Sudan’s diverse crops and agricultural heritage are at risk of being lost. The ongoing conflict in Sudan is claiming lives and threatening livelihoods and food security. In the chaos of conflict, scientists like Ali Babiker are fighting to protect Sudan’s future food security—not with weapons, but with seeds. In a move to safeguard its agricultural […]

By Michael Stanley-Jones
RICHMOND HILL, Ontario, Canada, Mar 25 2025 – The central role Indigenous Peoples and local communities in addressing climate change, biodiversity loss and desertification has gained widespread recognition over the past decade. Indigenous Peoples’ close dependence on resources and ecosystems, exceptional tradition, and ancestral knowledge are invaluable assets for the sustainable management of our planet’s natural resources.

Michael Stanley-Jones

Globally, Indigenous Peoples manage or have tenure rights over at least ~38 million km2 of land across 87 countries or politically distinct areas on all inhabited continents. This represents over 25% of the world’s land surface and intersects with about 40% of all terrestrial protected areas and 37% of remaining natural lands. At least 36% of Intact Forests Landscapes are within Indigenous Peoples’ lands, making these areas crucial to the mitigation action needed to avoid catastrophic climate change.

The international community has highlighted prominently the importance of the role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities to achieving the goals of the ʻRio Conventions’ – United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

In 2017, the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC emphasized the role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in achieving the targets and goals set out in the Convention, the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, while recognizing their vulnerability to climate change. COP23 established the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform to promote the exchange of traditional knowledge, knowledge of indigenous peoples and local knowledge systems, as well as to strengthen their representatives’ engagement in the UNFCCC process.

UNCCD followed in 2020, launching an Indigenous Peoples’ dialog on climate change, biodiversity and desertification. Canada, in coordination with 16 U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Member States, launched in 2020 the Group of Friends of Indigenous Peoples in Rome, chaired by Ambassador Alexandra Bugailiskis, who currently serves as Chair of the UNU-INWEH International Advisory Committee. Working at the intersection of the Rio Conventions, UNU-INWEH especially addresses the theme of health and food security vis-a-vis Indigenous Peoples.

The adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework by the CBD in December 2022 sought to ensure traditional knowledge, innovations, practices and technologies of indigenous peoples and local communities are available and accessible to guide biodiversity action.

Not all has been clear skies and smooth sailing, however.

UNFCCC’s Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice reported in 2024 that there exists “a fundamental misalignment between the prevailing global approach to addressing climate change and the perspectives of Indigenous Peoples and local communities on the changing climate.”

The 476.6 million Indigenous Peoples, making up 6.2 per cent of the global population, represent “a rich diversity of cultures, traditions and ways of life based on a close relationship with nature” and should not be viewed as homogeneous groups.

Moreover, Indigenous Peoples and local communities are often perceived primarily as vulnerable, a focus which overshadows the rich knowledge systems, cultural values and practices of these communities. The report recommended shifting the narrative around Indigenous Peoples and local communities from vulnerability to nature stewardship and climate leadership.

The importance of emphasizing the positive contribution of Indigenous Peoples and local communities to achieving the goals of the Rio Conventions cannot be underestimated.

We should not lose sight of the ends which traditional, Indigenous and local knowledge and strengthened participation serve, namely, to foster stronger and more ambitious climate action by Indigenous Peoples that contributes to the ultimate achievement of the objectives of the Conventions.

Toward this end, in a landmark decision at CBD COP 16 in Cali, Colombia, in October-November 2024, Parties adopted a new Programme of Work on Article 8(j) and other provisions of the Convention related to indigenous peoples and local communities. This transformative programme sets out specific tasks to ensure the meaningful contribution of Indigenous Peoples towards achieving the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of biological diversity, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits.

The Climate Convention COP29 meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November 2024 decided to extend the mandate of the Facilitative Working Group of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform. It further invited Parties to provide simultaneous interpretation into languages other than the official languages of the United Nations at meetings of its Facilitative Working Group and mandated events under the Platform, a step which greatly opens up opportunities for the community to engage in climate, biodiversity and desertification action.

