Ikiam Foundation Featured in Newsweek

Today, November 28, 2024, Thanksgiving Day, Ikiam Foundation was featured in a major U.S. News publication, Newsweek. Ikiam Foundation co-Founder Tuntiak Katan shared his expertise on how climate financing can uplift Indigenous ancestral stewardship to enhance and protect ecosystems in peril worldwide. The article is titled “Indigenous Communities Need Access to a High-Integrity Carbon Market” and it is an Opinion Editorial. You can read the full article here, this is an excerpt:

“Indigenous peoples have preserved our pristine territories for generations. Today, the optimal management of natural resources, including forest ecosystems, requires us to blend traditional knowledge with science, technology, and finance. Research consistently shows that Indigenous territories have lower deforestation rates and higher secondary forest growth. A recent report by Norwegian scientists highlighted that natural forests play a superior role in regulating the carbon cycle and maintaining biodiversity.

Despite our role as protectors of forest ecosystems, Indigenous communities receive less than 1 percent of global climate finance. At COP26 in Glasgow, countries announced $1.7 billion for Indigenous peoples, but this financing has not yet reached our communities. The financial burdens we carry are no longer sustainable without the support of climate finance and innovative policies.”

It is an honor to have our organization led by such a brilliant and impactful Indigenous leader, Tuntiak Katan of the Shuar Indigenous Nation in the Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest. This Thanksgiving we are give thanks to Indigenous Peoples for their stewardship of our ecosystems. We need to support them in return by funding high-quality, high-integrity HFLD credits and support Indigenous-led organizations, you can donate to the Ikiam Foundation today.