Raízes – Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Fund for Climate Justice is an initiative of the Brazil Human Rights Fund that supports the struggle for rights and climate and environmental justice across the Amazon, Cerrado, Caatinga, Atlantic Forest, Pantanal, and Pampas, as well as the Coastal-Marine System, territories that are vital to climate stability and to protecting people, biodiversity, and nature.
Raízes draws on two decades of the Brazil Fund’s experience supporting civil society organizations throughout the country. Based on the understanding that the climate emergency cannot be separated from social inequalities, the initiative adopts a comprehensive approach to strengthening Indigenous peoples, quilombola communities (traditional communities formed by descendants of escaped enslaved people), and other traditional communities, recognizing their central role in protecting their territories and developing sustainable alternatives.
The program combines financial support for projects aimed at structural change, emergency response, and stronger policy advocacy. It supports initiatives focused on protecting territories and biodiversity, combating deforestation, strengthening territorial autonomy, and promoting socio-bioeconomy and traditional value chains.
Exclusive funding opportunities for Indigenous peoples, local communities, and quilombola groups
SOS Raízes is the Brazil Human Rights Fund’s rapid-response mechanism dedicated to protecting human rights defenders, with a focus on Indigenous and traditional community leaders. The fund provides integrated protection for people, territories, and ways of life in the face of threats, attacks, or criminalization. It also supports communities facing severe socio-environmental and territorial emergencies, such as wildfires, floods, and extreme drought, helping ensure immediate conditions for safety, resistance, and adaptation.
Through a streamlined and direct process, emergency support helps sustain struggles and organizing in the territories at critical moments.
To request support for the protection of human rights defenders, please email [email protected].
For requests related to extreme climate emergencies, please contact [email protected].