The UNCCD COP16 followed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in December 2024 by holding its first-ever Indigenous Peoples Forum, spotlighting the invaluable contributions of Indigenous Peoples to land conservation and sustainable resource management.

A more inclusive and participatory process engaging with Indigenous Peoples will serve to strengthen the Rio Conventions and enhance their chances of success. This is something worth championing in the challenging times the world is facing today.

Michael Stanley-Jones is an Environmental Policy and Governance Fellow at the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) and served in the UN Economic Commission for Europe and UN Environment Programme in Geneva and Nairobi from 2004 to 2022.

IPS UN Bureau

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?’http’:’https’;if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+’://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js’;fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, ‘script’, ‘twitter-wjs’);  

By Conor Lennon
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 24 2025 – Women rights advocates who gathered at UN Headquarters for the world’s biggest meeting (10 -21 March) on gender equality have been sharing their concerns about the growing backlash against feminism, and how major funding cuts from donor countries could threaten programmes aimed at improving the lives of women and girls.

They came from all over the world for the Commission on the Status of Women, two weeks of discussions, talks and networking. At the opening session, Sima Bahous, the head of UN Women (the United Nations agency for gender equality), told them that “misogyny is on the rise” and, at a townhall convened by António Guterres, the UN Secretary-General said that a “furious backlash” threatens to “push progress into reverse.

UN News met some of the delegates to gauge the mood and find out how they are they are feeling about the backlash against feminism flagged by UN Women, and what the threat of massive funding cuts from some major donor countries could mean for their organisations, and the people they support.

‘We’re going to move backwards before we move go forward’

Grace Forrest is the founding director of Walk Free, Walk Free, an international human rights group focused on the eradication of modern slavery, which produces the Global Slavery Index, considered to be the world’s leading data set on measuring and understanding modern slavery. Credit: UN News/Conor Lennon

“We’re here because women and girls are disproportionately impacted by nearly every form of modern slavery, from forced marriage to forced labour, debt bondage and human trafficking.

Their vulnerability to modern slavery is rising and their rights risk being rolled back throughout the world, so we wanted to come to here to put modern slavery on the agenda, in the context of an authoritarian government in the United States which is trying to ban words such as race, gender and feminism. We won’t be silenced or erased.

Today, we’re seeing misogyny on full display, through social media and through world leaders not mincing their words and people electing leaders who disregard safety and the value of women in the public forum.

We’re extremely concerned by funding cuts from major donors. We’re hearing about frontline organisations, run by people who have survived debt bondage and forced labour, having to take loans to try and keep their organisations afloat. Some of the most effective frontline organisations are being hit hardest and fastest.

Advancing the rights of women and girls is actually quite a tall order right now and it’s a scary fact to face, that we’re actually just going to be hoping to not move backwards. And I think we are going to go backwards before we go forward.

This is a time for systems to step up and directly call out the need for funding on issues like modern slavery.”

Soundcloud

‘We are highly affected by budget cuts’

Moufeeda Haidar from youth NGO Restless Development, speaks in the GA Hall during CSW69. She is the Senior Regional Programme Coordinator at Restless Development, a non-profit global agency that supports the collective power of young leaders. She was a Global Youth Fellow for Gender Equality in 2024. Credit: UN News

“I’m based in Lebanon, and I mainly work on a programme which tackles sexual and reproductive health and rights for young woman living with disabilities, women living with HIV, those who identify as LGBTQ, and displaced woman across nine countries, between Africa, Central America and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The backlash against feminism has always been there. Sometimes it’s very politicised and it’s used to the advantage of the patriarchy, so that women’s rights and gender rights attacked. There’s definitely a rising backlash in Lebanon and the MENA region.

The current political environment is not a surprise for us. We are already highly affected by budget cuts in the MENA region. Funds for youth programmes have been cut for years. In our latest State of Youth Civil Society report, 72 per cent of respondents said that they barely receive any funds for climate action projects.

