UN Climate Change underscores the leadership of Indigenous Peoples as vital to building a liveable and climate-resilient future.
Indigenous Peoples’ leadership and traditional knowledge systems are increasingly recognised as indispensable to tackling the climate crisis. Rooted in stewardship, interdependence, and respect for all life, these knowledge systems have guided communities for millennia through periods of environmental change. Today, they remain dynamic frameworks for adaptation, mitigation, and resilience.
As countries accelerate action under the Paris Agreement and pursue the Global Goal on Adaptation, Indigenous Peoples are emerging not only as participants in climate policymaking but as pathfinders. Their worldviews emphasise harmony with ecosystems, intergenerational responsibility, and the restoration of natural balance—offering invaluable insights into sustainable living.
Across the globe, Indigenous-led initiatives are demonstrating how traditional practices, when integrated with modern science and governance, can deliver effective, locally tailored solutions to climate threats.
In Vancouver Island, Canada, the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation has placed 100% of its territory under “Hishuk Ish Tsawaak” (ecosystem-based forest management). This approach blends ancestral stewardship laws with contemporary conservation strategies to protect salmon streams, old-growth forests, and watersheds—strengthening both carbon sinks and local food security.
In the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia, Indigenous Nations are reclaiming customary governance over critical river systems, restoring wetlands, negotiating water allocations, and monitoring river health to sustain ecosystems and downstream communities.
In the Highlands of Mongolia, herder councils are co-designing an Advanced Weather Information System with national meteorological services, merging traditional forecasting with satellite data to issue drought and snowmelt warnings—reducing livestock loss and economic shocks.
And in Mindanao, Philippines, Indigenous youth networks are reviving ancestral “kaingin” forestry methods, such as contour planting and sacred grove protection, to slow erosion, restore water sources, and regenerate degraded upland areas, ensuring water security for rice farming communities downstream.
These examples show that Indigenous climate leadership is not isolated—it is widespread, active, and impactful, yet often under-recognised and under-supported. Place-based knowledge systems are thriving and evolving, bolstered by partnerships with governments, research institutions, and civil society.
Indigenous stewardship is also critical for climate mitigation. Research consistently finds that Indigenous-managed lands have lower deforestation rates and higher ecological integrity than surrounding areas. This role in protecting forests, wetlands, and grasslands safeguards biodiversity and maintains carbon sinks essential to global climate stability.
“Indigenous Peoples must be at the centre of climate action, not just as stakeholders but as partners and knowledge holders,” said Youssef Nassef, Director of Adaptation at UN Climate Change. The Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP) continues to embed Indigenous perspectives into global climate governance.
The UN calls on all countries, institutions, and climate actors to partner meaningfully with Indigenous communities, integrate their worldviews into national strategies, and invest in Indigenous-led solutions with accessible, long-term support.
Strategic significance lies in recognising Indigenous leadership as a cornerstone of climate resilience, ensuring that both local and global adaptation efforts are grounded in proven, culturally rooted, and ecologically sound practices.
