Indigenous Peoples Asia Solidarity Fund (IPAS)

IPAS is the first regional Indigenous-led fund within Asia – created and governed by Indigenous Peoples for Indigenous Peoples and their movements. It was established to address the limited access Indigenous Peoples in Asia have to conservation funding, such as the $1.7 billion forest tenure pledge committed at COP 26.  

A crucial aim of IPAS is to generate and mobilise funding to strengthen the Indigenous Peoples of Asia – amplifying solidarity and leadership to govern resources towards a sustainable future.  

IPAS' main objectives are to build and strengthen the capacity of Indigenous Peoples' institutions and networks and establish cooperation and solidarity of Indigenous Peoples of Asia through networking, collaboration, and cultural exchange.  

Additionally, they seek to provide direct access to funding to enhance the lifeways and projects of Indigenous People, strengthening self-determination and autonomous management of territory and natural resources.   

Joan Carling, a Filipino Indigenous activist who has been defending the rights of Indigenous Peoples for more than 30 years, is the DIRECTOR of IPAS. Image: © Right Livelihood

Focusing on the priorities and frameworks relevant to Indigenous Peoples of Asia, IPAS supports a range of initiatives to meet these six targets:   

1. The protection of a total of 29.55 million hectares of tropical rainforests in Asia by 2028 

1. Sensitisation of 50-60 million Indigenous Peoples regarding territorial and environmental management  

1. At least 6 million Indigenous Peoples and intersectional groups directly benefitting from the IPAS fund 

1. The active management and monitoring of the IPAS fund by Country Steering Committees (CSCs) across all countries 

1. The mapping of Indigenous Territories for 40 million hectares 

Among other grassroots initiatives, IPAS has supported Indigenous Young Women with disabilities  – providing funding to organise a comprehensible three-day leadership and capacity-building training workshop – and the displaced Chepang People of Nepal to create a report showcasing the human rights violation of their eviction and call for national and internation bodies to safeguard Indigenous Peoples and their rights.  

Other work by the Fund includes IPAS' Living Traditions, a booklet sharing powerful stories and experiences of Indigenous communities in Asia. Through this, Indigenous communities have contributed their personal stories of resilience, cultural traditions, and self-determination.