The Kichwa People of Pastaza in the Ecuadorian Amazon have lived and thrived in the forest for centuries, but as society changes and newer generations disengage from the culture, it has become difficult to maintain and pass down their traditions. That is why, in 2022, a group of Kichwa women ceramicists founded the artisan collective called Sinchi Muskuyuk Warmi.
2025 was a deeply challenging year for our sector, testing our coalition in unprecedented ways. But despite this, our coalition members claimed some major wins through their remarkable courage and resilience.
The president and legal representative of the Integral Forestry Association of Cruce a La Colorada (AFICC) in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala, shares the vicissitude she had to face as a leader, mother, and head of household.
At the recently concluded COP30, the central role of tropical forests and the Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and local communities that protect them was firmly in the spotlight. Despite ongoing challenges, the climate summit delivered tangible, measurable gains for communities and local forest stewards, ranging from landmark land recognitions to new funding initiatives and international collaborations.
For the first time in over 30 years of global discussions on the climate agenda, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Caribbean (UNFCCC) has referenced Peoples of African descent in core negotiation documents released at the conclusion of the meeting, including texts on Just Transition, Gender Action, and the Global Goal on Adaptation.
This statement by the Women in Global South Alliance (WiGSA) extends its congratulations to governments and donors for their renewed commitment to supporting the tenure rights of Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, and local communities, as announced at COP30 in Brazil on November 6, 2025, and calls on funders to address the global gender funding gap.
As the global community prepares for UNFCCC COP30, hosted for the first time in the Amazon region of Brazil, the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) and its coalition of over 200 partners, collaborators, and allies have been sending a clear and powerful message for months: Earth’s #DefendersLeadTheWay on climate action.
Novo relatório mostra progresso inconsistente em nível nacional em relação aos direitos de posse de terras para Povos Indígenas, Povos Afrodescendentes e comunidades locais
New report shows inconsistent domestic progress on tenure rights for Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, and local communities
There are 13,318 villages in Tanzania, and of them, only 34% have a Village Land Use Plan (VLUP). A VLUP is a crucial prerequisite for obtaining a Certificate of Customary Right of Occupancy—the equivalent of securing land tenure. This can be especially important for women, who are often marginalized in land inheritance, lack access to credit services, and have little voice in disputes. Since 2021, the Ukijani project has helped issue more than 1,700 Certificates in villages throughout the country.
The secretary of the Board of Directors of the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Jungle (AIDESEP) shares the challenges she had to overcome to become an Indigenous woman leader.
Community Forest User Groups play an important role in protecting the forests on Chandragiri Hill in Nepal, but they didn’t begin to make significant progress in this quest until the women of these communities were allowed to join.
Decades after the world adopted what continues to be the most comprehensive roadmap for women’s rights, RRI’s latest report highlights enduring challenges in securing the rights of Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and local community women.
This is the story of the president of the Association of Afro-descendant Women of Northern Cauca, Colombia, who faced the threats of armed conflict to fight for the rights of Afro-descendant women.
A new study examining the state of global financing for Afro-descendant, Indigenous, and local community women launched at the UN CBD COP16 addresses a crucial lack of data on gender equity-focused funding and was launched by the Rights and Resources Initiative and the Women in Global South Alliance.
This op-ed by Omayra Casamá and Sara Omi was originally published in Spanish in El País. A sustainable future is one where the voices of Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and local community women are not only heard but are integral to the implementation of meaningful conservation and climate change actions.
The Women in Global South Alliance (WiGSA) hosted its second strategic meeting in Kathmandu, Nepal from April 30–May 2, 2024. Armed with a feeling of sisterhood and common purpose, women leaders from 11 countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America overcame jet lag to meet in person to discuss strategies on how best to support the women and girls they represent.
For more than 10 years, the LandWise Law Library has grown into an essential resource on family, land, and natural resource rights under the care of Landesa and Resource Equity. As Resource Equity closes its doors, RRI is thrilled to announce that it will carry the LandWise Law Library on through its next chapter.
RRI collaborators are celebrating two big victories for Indonesia’s agrarian reform movement this October. The Consortium for Agrarian Reform’s years-long advocacy with peasant and smallholder farmers has led to redistribution of two agrarian reform priority locations by the Indonesian Government, transferring their control to peasant and their union who have long reclaiming and managing these lands.
More than 100 participants from 11 countries gathered in Arusha, Tanzania, this week for the 4th Conference of National Land Institutions in Africa, working to secure community land rights.
Rights and Resources Group has acquired the LandWise Law Library, a crucial digital compilation of articles, and research on women’s land rights and tenure.
Women leaders from Africa, Asia, and North and South America gather in Brazzaville to strengthen the global solidarity movement for women-led initiatives to protect biodiversity and build climate resilience.
Members of the new network agree to create more documentation on land rights and governance processes for Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and local community women; call for strengthening advocacy capacity.
November 14 marks Gender Day and Water Day at CoP27 in Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt. We must take a moment to recognize how Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and local community women and girls are leaders in climate change mitigation and adaptation and integral to attaining the UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.