Indigenous Peoples Call for Rights-Based Climate Finance at Ninth FRLD Board Meeting

Photos by FRLD, Kalea Aquino

Manila, Philippines | 8–10 July 2026

The Ninth Meeting of the Board of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) brought together Board members, governments, Indigenous Peoples, civil society, and international organizations in Manila, Philippines, to advance decisions on one of the world’s newest climate finance mechanisms.

Established under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage aims to provide financial support to countries and communities facing the irreversible impacts of climate change. As climate-related disasters become more frequent and severe, the decisions made by the Board will shape how resources are mobilized, governed, and delivered to those most affected.

FSC Indigenous Foundation participated in the meeting through Kalea Adrienne Aquino, Regional Focal Point for Asia and the Pacific, who followed the negotiations and supported the participation of the Indigenous Peoples’ Organizations (IPO) Constituency.

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Indigenous Peoples call for meaningful participation and direct access

In its closing statement, delivered by Kalea, the IPO Constituency welcomed the opportunity to engage in the Board’s work while expressing concern that several key decisions were adopted without adequately reflecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights or participation.

The statement reaffirmed that Indigenous Peoples are rights-holders, recognized under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and ILO Convention No. 169, and emphasized that rights to lands, self-determination, and Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) are legal obligations, not discretionary commitments. Guided by the principle “Nothing about us, without us,” the Constituency called for Indigenous Peoples to be meaningfully involved in all decisions affecting their communities.

The Constituency also highlighted four key priorities for the Fund moving forward:

• Increase the scale of climate finance to reflect the growing needs of communities experiencing loss and damage, with greater contributions from historically high-emitting countries.

• Establish direct access to funding for Indigenous Peoples’ organizations and communities, reducing reliance on intermediary institutions.

• Embed Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) within the Fund’s Results Management Framework to ensure activities affecting Indigenous territories respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights.

• Strengthen Indigenous participation by adopting the Active Observer Policy, enabling Indigenous Peoples to engage more effectively and transparently in Board decision-making.

Looking ahead to the Tenth Board Meeting (B10) in Barbados, the IPO Constituency called for concrete progress on these priorities, emphasizing that climate finance must be rights-based, accessible, and accountable to the communities most affected by climate change.

For Indigenous Peoples, responding to loss and damage is not only about mobilizing financial resources. It is about ensuring that climate finance respects Indigenous rights, recognizes Indigenous governance systems, and reaches the communities that have long safeguarded the world’s ecosystems while bearing a disproportionate share of the climate crisis.

Missed the discussion? Watch the recording of Day 3 of the Ninth Meeting of the Board of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD).