but progress has been slowed by historic discrimination, weak political will, and outdated systems. Supporting innovative government-civil society collaborations to deliver practical and adaptable solutions to scaling up land titling can yield significant social and economic benefits to communities currently living without secure title. Accessible mobile GIS technologies, streamlined processes, and community engagement enable faster and more efficient processes, making it easier for individuals and communities to formalize their claims. When properly executed, these “fit-for-purpose” systems can protect vulnerable ecosystems, mitigate climate change, and empower communities to take charge of their land management strategies.
Champion Land Rights and Equitable Climate Finance
Corporations and private sector alliances can partner with and support global networks, civil society groups, and multilateral institutions to adopt policies that prioritize tenure rights, community-land management, and more equitable finance flows. Efforts such as the private sector advocacy group Interlaken, the International Land Coalition, the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and Stand for Her Land, to name a few, offer campaigns and advocacy platforms to advance land rights and push for action in global fora like the UN Conference on Climate Change and the Biodiversity Conference. Groups like the Global Alliance for Territorial Communities, the International Land and Forest Tenure Facility, and Rights and Resources Initiative, Cadasta Foundation, Rainforest Foundation Norway, the Climate Land Use Alliance, and the Forest Tenure Funders Group, among many others, support more direct and equitable climate finance flows to community-led efforts.
Commit Corporate Resources Through a Global Pledge
The private sector is well positioned to influence climate finance flows and ensure resources reach the ground. There is an opportunity to commit resources to a new Pledge for Tenure Rights and Forest Guardianship or similar pledges being prepared for launch at COP30 next year, which aim to enhance tenure rights and climate finance for Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, and local communities. Advocating not only for increased climate finance but also more direct, responsive, and accountable finance through global mechanisms and direct corporate and public investments can drive significant impact over the next five years and beyond.
Investing in land rights and ensuring equitable climate finance reaches frontline communities is essential for creating a sustainable future. Recognizing and respecting the rights of those living on the land and supporting their role as guardians and innovators supports community-led efforts to build resilience, reduce poverty, and mitigate climate change. Now is the time for businesses to align sustainability strategies with these goals to drive meaningful change and foster a more equitable and sustainable world.
References
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Special Report on Climate Change and Land (2019), https://www.ipcc.ch/report/srccl/.
Prindex, “Global Report 2020: A Spotlight on the Issue of Tenure Insecurity,” Prindex Global Property Rights Index, accessed October 2024, https://www.prindex.net.
United Nations, “State of Indigenous Peoples: Rights and Recognition,” UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2021, https://www.un.org/development/desa
Indufor, Forest Tenure Funders Group: 2023 Impact Assessment Report, 2023, https://www.indufor.fi.
International Land Coalition, “New Data Reveals Illegal Logging Is Devastating Suriname’s Forests,” International Land Coalition, last modified 2024, https://www.landcoalition.org/en/latest/new-data-reveals-illegal-logging-is-devastating-surinames-forests/.
Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Saramaka People v. Suriname, Judgment of November 28, 2007, https://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/casos/articulos/seriec_172_ing.pdf
Kantai, Parselelo. "Violent Evictions Are Latest Ordeal for Kenya’s Ogiek Seeking Land Rights." Mongabay, December 2023. https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/violent-evictions-are-latest-ordeal-for-kenyas-ogiek-seeking-land-rights/
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