Newsletter: COP30 Outcomes Report

Key outcomes that matter for Indigenous forest stewardship

FSC IF

The Forest Stewardship Council and the FSC Indigenous Foundation worked together during COP30, collaborating on side events, engagement activities with strategic allies, spaces for dialogue, and other coordination actions to highlight Indigenous priorities and strengthen their participation and advocacy.

COP30 is over, but its impact will be decided in implementation. Today, we break down the outcomes for forests and Indigenous Peoples: what shifted, what to watch, and what it could unlock if finance and policy are delivered with rights, transparency, and Indigenous governance at the center.

Read our COP30 Report!

Highlights of the report:

Forest Finance Breakthroughs: TFFF + Tenure Pledges

COP30 announced new resources for standing forests and land tenure—implementation and safeguards will determine whether communities benefit.

Key points:

Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) in plain language: long-term, results-based payments; early capitalization; commitment share for Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

Forest and Land Tenure Pledge: donor/philanthropy funding to advance legal recognition, demarcation, governance reforms, and community-led conservation.

Intergovernmental Land Tenure Commitment: country commitments to secure hectares by 2030; why collective tenure matters.

Global Mutirão: From Negotiation to Mass Mobilization

COP30 elevated Mutirão as a model for collective action. Its impact will depend on whether communities have real control, rights, and resources.

Key points:

What is Global Mutirão? Meaning and origins; a framework for collective mobilization beyond formal negotiations.

Why it matters for Indigenous Peoples: validates communal stewardship and traditional ecological knowledge; invites Indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples into climate action pathways.

What success looks like: financing, technical support, recognition of land and tenure rights, respect for Indigenous governance, and protection against extractive pressures.

The Implementation Era: Adaptation, Loss & Damage, Gender—and Who Gets to Decide

COP30 advanced frameworks, but participation, direct access, and rights-based safeguards will determine real impact for communities.

Key points:

Adaptation: Global Goal on Adaptation indicators and political signals to scale finance; risks of voluntary/weak indicators and uncertain funding.

Loss & Damage: progress on coordination and technical assistance; persistent gaps in rights-based safeguards, direct access for Indigenous Peoples, and governance inclusion.

Belém Gender Action Plan (BeGAP): recognition of Indigenous women; success depends on meaningful decision-making power and financing access.

Article 6 & Carbon Markets

International carbon markets are moving into implementation, strong safeguards, FPIC, and tenure security are essential.

Key points:

Opportunities: potential resources for forest protection and restoration if designed with strong rights and environmental integrity.

Risks: non-permanence, double counting, weak additionality; displacement/injustice without FPIC, tenure security, and fair benefit sharing.

Guardrails: FPIC, land rights, Indigenous governance, community-defined benefit sharing, transparency, grievance and remedy.

Matters relating to Finance

Finance remains a decisive factor in turning climate commitments into real action.

Key points:

Loss & Damage Fund: Rapid operational progress; USD 817.01M pledged; 2026 workplan focuses on faster, accessible grants with strong safeguards.

GCF improvements: Faster approvals/disbursement, stronger direct access support, inclusion of Indigenous Peoples, better risk management, align with Belém Gender Action Plan.

Adaptation Fund & GEF: AF expanding locally led adaptation but short of USD 300M target; GEF exceeded GEF-8 target and delivered 1.85B tCO₂ reductions (by June 2025), urging strong GEF-9 funding and Indigenous/gender safeguards.

FSC-IF Engagement in COP30 Side Events

Side events made rights, tools, standards, and direct finance concrete, and built partnerships for what happens next.

Key points:

FSC-IF joined 8 COP30 side events centering Indigenous rights, FPIC, and leadership in forest stewardship and climate action.

Called for equitable, direct, predictable climate finance, removing barriers linked to land rights and self-determination.

Stressed credible sustainability standards through continuous improvement, grievance/remedy, and capacity building.

Highlighted community forest management (with data ownership under FPIC) and Indigenous leadership in wildfire prevention/response/restoration with rapid financing.

If you wish to engage in the UNFCCC, learn more about the Indigenous Peoples Caucus!

Within the UNFCCC process, Indigenous Peoples participate collectively through the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC), commonly referred to as the Indigenous Peoples Caucus.

