Major forest-related announcements and indigenous participation are dominating discussions at COP30, the United Nations climate conference taking place November 10 to 21 in Belem, Brazil, with experts highlighting the critical role of tropical forests in addressing climate change.
Brazil formally launched the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF) on November 6, a mechanism designed to provide long-term, predictable financing to countries that protect and sustainably manage their tropical forests. Norway pledged $3 billion to the initiative, marking the largest contribution announced so far, while Brazil committed $1 billion, Indonesia another $1 billion, and France approximately $500 million.
The facility aims to raise $125 billion and will support over 70 tropical countries that collectively host over one billion hectares of tropical forest, with 20 percent of funding designated to go directly to indigenous communities. Once fully funded, the forest facility is expected to generate approximately $4 billion annually for conservation efforts through investing in bonds issued by developing countries, using interest earned to pay nations for preserving tropical forests.
The 2025 conference is expected to host the largest participation of indigenous peoples in COP history, with more than 3,000 indigenous delegates registered. Brazil’s Minister of Indigenous Peoples, Sonia Guajajara, described COP30 as potentially the best conference in terms of indigenous participation, noting that Indigenous peoples are recognized as the greatest guardians of forests, environment, and biodiversity.
In the lead up to the conference, governments and donors announced major commitments to recognize customary lands and provide funding support for land rights. On November 6, governments committed to title 160 million hectares of land to indigenous peoples and local communities by 2030 through the Forest and Climate Leaders Partnership. A coalition of more than 35 governments and philanthropies also pledged $1.8 billion to support indigenous peoples, local communities, and Afro-descendants.
A flotilla of indigenous leaders completed a weeks-long journey from a glacier in the Andes to Belem, arriving November 9 aboard a vessel nicknamed Yaku Mama, or Water Mother, carrying approximately 60 passengers demanding greater say in how their territories are managed. The group started their journey from the headwaters of rivers feeding into the Amazon to highlight dangers mountain glaciers face from climate change and extraction, noting that the Andes hold over 99 percent of the world’s tropical glaciers and nearly half of the Amazon River’s water comes from the Andes.
A new report scheduled for release on November 13 will examine the extent to which national climate plans over-rely on unrealistic land-based measures like tree planting versus forest protection and fossil fuel reductions. Kate Horner, a lead author of the forthcoming Land Gap Report from the University of Melbourne, described current forest policies and finance as providing a band-aid to cure a disease.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated at the Leaders’ Summit that it is no longer time for negotiations but rather time for implementation, emphasizing the urgency of action. Under Brazil’s presidency, COP30 will revolve around an action agenda of 30 key goals, each driven by an activation group tasked with scaling up solutions, using the indigenous word mutirão meaning collective task.
France and other governments are expected to officially launch a $1.25 billion fund on November 17 to protect Congo Basin rainforests through an initiative called The Belem Call for the Forests of the Congo Basin. Contributing nations include France, Gabon, Germany, Norway, Belgium and Britain.
The Amazon Basin remains the epicenter of global forest loss, with Brazil alone accounting for roughly half of all tropical forest degradation in the basin in recent assessments. Tropical forest loss hit record levels in 2024, threatening some of the most biodiverse regions in the world that serve as essential carbon sinks helping stabilize a warming planet.
Holding COP30 in Belem, often called the gateway to the Amazon, brings geographic and symbolic importance to discussing forests, biodiversity, indigenous rights, and environmental justice in a place deeply impacted by deforestation and climate vulnerability. Indigenous leaders and civil society groups insist that emerging climate finance models must recognize rights, agency and self-determination rather than relying solely on top-down funding flows.
