150+ organizations, one coalition. What brings us together is a common mission to protect and elevate the rights and struggles of Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, and local communities to own, develop, and protect their traditional territories and ecosystems. Remaining agile and responsive, our coalition is pioneering a future where every individual has a say in the stewardship of their land and resources, leading to concrete policy reforms and lasting impact on the planet.
We are a united front of organizations of all sizes—local, national, regional and international—coming together to leverage the power of its coalition to collaborate across an array of topics and expertise. From research and advocacy to grassroots mobilization and capacity building, we magnify each others’ voices in support of land and resource rights. We take proactive measures to engage with governments, multilateral institutions, and private sector actors to advance our shared mission.
Working on climate, biodiversity, land tenure, youth and women empowerment, our coalition’s goal is to promote Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and local community-led conservation.
RRI’s footprint extends across three key regions: Asia, Latin America and Africa, each with unique challenges and opportunities. From grassroots and small-scale initiatives to large global entities, the coalition works within individual countries and on a global scale to create lasting change in land and resource rights.
The majority of Sub-Saharan Africa is customarily owned by local peoples, yet the recognition of their rights still has a long way to go. Our coalition’s efforts in Africa ensure the implementation of land ownership and community rights laws and foster dialogues for community-led economic models.
Africa
Asia
Latin America
South and Southeast Asia exhibits both high rates of deforestation and an immense population of Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Coalition members in Asia are Indigenous, local community, and civil society organizations working to i) secure customary land rights under existing and emerging legal frameworks; ii) develop smarter regulations; and iii) enhance their livelihoods and economic prosperity.
Africa
Asia
Latin America
Latin America leads the world in legal recognition of land and forest rights. However, the region faces increasing risks of rollback of existing rights due to increased economic challenges and widespread criminalization of its environmental and human rights defenders. Our coalition’s efforts in Latin America have consolidated Indigenous Peoples’ and Afro-descendant Peoples’ movements, particularly those of women, to guarantee their rights, protection, and self-determined development.
ANAPAC RDCCollaborator
Aliansi Masyarakat Adat NusantaraPartner
Alianza Mesoamericana de Pueblos y BosquesPartner
Asia Indigenous Peoples PactPartner
Autopromotion Rural pour un Developpement Humain DurableCollaborator
BrainforestCollaborator
CIFOR-ICRAFPartner
Centre D’Appui à la Gestion Durable des Fôrets TropicalesCollaborator
Centre des Technologies Innovatrices et le Développement DurableCollaborator
Centre pour l'Environnement et le DéveloppementPartner
Chepkitale Indigenous Peoples' Development ProgramCollaborator
Civic ResponsePartner
Coalition des Femmes Leaders pour l’Environnement et le Développement DurableCollaborator
Community Land Action NetworkCollaborator
Congolese Resources InstituteCollaborator
Coordinadora de las Organizaciones Indígenas de la Cuenca AmazónicaPartner
Dynamique des Groupes des Peuples AutochtonesPartner
Federation of Community Forestry Users NepalPartner
Forest TrendsPartner
Forests & Livelihoods: Assessment, Research, and EngagementPartner
HelvetasPartner
Indigenous Livelihoods Enhancement Partners
Instituto SocioambientalPartner
International Family Forest AlliancePartner
LandesaPartner
Le Conseil pour la Défense Environnementale par la Légalité et la TraçabilitéCollaborator
Ogiek Peoples' Development ProgramCollaborator
Organización Nacional de Mujeres Indígenas Andinas y Amazónicas del PerúPartner
PRISMAPartner
Proceso de Comunidades NegrasPartner
RECOFTCPartner
REPALEACCollaborator
Réseau des Femmes Africaines pour la Gestion Communautaire des ForêtsPartner
Coalition members work on various thematic areas and issues that impact communities. These include gender justice, climate policies, private sector engagement, livelihoods, youth engagement, human rights, and freshwater rights. Each organization has its unique approach to advancing land and resource rights. We transit from the global to the regional and territorial spheres where we bring these themes together to promote Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and local community-led conservation.
