Responsible Finance

The lands, territories, and resources of indigenous peoples and forest peoples are under threat due to an economic system that prioritises financial gain over human rights. The Responsible Finance Programme works in solidarity with indigenous peoples and forest peoples towards a global economic system that enables them to thrive and enjoy their internationally recognised human rights, to practice their chosen livelihoods and to maintain their own economies.

In many tropical forest countries, indigenous peoples and forest peoples experience that their lands, territories, and resources are under threat from dominant economic, business, and development paradigms, which fuel the continued incursion of industrial agriculture, extractive industries, infrastructure, and organised crime into their territories. The results are severe violations of their human rights – such as their rights to self-determination and free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), to land, food, health and culture – and also serious environmental impacts, including deforestation, destruction of natural ecosystems, pollution and biodiversity loss.

Furthermore, when indigenous peoples and forest peoples seek to defend their rights, lands and the environment, they are often faced with intimidation, criminalisation, physical abuse, sexual violence, and even murder.

The threats brought to indigenous peoples and forest peoples by the dominant economic system increasingly extend to those posed by the nature crisis - which this system has created - and to the national and international responses to this crisis. Climate, biodiversity, or other “green” policies and finance regularly fail to align with international human rights law and as a result, indigenous peoples and forest peoples increasingly find that nature market projects, renewable energy infrastructure, or transition mineral extraction are imposed on their lands and territories without their FPIC.

FPP works with indigenous peoples and forest peoples, and with their communities, to:

• document and collate evidence of rights violations linked to global supply chains and climate action and to the public and private finance backing these. Where communities decide to, we support them in putting this evidence in front of implicated companies, policy makers and courts;
• access information about the dynamics of extractive and exploitative economic, business and development models and key actors involved. This includes investigations into opaque corporate group structures to identify shadow companies and beneficial owners;
• access tools and financial support that empower them to make informed decisions about how they want to respond to the threats they face – be it challenging existing global systems of production and trade, proposing their own livelihood models or developing grounded proposals for just climate action;
• shape national, regional and international level policy and legal processes on business conduct and climate action , including by presenting messages from their communities and pushing for accountability of businesses, private financiers and states; and
  access remedy via private and public grievance and accountability mechanisms.

FPP also develops technical guides for policymakers, companies, and investors on human rights and the elements of due diligence key to ensuring the protection of collective land rights.