Around the world, indigenous peoples and local communities hold a unique power to protect and restore essential ecosystems. From forests to wetlands, these ecosystems are a key defence against climate change. But when local people are threatened – or denied the chance to make a sustainable living – our climate is threatened too. 

The Ashden Award for Natural Climate Solutions will boost work in developing countries strengthening the incomes, wellbeing and security of Indigenous peoples and local communities – allowing them to act as guardians and restorers of their lands. Indigenous people safeguard 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity, but face daily threats to their way of life.  

The winner could be turning palm or soy plantation areas into sustainable productive land, helping communities restore degraded or desertified ecosystems, or supporting community forest enterprises. The winner’s work will be centred on the needs, priorities and knowledge of indigenous people and local communities.