Coalition members work on initiatives to scale up efforts to secure women's tenure rights, amplify their voices, and enhance their leadership within the realm of community lands and forests. By addressing gender disparities, our members seek to create a more equitable and inclusive world where Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and local community women have a say in the governance of their territories as well as in decisions on climate and conservation actions that impact them.
Climate + Conservation
Freshwater Rights
Gender Justice
Human Rights
Livelihoods
Monitoring + Tracking Community Tenure
Private Sector Engagement
Youth + Intergenerational Leadership
Coalition members are among the global leading experts in community-led conservation influencing climate and biodiversity agendas. Indigenous, Afro-descendent, and local community leaders are center stage in international climate conferences pushing for better policies and more action. However, when it comes to implementation where it matters most—in the territories—their leadership is often overlooked by governments, companies, and decision-makers. The coalition aims to disseminate and exchange information that will strengthen communities' engagement at all levels of the climate and development agendas.
Climate + Conservation
Freshwater Rights
Gender Justice
Human Rights
Livelihoods
Monitoring + Tracking Community Tenure
Private Sector Engagement
Youth + Intergenerational Leadership
We catalyze private sector action to secure community land rights in land-based investments and operations. Some examples of our interventions with the private sector include i) convening dialogues between corporate actors and investors and community leaders; and ii) conducting analyses that guide these actors on incorporating free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) and respect for community land rights in land-based projects as well as the financial and operational risks of insecure tenure.
Climate + Conservation
Freshwater Rights
Gender Justice
Human Rights
Livelihoods
Monitoring + Tracking Community Tenure
Private Sector Engagement
Youth + Intergenerational Leadership
Community-led economic and livelihood approaches driven by the aspirations of local peoples have emerged as a pathway to scale to quickly respond to urgent human rights, economic, and environmental challenges. These approaches consist of efforts that enhance communities' sovereignty, food security, basic needs, and collective health. Some of the initiatives in this area include learning exchanges, research, multisector dialogues, and piloting of models for community-led enterprises.
Climate + Conservation
Freshwater Rights
Gender Justice
Human Rights
Livelihoods
Monitoring + Tracking Community Tenure
Private Sector Engagement
Youth + Intergenerational Leadership
RRi's members help track and monitor the legal recognition of Indigenous Peoples', Afro-descendant Peoples', and local communities' rights across the world—particularly of the women within them—to forests, land, and natural resources. They work closely with RRI's research team to provide crucial data and peer reviews for its four databases examining various aspects of global and regional community rights recognition.
Climate + Conservation
Freshwater Rights
Gender Justice
Human Rights
Livelihoods
Monitoring + Tracking Community Tenure
Private Sector Engagement
Youth + Intergenerational Leadership
Building Indigenous, Afro-descendent, and local community youth's capacity for taking on leadership roles in their organizations and on global platforms is a key priority. Many coalition members have youth associations and working groups within its organizational structure. Projects include mobilization campaigns, affinity groups, leadership development, research projects, and convenings to promote knowledge sharing and solidarity.
Climate + Conservation
Freshwater Rights
Gender Justice
Human Rights
Livelihoods
Monitoring + Tracking Community Tenure
Private Sector Engagement
Youth + Intergenerational Leadership
Many coalition members are exposed to land conflicts, violence, and in some cases murder in their territories. Land grabs, illegal miners and loggers, state-controlled agents, and private sector actors working for multinational companies are some of the threats that communities face when defending their right to inhabit their traditional lands. We work to give visibility and demand justice for these cases and ensure perpetrators of violence are held accountable.