We are very worried about how to plan. We work with grassroots organisations, women-led organisations and feminist movements and we have created networks in these countries and seen the amazing work that they have done throughout the years. We are wondering what’s next. How are we going to support this network?”

Linda Sestock is the president of the Canadian Federation of University Women, which awards universiCredit: ty scholarships to women and promotes the participation of women in all aspects of emerging technology and leadership. Credit: UN News

“We’re extremely concerned, especially after seeing what happened with our neighbours to the south of us: we have noticed how alliances have shifted in the United States and we’re very fearful. We want to make sure that it doesn’t happen in Canada as well.

Most Canadians believe in the rights of our fellow women and that we’re going to be able to continue on the same trajectory that we’re on, but we need to be careful and we need to make sure that we don’t backslide.

We need to be hyper focused about ensuring that women are educated and that they’re entering the fields of technology, engineering, science and mathematics, because right now algorithms are slanted towards men and can be used against women.

We’re worried when we see that some words are not allowed anymore, such as diversity, equity and inclusion [a list of words banned or discouraged by the US administration has reportedly been drawn up and circulated].

We have a lot of professors in our organisation, and people are losing grants because they are being asked to remove words like female and gender. They are refusing and so they are losing funding, and we need to make sure that we continue to embrace diversity, equity and inclusion.

It boggles the mind and leaves me speechless.”

These interviews have been edited for clarity and length

Source: UN News

IPS UN Bureau

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?’http’:’https’;if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+’://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js’;fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, ‘script’, ‘twitter-wjs’);  

On World Meteorological Day 2025, the World Meteorological Organization is highlighting persistent gaps in early warning systems as extreme weather events intensify, urging global action to ensure protection for all.

By Ed Holt
BRATISLAVA, Mar 24 2025 – Governments and donors must ensure funding is sustained to fight tuberculosis (TB), organizations working to stop the disease have said, as they warn the recent US pullback on foreign aid is already having a devastating effect on their operations.

NGOs and other groups that play a critical role in national efforts to stop what is the world’s deadliest infectious disease say the US administration’s recent decisions to first freeze and then cancel huge swathes of foreign aid funding have put countless lives at risk around the world.

And they warn that if that funding gap is not filled, years of progress in fighting TB could be lost.

“The impact of these cuts has been massive. There’s a gaping hole in financing, and if we don’t keep the pressure up on TB it will come back,” Dr. Cathy Hewison, Head of Médecins sans Frontières (MSF)’s TB working group, told IPS.

Every year, 10 million people develop TB, and in 2023 1.25 million died from the disease. It disproportionately affects low- and middle-income countries, with the largest TB burdens being among the world’s poorest states.

While in many states government funding accounts for at least the bulk of first-line treatment, community groups play a crucial and outsized role in national efforts to combat the disease, providing vital diagnosis, prevention, advocacy, and support services.

Many such groups rely heavily or exclusively on foreign funding with financing through US schemes, primarily USAID, predominant. USAID is the largest bilateral donor in the fight to end TB, having invested more than USD 4.7 billion to combat the disease since 2000.

In late January, an executive order from US President Donald Trump put a 90-day freeze on all US foreign aid while a review of funded projects was carried out, and then earlier this month, it was announced that 83% of all USAID projects were to be cancelled.

The effects on community groups on the frontlines of the fight against TB have been immediate and severe.

“Many community organizations have suspended outreach services, such as active case finding, contact tracing, treatment adherence, and psychosocial support,” Rodrick Rodrick Mugishagwe, a TB advocate with the Tanzania TB Community Network (TTCN), told IPS.

“Furthermore, transportation allowances for community health workers conducting home visits have been reduced, resulting in lower TB case detection rates. There have also been job losses among community health workers and peer educators, undermining service delivery,” he added.

