At Brazil’s COP30, countries pledge to bolster indigenous land rights

Several countries have pledged to formally recognise land rights across 80 million hectares where indigenous, Afro-descendant and other communities live in tropical forests around the world by 2030 in a bid to stem global deforestation.

The Intergovernmental Land Tenure Pledge, billed as the first global commitment recognising land tenure to secure additional land under Indigenous communities' control, was announced on Friday ahead of the UN COP30 climate summit that kicked off Monday.

Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Fiji, Indonesia, Pakistan and Tanzania have signed the commitment with more countries expected to follow.

The pledge document, a final version of which is expected to be released on November 17, states land rights and protection should be strengthened in another 80 million hectares that have already been formally recognised.

The Netherlands, Norway and UK have also signed the document as supporters, led by the Forest and Climate Leaders' Partnership. Along with Germany and 35 charities, they are part of the Forest Tenure Funders Group (FTFG), which has pledged to secure $1.8 billion in funding by 2030.