Climate + Conservation
Freshwater Rights
Gender Justice
Human Rights
Livelihoods
Monitoring + Tracking Community Tenure
Private Sector Engagement
Youth + Intergenerational Leadership
Water is a sacred source of life that holds together the livelihoods of communities. Several coalition members are engaged in research and analysis to establish the status of communities' collective rights to freshwater resources. We are also working on linking water rights and various development outcomes such as livelihoods, biodiversity protection, and ecosystem services.
ANAPAC RDCCollaborator
Aliansi Masyarakat Adat NusantaraPartner
Alianza Mesoamericana de Pueblos y BosquesPartner
Asia Indigenous Peoples PactPartner
Autopromotion Rural pour un Developpement Humain DurableCollaborator
BrainforestCollaborator
CIFOR-ICRAFPartner
Centre D’Appui à la Gestion Durable des Fôrets TropicalesCollaborator
Centre des Technologies Innovatrices et le Développement DurableCollaborator
Centre pour l'Environnement et le DéveloppementPartner
Chepkitale Indigenous Peoples' Development ProgramCollaborator
Civic ResponsePartner
Coalition des Femmes Leaders pour l’Environnement et le Développement DurableCollaborator
Community Land Action NetworkCollaborator
Congolese Resources InstituteCollaborator
Coordinadora de las Organizaciones Indígenas de la Cuenca AmazónicaPartner
Dynamique des Groupes des Peuples AutochtonesPartner
Federation of Community Forestry Users NepalPartner
Forest TrendsPartner
Forests & Livelihoods: Assessment, Research, and EngagementPartner
HelvetasPartner
Indigenous Livelihoods Enhancement Partners
Instituto SocioambientalPartner
International Family Forest AlliancePartner
LandesaPartner
Le Conseil pour la Défense Environnementale par la Légalité et la TraçabilitéCollaborator
Ogiek Peoples' Development ProgramCollaborator
Organización Nacional de Mujeres Indígenas Andinas y Amazónicas del PerúPartner
PRISMAPartner
Proceso de Comunidades NegrasPartner
RECOFTCPartner
REPALEACCollaborator
Réseau des Femmes Africaines pour la Gestion Communautaire des ForêtsPartner
RRI’s coalition is a remarkable example of collaborative synergy. While we may engage in diverse activities and initiatives, we all share a unified mission: to secure and protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, and local communities over their lands and resources. Whether conducting extensive research, fostering conservation and resource management projects, empowering communities, or launching advocacy campaigns, these actions contribute to the overarching objective of ensuring that community land and resource rights are universally recognized and held in the highest regard.
Our coalition members' research spans tracking community tenure rights and territorial mapping to analyzing the thematic issues that affect them, including but not limited to: gender justice, community livelihoods, private sector investments, criminalization of Indigenous and local community human and environmental rights defenders, climate, conservation, and youth leadership.
Capacity Building + Knowledge Exchange
Communication + Storytelling
Funding Mechanisms
Legal Support
Mapping + Spatial Data
Policy + Advocacy
Research
Coalition members are engaged in political processes at all levels of government and multilateral spaces. Through national level networks, RRI coalition members engage with governments to influence and implement legislation that supports community rights. At the global level, coalition members engage with international agreements, conventions, and goals—particularly concerning the rights, climate, and environmental agendas.
Capacity Building + Knowledge Exchange
Communication + Storytelling
Funding Mechanisms
Legal Support
Mapping + Spatial Data
Policy + Advocacy
Research
Several of RRI's member organizations support legal training for community organizations to enable them to advocate for legislative reforms in their constituencies. They also facilitate dialogue between rightsholders and policymakers to build the latter's understanding of the importance of community tenure
Capacity Building + Knowledge Exchange
Communication + Storytelling
Funding Mechanisms
Legal Support
Mapping + Spatial Data
Policy + Advocacy
Research
Coalition members' capacity building support ranges from building communities' legal advocacy skills to supporting them in mapping their territories and contributing to research establishing the link between secure rights and development goals. They also support targeted leadership and advocacy training for community women and youth.
