Indigenous Peoples & Local Communities Guardianship Fund

Through direct support, respect for local decision-making, and the incorporation of traditional knowledge, we help Indigenous Peoples lead the protection of their lands and the wildlife that depends on them.

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Photograph of a rainforest canopy in dense fog.

Where biodiversity thrives, Indigenous stewardship leads

Most of the remaining intact natural world exists as a result of the stewardship provided by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities since time immemorial.

Informed by traditional knowledge and practices, a growing body of evidence demonstrates that Indigenous Peoples are the most effective guardians of biodiversity – especially when governments formally recognize their rights and tenure.

Despite the increasing awareness, direct investment in Indigenous Peoples and their guardianship of their territories remains one of the most underfunded strategies for building a resilient future for humanity. 

Direct funding, transformative outcomes

Re:wild is part of a groundbreaking global movement to increase direct conservation funding to Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities around the world, whilst building mutual understanding, learning, and collaboration to achieve shared conservation goals.

Our vision is expansive, long-lasting protection of millions of hectares of vital landscapes by those who live in, understand best, and have a direct stake in conservation of these areas.

In 2024, the Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Guardianship Fund directly supported:

  • Strengthening fire preparedness across the Amazon

    Supported 55 Indigenous associations as they prepared for and prevented wildfires from spreading into their territories, protecting both their communities and biodiversity.

  • Honoring the legacy of Chief Raoni in Brazil

    With the Kayapo people, we are working to establish the Raoni Legacy Fund, securing the vision and enduring leadership of Chief Raoni for future generations.

  • Advancing legal territorial recognition in Eastern Colombia

    Supporting the Macroterritory of the Jaguar People of the Yuruparí to secure recognition of their ancestral territories, affirming their rights to govern, protect, and sustain.

  • Community wisdom saving endangered species in the Democratic Republic of Congo

    Partnering with Mbuti and Efe communities to protect forests, support sustainable livelihoods, and rehabilitate critically endangered Grauer’s gorillas.

  • Cultural revival through habitat restoration in Australia

    Enabling 15 First Nations members from the Northern Tablelands to reclaim ancestral practices of seed collection, preservation, and propagation.

  • Community patrols turning the tide on poaching in Vietnam

    The Khe Choang Community Patrol, with T’ai and Dan Lai community members, conducting the first intensive assessment of illegal snares in Pu Mat National Park.

Indigenous Peoples are keepers of traditional knowledge critical to staving off the worst effects of climate change and biodiversity loss.

The threats to the natural world — from deforestation to habitat loss — are the same threats faced by these communities.

The best pathway to a healthy planet is supporting solutions harmonized with traditional knowledge, rights and self-determination in their territories, and practices of peoples and communities for whom nature and culture are inseparably linked.

100% of your donation goes directly to the Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities working to rewild our planet.

Together, we can conserve some of the world’s wildest areas, home to vast numbers of threatened and endangered species, alongside rich Indigenous knowledge and cultures.

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