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December 13, 2025
#indigenous UN Report Highlights Global Imbalance as Indigenous Peoples Protect 80% of Biodiversity but Receive Less Than 1% of Climate Funding
Waatea Team
Posted On December 13, 2025
A major new United Nations report has laid bare the global inequities facing Indigenous communities, revealing that while Indigenous Peoples make up just six per cent of the world’s population, they protect 80 per cent of the planet’s remaining biodiversity-yet receive less than one per cent of international climate finance.
Released on Thursday, The State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples warns that climate action worldwide remains not only too slow, but fundamentally unfair. It documents how Indigenous communities are consistently sidelined from major climate decisions, displaced by green energy projects imposed without consent, and denied access to the funding required to lead climate solutions already rooted in their knowledge and stewardship.
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, writes in the report’s foreword that Indigenous Peoples are “custodians of the natural world” whose role is central to maintaining planetary balance.
“Although we are disproportionately affected by the climate crisis, Indigenous Peoples are not victims,” she says. “We are committed to maintaining the natural equilibrium of the planet for the generations to come.”
The report draws on contributions from Indigenous leaders, the World Health Organization, researchers and communities across seven global regions, combining lived experience with scientific analysis. It highlights cases where Indigenous land rights, health, food systems and cultural continuity are threatened by climate impacts and poorly designed environmental policies.
For Māori in Aotearoa, the findings resonate strongly. Māori leaders have long argued that iwi, hapū and whānau hold deep environmental knowledge shaped over centuries of kaitiakitanga – yet funding, political influence and decision-making authority often remain concentrated in government or corporate structures.
The UN report reinforces calls for:
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Genuine partnership and consent-based processes, not top-down climate solutions
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Direct investment into Indigenous communities leading their own environmental restoration
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Recognition of Indigenous governance systems, including Māori approaches to land, water and biodiversity
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Protection of Indigenous rights in green energy and conservation projects
As the world grapples with climate disruption, the report urges governments to shift from treating Indigenous Peoples as stakeholders to recognising them as indispensable leaders in climate resilience.
Radio Waatea will continue to follow global Indigenous climate developments and their implications for Māori communities across Aotearoa.
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