Capacity Building + Knowledge Exchange
Communication + Storytelling
Funding Mechanisms
Legal Support
Mapping + Spatial Data
Policy + Advocacy
Research
Our coalition promotes and supports Indigenous-led journalism and the creation of communicators' networks to ensure communities' voices reach broader audiences. RRI members have used a variety of media to convey stories of impact and conflict ranging from video, radio, community theater, and social media to organizing site visits to community territories for national and international journalists.
Capacity Building + Knowledge Exchange
Communication + Storytelling
Funding Mechanisms
Legal Support
Mapping + Spatial Data
Policy + Advocacy
Research
Coalition members work with communities to map historic tenure claims and develop due diligence tools for them to work with governments, suppliers, and out-growers. They also conduct regional knowledge exchanges to share successes and lessons learned from their experiences with territorial mapping.
Capacity Building + Knowledge Exchange
Communication + Storytelling
Funding Mechanisms
Legal Support
Mapping + Spatial Data
Policy + Advocacy
Research
Coalition members have taken on the responsibility for developing groundbreaking Indigenous and community-led funding mechanisms.They are the leading advocates for direct funding to Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendent Peoples, and local communities who currently receive less than 1% of climate finance globally. Either by creating their own funding mechanism or by advocating for more direct funding, they are reinforcing the crucial role communities play in conservation and climate protection and communicating why the money needs to reach those making a difference on the ground.
ANAPAC RDCCollaborator
Aliansi Masyarakat Adat NusantaraPartner
Alianza Mesoamericana de Pueblos y BosquesPartner
Asia Indigenous Peoples PactPartner
Autopromotion Rural pour un Developpement Humain DurableCollaborator
BrainforestCollaborator
CIFOR-ICRAFPartner
Centre D’Appui à la Gestion Durable des Fôrets TropicalesCollaborator
Centre des Technologies Innovatrices et le Développement DurableCollaborator
Centre pour l'Environnement et le DéveloppementPartner
Chepkitale Indigenous Peoples' Development ProgramCollaborator
Civic ResponsePartner
Coalition des Femmes Leaders pour l’Environnement et le Développement DurableCollaborator
Community Land Action NetworkCollaborator
Congolese Resources InstituteCollaborator
Coordinadora de las Organizaciones Indígenas de la Cuenca AmazónicaPartner
Dynamique des Groupes des Peuples AutochtonesPartner
Federation of Community Forestry Users NepalPartner
Forest TrendsPartner
Forests & Livelihoods: Assessment, Research, and EngagementPartner
HelvetasPartner
Indigenous Livelihoods Enhancement Partners
Instituto SocioambientalPartner
International Family Forest AlliancePartner
LandesaPartner
Le Conseil pour la Défense Environnementale par la Légalité et la TraçabilitéCollaborator
Ogiek Peoples' Development ProgramCollaborator
Organización Nacional de Mujeres Indígenas Andinas y Amazónicas del PerúPartner
PRISMAPartner
Proceso de Comunidades NegrasPartner
RECOFTCPartner
REPALEACCollaborator
Réseau des Femmes Africaines pour la Gestion Communautaire des ForêtsPartner
RRI fellowships are honorary positions enabling long-term collaboration with distinguished individuals.
Partners
The RRI Coalition is formed by a group of 21 core Partners who work in areas of their regional and thematic expertise. Click on a partner to learn more.
Réseau des Femmes Africaines pour la Gestion Communautaire des Forêts (REFACOF)
Collaborators
RRI Partners also engage with a wide group of over 150 Collaborators who participate in and support RRI activities across the world. The growing list of these Collaborators is below.
At its 20th anniversary celebration in Kathmandu, the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) announced the winners of its inaugural Collective Action Awards. The awards honor Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, and local communities from Africa, Asia, and Latin America for their leadership in defending their collective land, forest, and resource rights.