It is the official coordination body for Indigenous Peoples participating in UNFCCC sessions, including COP, SB sessions, and related climate negotiations.
It brings together representatives from Indigenous organizations, nations, communities, and global/regional networks.
Why it exists:
- To provide a unified voice for Indigenous Peoples in global climate decision-making.
- To protect Indigenous rights and promote Indigenous-led climate solutions.
- To track, interpret, and influence negotiation text across agenda items (mitigation, adaptation, finance, Article 6, loss & damage, etc.).

Learn more about the IIPFCC: https://www.iipfcc.org/

If you are young and want to participate, learn about the International Indigenous Youth Forum on Climate Change here.

Read our COP30 Report

COP30 Outcomes Report

Forests, Indigenous Peoples, and Key Advances for Climate Action

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This Results Report presents the main advances, challenges, and key messages from COP30 in 2025, in Brazil, related to forests and Indigenous Peoples, and what they mean for territorial rights, governance, and climate action.

We invite you to read the full report to learn about the results, their implications, and the opportunities that are opening up for the upcoming UNFCCC processes.

Read the report here

FSC Remedy Forum in Jakarta: Reflections on sacred balance between Forests and People

The FSC System Integrity Unit convened the Asia Pacific Remedy Forum in Jakarta, uniting diverse stakeholders to advance understanding of the FSC Remedy Framework.

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The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) – System Integrity Unit hosted the Asia Pacific Remedy Forum in Jakarta, Indonesia, bringing together rights holders, Indigenous leaders, NGOs, companies, researchers, and government representatives to deepen understanding and engagement around the FSC Remedy Framework.

What is the FSC Remedy Framework?

The FSC Remedy Framework is a standardized system that guides how companies must address past environmental and social harms linked to forest conversion.

It promotes restoration through social and environmental remedy, ensures transparency in how FSC deals with non-conforming companies, and provides fair roadmaps for remedy. Its ultimate goal is to restore forests and communities, improve the integrity of the FSC certification scheme, and establish measurable conditions for potentially ending disassociation and rebuilding trust.

A New Chapter for Remedy

Since its entry into force on July 1, 2023, the FSC Remedy Framework has aimed to address social and environmental harms resulting from forestry operations. Indonesia, as the pilot setting for implementation, provided a vital case study on opportunities and challenges. The Jakarta forum served not only as a platform for consultation but also as a space for healing, dialogue, and reconciliation; highlighting the positive potential of remedy to restore forest ecosystems, protect biodiversity, and provide redress for affected communities.

Voices from the Forum

Representing the FSC Indigenous Foundation, Nicholas Mujah (FSC-IF Council Member), Praful Lakra (FSC Permanent Indigenous Peoples Committee PIPC Co-chair, Asia region), Minnie Degawan (FSC-IF Managing Director), and Dian Intarini (Indigenous Peoples Global Manager for Forestry and Certification) actively participated in the Jakarta Remedy Forum, bringing diverse perspectives from leadership, governance, and community engagement.

During the forum, attendees expressed that if rights are misunderstood, overlooked, or only superficially acknowledged, remedies risk becoming merely symbolic and may reproduce harm rather than repair it. Nicholas underscored this point, reminding participants how critical it is to understand right holders’ rights within the Forest Stewardship system.

Furthermore, Praful shared insights from his region, India, stressing the need to integrate Indigenous knowledge into the process and drawing lessons from the remedy of mining there. As Co-Chair of the Permanent Indigenous Peoples Committee (PIPC), Praful’s participation carried particular significance. Together with Marchus Colchester (FSC Board of directors and PIPC Liaison), who also engaged in the forum, their presence highlighted the importance of ensuring Indigenous perspectives are consistently heard in FSC processes. Having PIPC represented at the event created a valuable space for dialogue, knowledge sharing, and reflection that can help strengthen decision-making at the global level.

From left to right: Praful Lakra (PIPC Co-chair, Asia region), Marchus Colchester (FSC BoD), Nicholas Mujah (FSC-IF Council member), Dian Intarini (Indigenous Peoples Global Manager for Forestry and Certification)

From left to right: Isnadi from Riau, Kuspawansyah from East Kalimantan, Nicholas Mujah (FSC-IF Council member) and Minnie Degawan (FSC-IF Managing Director)

Moreover, Minnie reminded participants that for Indigenous Peoples, remedy is not a checklist of consultations or activities, but about restoring balance and safeguarding relationships: with the land, communities, and the unseen.

“Forests are our relatives,” she said. “They are the resting places of our ancestors, where we bury our children’s umbilical cords to connect them to Mother Earth. To sustain the forest is to sustain the Earth and the community. Remedy, for us, means restoring that sacred balance.”

