Want to Fund in the Global South? Philanthropic Collaboratives Can Help

Back in 2019, Indigenous land defenders of the Amazon were under a level of threat not felt in decades. Illegal logging and mining in Brazil were in overdrive, and by year’s end, over 7 million hectares of the Brazilian Amazon had burned. At the height of the fire season, a plume of smoke plunged São Paulo—some 2,000 miles away—into darkness at mid-afternoon. Experts warned of a tipping point. Beneath that smoke, Indigenous communities did what they’ve done for thousands of years—work to protect their way of life and the ecosystems that their families, and the rest of the world, rely on. In the Riozinho region in the south of the country, three prospectors pushed their way into Indigenous territory with heavy machinery. Local people in several villages documented the destruction with drones, immediately sharing the information with one another and local authorities. Meanwhile, Tuie, a member of the Tato’a Indigenous Association in the northern state of Pará, worried for his ancestral land and how the next generation could possibly survive. Bitaté, a member of the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau Indigenous Association in the western state of Rondônia, described the local encroachment there as an invasion and helped to collect evidence, images, and coordinates to submit reports to the public prosecutor’s office. These are just a few of the grantee stories from Fundo Casa Socioambiental’s initiative to strengthen Indigenous land rights in the Brazilian Amazon. Fundo Casa Socioambiental has fueled environmental justice efforts in Brazil for nearly two decades. In partnership with 57 Indigenous organizations, it has made grants, supported communication and knowledge sharing among disparate communities, and resourced communities to use technology to monitor and report threats to their land and protect their territories. These Indigenous organizations have helped federal authorities identify and arrest illegal loggers and miners and have collectively protected some 63 million hectares—an area nearly as large as France. “Fundo Casa helps to strengthen voices that are often silenced or do not have visibility,” says Puyr Tembé, president of the Federation of Indigenous Peoples of the State of Pará. “When we talk about the defense of the territory, we are talking about the defense of life.” With its deep, longstanding relationships with local communities, the due diligence it performs on emerging groups, and its bird’s-eye view of threats to the Amazon, Fundo Casa Socioambiental is uniquely positioned to move resources efficiently and effectively where they will have the most impact.

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https://www.bridgespan.org/insights/want-to-fund-in-the-global-south-philanthropic-collaboratives-can-help#:~:text=This%20report%20highlights%20the%20unique%20value%20proposition%20of%20collaborative%20funds