According to a recent report on global human rights funding, donors in the global South and East focus far more on environmental and resource rights than their counterparts in the global North. They also devote a bigger share of their efforts towards capacity building and collaboration.
These findings resonated with my organization, CASA, because this is what we do. Over the last decade, we have tried to effect sustainable and equitable change by making approximately 1,500 micro-grants of $5,000-15,000 USD to numerous small, community-based organizations in ten South American countries. We believe this approach minimizes many of the negative, unintended, and perverse impacts of foreign aid on civil society.
To reverse the destruction of ecosystems, we must first provide the appropriate level of resources to indigenous people and traditional communities. Most funders approach complex problems by providing large grants to a handful of large organizations. Our strategy is different: we believe that to reverse the destruction of ecosystems, we must first provide the appropriate level of resources to indigenous people and traditional communities to strengthen their capacity to engage in proposing solutions. People living in the affected areas need to understand what is at stake and have their voices heard and their rights respected.
