ELATIA network and Indigenous Livelihood Enhancement Partners (ILEPA), in partnership with the UN High-level Champion for COP28, Razan Al Mubarak, and with support from the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, are pleased to announce the call for case study submissions for the global data study on Indigenous Peoples and climate change.
Back in 2023, the UN High-level Champion for COP28, Razan Al Mubarak, announced the launch of the #GlobalDataStudy on Indigenous Peoples’ Climate Action – a landmark study that will showcase how the knowledge systems of #IndigenousPeoples are vital for responding to #ClimateChange across the seven socio-cultural regions, including exploring trends in Indigenous Peoples’ access to climate finance.
The joint initiative is being led by ILEPA, and will formally conclude later this year at #COP30 in Belem, where Indigenous Peoples will be front and centre.
The Global Study on Indigenous Peoples' Climate Contributions aims to examine Indigenous peoples' practices, experiences, interpretations, and responses to climate variability and change.
The Study emphasizes a rights- and responsibilities-based approach, highlighting Indigenous Peoples as agents of change in climate action at local, regional, national, and international levels. It will focus on case studies from the seven socio-cultural regions of Indigenous Peoples: Africa, Asia-Pacific, Arctic, North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Russian Federation, illustrating their contributions to climate ambition, mitigation, adaptation, and trends in access to climate finance.
The Study will showcase Indigenous knowledge systems and practices as vital for climate actions while documenting the impacts of loss and damage experienced by Indigenous Peoples, despite their low carbon footprints. This approach will also underscore the necessity of climate justice in the context of their territorial management practices, which reflect diverse lifestyles, including hunting, fishing, herding, and cultivation.
The study aims to be as comprehensive as possible and include as many case studies as feasible with the resources available for this study.
While each of the seven socio-cultural regions of Indigenous Peoples has a designated Individual consultant/contributors of at least one/integrated region-specific case studies; this call is an additional open space to generate more concrete case studies from the regions t0 allow for the widest possible coverage and comprehensive content.
Case studies should be:
a) Relevance to climate change
Case studies should contain observations or responses by Indigenous Peoples participating in the process as deliberate responses to climate triggers.
b) Indigenous Peoples led and engaged
Case studies should also demonstrate either full engagement by indigenous peoples (i.e. projects that were either implemented by an indigenous organization or designed exclusively to benefit Indigenous Peoples) or strong involvement of indigenous peoples (i.e. distinct components or sub-projects benefiting and targeting indigenous peoples or carried out by an indigenous organization).
c) Relevant to Indigenous Peoples efforts to trigger enhanced access to Climate Change Finance
d) Other Consideration
Case studies should include information about the primary country or region in which the activity is implemented, a few key words, a one or two-paragraph summary of the initiative and its outcomes, and reference details for further information focusing on either the impacts of climate change on Indigenous Peoples, or activities being taken by them to address the effects of climate change.
Case studies can draw on and cite published and peer-reviewed literature, quotations from Elders, public project documents, videos, multimedia, online works, art and personal stories.
We want to hear from people who are happy to share their ideas and experiences, no matter how small. Many Indigenous stewards have experiences that can contribute to this project—the more people involved, the richer, nuanced & compelling the study findings will be and powerful in influencing actors in the climate change arena.
We also want to hear from non-Indigenous partners (NGOs, government agencies, etc.) who’re collaborating/who’d like to co-develop a case study with one or more of their Indigenous partners.
To participate in this important project, please email the project coordinator at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or upload your case study through the following dashboard: https://research.ilepa-kenya.org/wp/