A marathon not a sprint: The role of international climate finance in securing indigenous land rights in Peru

On the eve of its address to the Oslo Tropical Forest Forum (OTFF), Peru’s national indigenous organisation AIDESEP has launched a joint report with the Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) which highlights the Peruvian government’s ongoing failure to meet its progressive commitments to recognise indigenous peoples’ land rights. On a positive note it documents rapid progress in the registration of indigenous lands thanks to decentralised funding programmes implemented and overseen by indigenous organisations.

The report tracks the status of commitments made by the Peruvian government since 2011 as part of its national climate mitigation strategy. These promises included reform of its outdated laws on indigenous land rights to align them with international human rights laws and to accelerate progress on the titling and demarcation of approximately 20 million hectares of indigenous lands and over 1300 communities whose recognition remained pending. In concrete terms the government committed to titling at least 5 million hectares of indigenous lands and earmarked at least $20 million worth of funding from international donors for the purpose.