Since 2018, community organizations from Latin America, Africa, and Asia have been coordinating efforts to strengthen the recognition and participation of local communities in the climate regime of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Despite playing an essential role in biodiversity conservation and climate regulation and adaptation, these communities still lack formal representation in the Convention's decision-making bodies. This initiative, supported by the Institute for Society, Population and Nature (ISPN), with support from the Institute for Climate and Society (iCS), and several national and international partners, seeks to address this historical and structural gap, paving the way for a climate regime of reparation and justice.
"It's time to break the institutional silence that still renders local communities and Afro-descendant peoples invisible—without full recognition of those who care for the Earth, there will be no climate justice or a possible shared future," says Guilherme Eidt, ISPN's Advocacy and Public Policy Coordinator.
Recognition still unequal
Indigenous peoples have been officially recognized as a constituency (Indigenous Peoples' Organizations - IPO) since COP7 (2001). Local communities, however, remain invisible, despite being mentioned in the Paris Agreement (Preamble and Article 7) and in several decisions of the Conference of the Parties (2/CP.24, 16/CP.26 and 14/CP.29).
The lack of recognition limits these communities' access to negotiation spaces, consultation mechanisms, and climate finance, restricting their influence over policies that directly impact their territories and ways of life.
This exclusion is even more serious when it affects Afro-descendant and quilombola peoples, who face environmental racism and suffer disproportionately from the impacts of climate change, even though they are guardians of territories that are key to biodiversity and global climate balance.
Recent milestones on the international agenda
In recent years, decisions and processes within the UNFCCC and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) have paved the way for greater participatory equity.
- COP16 (Cali, 2024) – For the first time, an official CBD text included an explicit reference to Afro-descendant peoples, recognizing their contribution to biodiversity conservation.
- COP29 (Baku, 2024) – The Baku Workplan (2025–2028) reinforced the integration of Indigenous and community voices, although without including representatives of local communities in the Facilitating Working Group (FWG) of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP).
- SB62 (Bonn, 2025) – For the first time, community representatives participated in a dedicated discussion group within the FWG, presenting the Charter and Technical Note on the Formal Recognition of Local Communities, signed by Latin American networks and partner organizations.
Bonn Letter reinforces demands for recognition
The Bonn Charter—sent in June 2025 to the LCIPP and the UNFCCC Secretariat—reaffirms the urgent need for formal recognition of Local Communities (LCs) in the global climate regime. The document, signed by networks and organizations such as ISPN, Rede Cerrado, MIQCB, CNS, CNPCT, AMPB, APIB, Utz Che', Red MOCAF, OPAN, IEB, Terra de Direitos, and others, calls for concrete actions to ensure equity, legitimacy, and effective participation.
"From the heart of the Cerrado, our advocacy springs as an act of resistance, hope, and historical reparation. We are heirs to communities that, for centuries, have cared for the land, water, and wind, ensuring the balance that sustains life. By affirming our presence on the climate agenda, we remind the world that there is no climate justice without territorial justice, nor is there a possible future without the recognition and reparation of those who keep the sacred relationship with the land alive," declares Samuel Caetano, a Geraizeiro and president of the National Council of Traditional Peoples and Communities (CNPCT).
The signatories emphasize that local communities face disproportionate impacts from climate change and, at the same time, are key agents of resilience and adaptation. The letter calls for compliance with the decisions already adopted by the COP, formal recognition of local communities as constituent actors of the UNFCCC, their inclusion in the Baku Work Plan of the LCIPP, the creation of a Local Community Participation Fund, and the strengthening of mechanisms for intercultural translation and inclusive dialogue.
“We are still here, we will continue to be here, and we need to be heard,” the document says.
Global Caucus of Local Communities: A New Political Framework
Inspired by successful experiences such as the Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC), the Local Communities Global Caucus (LCGC) is being formed and will be officially launched during COP30 in Belém (PA).
The Caucus aims to consolidate a permanent, autonomous and plural political space for the articulation of local communities at a global level, seeking formal recognition as a new constituency of the UNFCCC.
"The creation of a Local Community Caucus is a decisive step toward consolidating their political voice in the UNFCCC—a call to philanthropy, civil society, and countries to join forces and secure technical and financial support that strengthens their presence and recognition as a legitimate constituency of the global climate regime," highlights Guilherme Eidt, coordinator of Advocacy and Public Policies at the Institute for Society, Population, and Nature (ISPN).
The objectives of the Global Caucus of Local Communities include:
- Strengthen the representation of local communities in the Convention bodies (LCIPP, SBSTA, SBI, Article 6, Adaptation and Loss and Damage);
- Support the institutional review of LCIPP, with the inclusion of community seats;
- Promote regional consultations and exchanges between Latin America, Africa and Asia;
- Ensure principles of self-identification, community legitimacy, gender parity, geographic rotation, and racial justice;
- Propose a Local Community Participation Fund with direct and unbureaucratic access to climate resources.
Climate governance with justice and reparation
The creation of the Caucus and the advancement of the debate within the UNFCCC mark an essential step towards more fair, inclusive and representative climate governance.
“Local communities are not just implementing partners—they are political actors shaping climate solutions,” highlighted the presentation given at the Global Grasslands & Savannahs Dialogue 2025.
For ISPN and its partner organizations, recognizing Afro-descendant peoples, quilombolas, and local communities as political subjects in the global climate regime is a condition for legitimacy, reparation, and climate justice—indispensable for addressing the climate crisis equitably and effectively.