Principles of working with IP

International standards of working with Indigenous Peoples

Many of these principles are equally applicable to LC and we encourage a higher standard of accountability to these communities where appropriate. However, it is worth noting that IP have specific protections at the international level that must be recognized as outlined in United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN DRIP) (United Nations 2007)

As this methodology is designed for by, and for, Indigenous Peoples, projects on Indigenous lands should also demonstrate intentional adherence to Global Alliance demands in the design, including:

• Land rights: The rights of Indigenous peoples over the lands they occupy must be recognized.

• Free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC): Any intervention in IP territories must undergo a process of free, prior, and informed consent.

• Direct funding: Direct access to climate funding.

• Protection of life: IP conservation leaders must not continue to be criminalized or assassinated.

• Traditional knowledge preservation: Policies developed in IP territories must consider traditional knowledge, which needs to be incorporated into climate change strategies.

Projects must implement a fair and equitable way of distributing project funds to the actual individuals on the ground. The technology for funds disbursement must have safeguards against corruption and eliminate middlemen and other potential diversions or dilutions of funds from the people who are actually preserving the ecosystem. The methodology is designed to preserve endemic biodiversity by enabling Indigenous communities to become stewards of the ecosystem and deploying small farmers relying on traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyles to conserve the jungle and monitor for indicator species.

Finally, BCPs must show a plan for equitable distribution of access to data from the project including promotional materials, project data about ecosystems and biodiversity, video and photographic data, and photographs of participants with IP and LC communities involved using FAIR and CARE guidelines (Carroll et al. 2021).