Minnie stressed the need for clearer communication on what the Remedy Framework is, and what it is not. She emphasized that without this clarity, communities risk false expectations and further harm.

At the heart of her message was the call to reframe Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) as a process of relationship-building rather than a procedural step, reminding participants that consent is rooted in trust, equity, and mutual understanding.

Finally, Dian Intarini suggested that remedy actions should be aligned with national policies on community empowerment and land rights, for example Indonesia’s Village Law, to support the long-term sustainability of these actions.

Key Observations

Over three days, the agenda moved from exploring solutions for accelerating remedies, to presentations on social and cultural healing in unresolved conflicts, to a closed meeting with rights holders reflecting on their concerns and expectations.

The forum succeeded in fostering open, constructive dialogue, though it also revealed a disconnect in how stakeholders understood the framework and highlighted tensions between Indigenous Peoples and migrant/transmigrant communities that require sensitive approaches. Amid these dynamics, the FSC Indigenous Foundation emerged as a trusted, neutral facilitator and willing to continually support the process.

Looking Forward

As the FSC Remedy Framework continues to take shape, the lessons from the Jakarta forum remind us that remedy must be intentional, inclusive, and rooted in respect for Indigenous Peoples’ rights and worldviews.

The work ahead will not be easy, but as Minnie emphasized: “We have survived genocide and colonization by moving thoughtfully and carefully. Let us not rush, but ensure that remedy truly heals.”

Brewing a Future: Daniel Maches and Jaymar Garcia’s Journey to economic sustainability rooted in Indigenous knowledge

How Two Indigenous Youth Are Cultivating Culture and Sustainability

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Forests regulate our climate, clean the air we breathe, and sustain the biodiversity that makes life possible. Yet every year, more than 12 million hectares of forests are lost to destructive practices.

The FSC Indigenous Foundation (FSC-IF), together with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), works alongside Indigenous Peoples to protect forests and strengthen Indigenous-led nature solutions. At the heart of this vision are Indigenous youth like Daniel and Jaymar, who are carrying ancestral wisdom into the future.

How Two Indigenous Youth Are Cultivating Culture and Sustainability

On the forested slopes of Benguet in the Philippines, two young Indigenous entrepreneurs are proving that business can be both an act of cultural preservation and environmental stewardship. Daniel Jason Maches, of the ILias tribe, and Jaymar Garcia, from the Ibaloi, Kankanaey, and Kalanguya tribes, co-founded Banolmi Store PH to showcase forest-grown coffee and traditional cuisine rooted in ancestral knowledge.

For Daniel and Jaymar, entrepreneurship is not just about profit; it is about worth. In their language, Banolmi means “our worth,” symbolizing the heritage of mountains, rivers, rice terraces, and forests passed down by their ancestors “Our forests are life,” Daniel explains. “They give us water, food, and identity. Protecting them is not only survival: it’s honoring our ancestors.”

Their work challenges the dominance of extractive industries by offering sustainable livelihoods that restore biodiversity instead of depleting it. Through agro-ecological farming, they are reviving heirloom rice and native seeds, creating a seed bank for the future, and transforming coffee farming into a tool for conservation. Jaymar reflects, “Food is culture. When we save our Indigenous cuisine, we also save the native species that sustain our people.”

Beyond farming, Banolmi Store PH has become a seed bank of cultural memory, preserving flavors and practices that risk being lost. The impact extends to their community: families now look to coffee and native foods as sustainable sources of income, while traditional cuisine is gaining new recognition as both cultural identity and a tool for biodiversity conservation.

The journey has not been without risks. From navigating family obligations to facing red-tagging during their advocacy, Daniel and Jaymar have demonstrated leadership with courage, finding non-confrontational ways to defend their forests while building community trust.

Looking ahead, Daniel and Jaymar’s dream

These Indigenous entrepreneurs dream of expanding Banolmi into a model that can be replicated in other communities, showing that Indigenous-led enterprises are both viable and transformative. They envision not only coffee farms, but entire agroforestry systems that provide food, restore forests, and sustain cultural traditions.

To achieve this, they hope to build partnerships with organizations, businesses, and individuals who share their vision and collaborators who can help open markets, provide resources, and amplify their message. “Our goal is to show that Indigenous foods and products are not just heritage, they are the future,” Jaymar says.

On this World Entrepreneurs Day, Daniel and Jaymar’s story reminds us that Indigenous knowledge is innovation. Their venture is not only brewing coffee: it is cultivating a future where culture, community, and conservation thrive together.

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