As climate disasters multiply, Indigenous governance offers a way forward

Indigenous lands from Canada to Ecuador to Nepal are increasingly being hit , fires, and floods. Worse, these climate disasters often come one after the other as overlapping crises rather than isolated incidents. Still, despite the ongoing destruction, Indigenous peoples continue to prove that they have the knowledge and skills to respond, if only global powers will let them.  Even amid growing recognition , the key role that Indigenous governance plays in those knowledge systems has not received as much respect. That’s according to a new report from Land Is Life that highlights the global success of Indigenous climate adaptation and resilience amid escalating crises. The report also says supporting Indigenous governance through legal recognition, financing, and partnerships — none of which are occurring on a large scale — is the best way to reduce climate disaster risk worldwide.  “We show that it’s not that they are only the most impacted, but they are already implementing effective solutions,” said Luisa Castañeda Quintana, the executive director of Land Is Life, a global nonprofit dedicated to Indigenous self-determination. “When it comes to adaptation, we don’t really need to create new structures or systems. We just need to is working.” Grist thanks its sponsors. To support our nonprofit environmental journalism, please consider disabling your ad-blocker to allow ads on Grist. Here's How The report adds to an expansive body of research showing that Indigenous self-determination, land stewardship, and cultural knowledge and practices are proven climate solutions. The report, released today, offers dozens of examples. In Kenya, Indigenous Endorois and Tugen women cultivated drought-resistant varieties of sorghum, millet, and other key foods that provided some of the region’s only harvests in years with severe drought. In Brazil, Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon — the nation’s largest regional Indigenous network — helps organize fire management and response. It also provides training and mobilizes response teams.  The report is based on detailed case studies and more than 200 survey responses from 46 countries spanning six ecosystems: forests, mountains, drylands, freshwater systems, grasslands, and coastal. Castañeda Quintana said a broad global study was essential to show climate change and environmental disasters are not limited , and responses to them must transcend borders. It also is essential to recognize that disasters do not arrive one at a time. More than 80 percent of survey respondents said that they face two or more at once, and over 90 percent reported rising frequency.  For example, in 2019, the Kichwa People of Sarayaku in the Ecuadorian Amazon faced devastating floods along the Bobonaza River, destroying crops and homes.