The World Bank just approved a US$4 million grant to help Costa Rica’s Indigenous communities take charge of forest conservation and get their share of benefits from emissions reduction programs, according to the latest release. The Environmental Bank Foundation will run the project, which lets Indigenous groups decide what gets funded and how money gets spent. It’s the first time Costa Rica has given Indigenous communities this kind of control over conservation investments. Eight different Indigenous groups will benefit, including the Cabécar, Bribri, and Ngabe peoples. The project especially focuses on Indigenous women and young people who manage farms and natural resources.
Costa Rica has been working on forest conservation for years, but Indigenous communities often got left out of decision-making even though they live in the areas being protected. The country participates in international programs that pay for reducing deforestation, but those benefits haven’t always reached the people who actually protect the forests. This new approach tries to fix that problem by putting Indigenous leaders in charge from the start.
The money comes from the World Bank’s EnABLE trust fund, which works alongside the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility’s emissions reduction programs. Instead of outsiders deciding what Indigenous communities need, the communities will choose their own priorities and approve their own projects. “For the first time, Indigenous Peoples will directly lead the definition and execution of conservation investments,” Finance Minister Rudolf Lücke explained. The project will help groups access benefits from emissions reduction programs while building up their own organizations. Training programs will teach new farming techniques and sustainable business methods that don’t hurt the environment.
Communities can use the funds to buy equipment, secure land rights, and build climate-resilient infrastructure like rainwater collection systems and small irrigation projects. The project also supports environmental education through visitor centers and nature trails that can bring in tourism income. World Bank Country Manager Carine Clert said Indigenous knowledge about land and resources is crucial for environmental protection.
This project could serve as a model for other countries trying to include Indigenous communities in climate programs. It shows how international funding can work when local people control the decisions. For aid workers and policy makers, it demonstrates a different way of doing conservation – one where the people who know the land best get to decide how to protect it. The focus on women and youth also recognizes that they’re often the ones doing the actual work of managing resources and farming.
