BELÉM (Brazil): World leaders and donors at the UN climate summit in Belém agreed to a landmark plan to recognize and strengthen legal land rights for Indigenous Peoples and local communities across 160 million hectares of tropical forest by 2030. The Intergovernmental Land Tenure Commitment, announced during the World Leaders Summit ahead of COP30 late last year, marks the first multilateral pledge focused specifically on expanding land tenure recognition for traditional land stewards in rainforest countries.
The commitment brings together more than a dozen countries and is framed as a response to growing evidence that Indigenous and local community stewardship is essential for protecting forests, biodiversity and advancing global climate objectives. Indigenous and local territories collectively safeguard a large share of the world’s remaining intact ecosystems but have historically lacked formal legal recognition, leaving them vulnerable to deforestation and industrial encroachment.
Under the pledge, participating governments, including Brazil, Peru, Norway and others, agreed to set national targets to strengthen the recognition of Indigenous and local community land rights by 2030 and to align land tenure policies with climate and biodiversity goals. Brazil is expected to contribute at least 59 million hectares to the total committed area, while other countries are finalizing their individual contributions.
Alongside the territorial recognition pledge, more than 35 governments and philanthropic organizations renewed and expanded a five-year Forest and Land Tenure Pledge, bringing combined financial support to around USD 1.8 billion. This funding is intended to help Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and Afro-descendant groups secure legal title, implement land governance reforms and improve access to climate and conservation finance. Donors have pledged to increase direct financing to communities, reduce bureaucratic barriers and support grassroots land tenure initiatives.
Advocates emphasized that secure land rights are a key lever for both climate mitigation and social justice. Indigenous territories, which remain relatively intact compared with other forests, store vast carbon stocks and sustain biodiversity, while also supporting cultural traditions and livelihoods. Securing tenure rights, proponents argue, would strengthen local capacity to manage forests sustainably and address deforestation pressures driven by mining, agriculture and infrastructure development.
Indigenous leaders who attended COP30 welcomed the commitments, noting that the pledge could shift the balance of power in forest governance. They stressed that recognition must be paired with genuine participation in decision-making and respect for free, prior and informed consent in land use policies. Grassroots groups also cautioned that implementation will require political will and that land titling processes must be equitable and transparent to benefit communities directly.
The push for expanded land tenure recognition builds on years of advocacy by Indigenous organizations and climate campaigners, who have highlighted the link between secure land rights and global climate targets. Tropical forests, which span large portions of the Amazon, Congo Basin, Southeast Asia and Central America, are critical to slowing global warming. Recognition of community land rights has previously been shown to correlate with lower deforestation rates, according to studies by environmental analysts.
However, the announcement in Belém came amid broader debate over the pace and scope of global climate action at COP30. While Indigenous participation reached record levels at the summit, some activists protested that political agreements did not go far enough to halt deforestation, protect rights or ensure equitable climate finance. Despite these criticisms, the Intergovernmental Land Tenure Commitment represents an unprecedented collective pledge by nations to bolster Indigenous land rights as part of the international climate agenda.
Implementation plans and national breakdowns of the pledged territories are expected to be detailed in coming months, with follow-up mechanisms designed to track progress toward the 2030 goal. The commitment also aims to bridge policy gaps between land tenure, climate policy, and biodiversity strategies so that forest conservation efforts fully integrate Indigenous rights and governance.
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