Mugishagwe recounted how a woman from the city of Arusha in northern Tanzania who was diagnosed with TB last year had relied on a USAID-supported community programme for transport to a clinic for monthly treatment. But following the funding cuts, her programme shut down, and she could not afford the transport costs.

“She has disappeared from her residence and can no longer be traced, putting her at risk of treatment failure and developing drug-resistant TB, while there is a risk of further transmission to the community,” he said.

Bruce Tushabe, regional training and capacity strengthening lead at the AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA), which works with partners in South Africa on TB interventions, most of whom were supported through USAID, said treatment and access to TB medication had been stopped. There had also been a breakdown in community-led monitoring tracking progress in treatment access and availability, he said.

“There is a high burden of TB – an incidence rate of 468 per 100,000 of the population—and we now expect to see an increase in deaths, and in the long term, [rising] multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) among the populace, as well as increased TB cases since contact tracing is now paused in many areas and facilities,” he told IPS.

The spread of drug-resistant (DR-TB) and MDR-TB in the wake of the funding cuts is a particular concern, especially in poorer countries where DR TB is often widespread, as it is much harder and costlier to treat, putting an even greater burden on limited resources.

“There is a lot of DR-TB here and when people don’t have the right information and don’t take the right medicine or don’t have support during lengthy, sometimes very hard treatment, they might not be able to finish their course or treat their TB properly, and then the disease spreads. People with TB who had been going to TB centers may now turn up and find there is no one to answer their questions or give them the right advice on treatment, and so they might just turn away,” Atul Shengde, National Youth Coordinator—Global Coalition of TB Advocates, India, told IPS.

While TB often affects the poorest and most vulnerable communities, even within those communities there are some groups which are especially at risk, such as children.

“Children’s immune systems are less developed, which makes them more vulnerable to TB. Figures show 25% of the world is infected with TB, but just because someone is infected it does not mean they will get sick from it. But if your immune system is less developed or compromised in any way you are more likely to get TB, more likely to get ill with TB, and more likely to have more severe TB,” Hewison said.

“Children at risk of having TB are often overlooked, either going undiagnosed or facing delays in diagnosis. Now, with the recent US funding cuts, these gaps in identifying and treating children with TB will only widen further which threatens to roll back years of progress in TB care,” she added.

The World Health Organization has issued stark warnings of the devastating effects of the abrupt cessation of US global health funding, and affected organizations have pleaded with the US to reverse its decision.

But community groups who spoke to IPS admitted it appeared unlikely funding would resume any time soon.

And because US funding played such a large role in global TB efforts, they worry it will be very difficult to plug the current financing gap, certainly in the short to medium term, and possibly even long term, especially at a time when governments in high-income countries, such as the UK, Germany, and France, among others, are reducing foreign aid.

“I see no high-income donor countries stepping in to fill the gap left by the US funding cuts. Countries are faced with a lot of resource pressures at the moment; for instance, defense is a big issue now, and to pay for that, cuts are going to have to be made elsewhere, and that usually starts with healthcare,” Dr Lucica Ditiu, Executive Director of the Stop TB Partnership, told IPS.

“In future, low and middle income countries, especially, will have to relearn the hard lesson, as they did with Covid, that they are on their own. They will have to think about reducing their reliance on external donors for their health programmes and put the resources in themselves,” she added.

Buy while some governments may be able to up their financing of national TB programmes, poorer countries are likely to struggle to do so, and new forms of financing need to be considered, experts say.

“Of course, raising funding is impossible for some low-income countries. Innovative forms of funding need to be looked at—for example, financing from the different international development banks, debt swaps between countries, and others,” said Ditiu.

However, even if the funding gap is plugged somehow, or there is an unlikely dramatic reversal of US policy in the near future, there are fears the damage has already been done.

“We are going to see a massive spread of TB, and especially DR-TB, whatever happens now because cases have been missed, people have gone undiagnosed, and treatment has been interrupted,” said Ditiu.

IPS UN Bureau Report

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?’http’:’https’;if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+’://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js’;fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, ‘script’, ‘twitter-wjs’);