Gaia Amazonas
Indigenous People safeguard 40% of the Earth's intact land yet their land rights often remain unrecognized and they’re increasingly under threat.
The Idea
Community Accompaniment for Conservation
Total Investment
1900000
Grants
0
Equity/SAFE
0
Debt/Convertible Debt
Funded Since
2017
Geography
Sector
Structure
The Mission
Thriving Amazon ecosystems with thriving Indigenous communities.
How It Works
Gaia pioneered “accompaniment”—a long-term partnership with Indigenous Governments to meet their needs and protect forests. They help communities secure tenure, strengthen governance, and develop “Life Plans” for livelihoods and management. Then, they help IGs get government recognition as municipalities to access public finance and gain territorial autonomy.
The Dream
Indigenous governments are recognized and funded by the national government—like municipalities—so they can sustain their people and their land.
Why We're In
They’ve been highly successful. Indigenous Governments accompanied by Gaia maintain half the deforestation rates of comparable areas. All 10 Indigenous Governments (covering 8.3M hectares) that Gaia accompanies have been officially recognized by the national government as municipalities. Gaia is preparing operational budgets with them to receive direct government funding—a gamechanger for territorial autonomy. They have also successfully piloted a “macroterritory” model—combining four Indigenous Territories (covering 3.3M ha) into a province to drive administrative and policy efficiency.
Impact
The annual deforestation rates for Gaia accompanied territories are half that of surrounding unaccompanied areas.
The Model
A solution that works and can scale.
Partnership
Understand indigenous knowledge and practices to shape activities and decisions
Tenure
Secure tenure for indigenous communities
Governance
Strengthen governance systems and get official recognition of indigenous governments
Plans
Develop ‘Life Plans’ to support indigenous administrative and financial needs; incorporate indigenous and outside knowledge to achieve long term ecosystem management
Potential for Impact at Scale
Mulago uses four criteria to gauge potential for exponential impact. The model must be:
This is about impact and evidence. The average annual rate of deforestation in Indigenous Territories accompanied by Gaia (0.033%) in the Colombian Amazon is 2x less than that of ITs not accompanied by Gaia (0.060%). This data comes from high-quality, third-party monitoring via RAISG, a network of Amazon organizations focused on geo-referenced, socio-environmental information. There is also a large body of evidence that indigenous protection leads to better conservation outcomes.
This is about scope. Indigenous Governments across all the Amazon Basin need stronger governance and support. They cover ~29% of the entire Amazon Basin (RAISG 2023 data). For this model to work, national governments need to be amenable to establishing indigenous land tenure and rights, and there need to be credible, local NGOs with ties to indigenous communities who can effectively accompany communities.
This is about whether NGOs can deliver the model. Many Amazon NGOs want to replicate this model; the Northern Amazon Alliance is Gaia’s vehicle for sharing their model and enabling NGOs to bring accompaniment to other critical parts of the Amazon. While Gaia’s accompaniment approach is complex and long-term, it works. All 10 accompanied IGs are moving toward financial and political independence. Gaia is working with them to operationalize their plans, build multi-year budgets, and align local data systems with national government systems. Gaia has also piloted a “macroterritory” model—four Indigenous Territories operating like a province—to improve efficiency.
This is about what the model costs if governments pay. It costs Gaia ~$1/ha/year to accompany Indigenous Governments, a bargain for the outsized impact they are helping create. Now that all Indigenous Territories have been recognized by the national government, Gaia is helping each of them draft 3-year operational budgets, which will unlock the ability to define the true cost of Indigenous self-governance, a critical step for securing sustainable funding.
.png)
Gaia is in late Growth stage, all the Indigenous Governments they accompany have been officially recognized by the national government as municipalities, and they are now preparing for fiscal independence as Territorial Entities (I.e., municipalities).
Our Take
Indigenous-led conservation is the most effective pathway to conserve the Amazon. Gaia has sufficient evidence to-date that demonstrates their ability to maintain a sustainable rate of deforestation in the Amazon. Their model has broad application across the entire Amazon Basin, and though the model requires some niche expertise, there are many NGOs who have the right characteristics (well-established, trust-based alliances with indigenous territories and the right experience) to replicate the model. It’s still early stages of the Northern Amazon Alliance, but initial momentum is promising. As Gaia works to refine each Indigenous Government Territorial Entity’s operating budget, they will gain greater clarity into the true cost of at scale.
Are you a serious funder and want to learn more?
This is just a snapshot of what we know about the organization. If you're an investor or funder that might send some serious dough their way, we're always delighted to share more. Reach out and we'll connect you with the right person on our team.
*this is not monitored for funding requests.
.png)
