For any of us working in sustainability, land guardianship is crucial to climate action. Yet the ways to support stewards of the land - Indigenous peoples and local communities - are not obvious. I learned so much from Nonette Royo from the Tenure Facility: she grew up seeing violence and land grabs in her home in the Philippines, and became a human rights lawyer to protect the protectors of land.

THE IMPACT. Nonette Royo:

- Is a human rights and environment lawyer, committed to supporting the aspirations of Indigenous and local peoples and helping forest communities protect their people and land

- Is currently Executive Director at The International Land and Forest Tenure Facility, an organization focused on securing land and forest rights for Indigenous Peoples and local communities

- Gave a TED talk on why Indigenous forest guardianship is crucial to climate action

- Has over 30 years experience advising funds dedicated to Indigenous Peoples and local communities in forest and climate programmes

- Co-founded and led the Samdhana Institute and set up several NGOs focusing on advancing Indigenous Peoples and women’s legal rights, helping design and implement funding portfolios for local communities and Indigenous Peoples in the global south

THE JOURNEY. In our conversation, we explore:

- Origins of Nonette’s life and work in the Philippines: a "land of promise" and broken promises

- Becoming a lawyer and the challenge for Indigenous communities: traditions that don’t believe in land ownership in a capitalist system that demands deeds and titles

- Bringing alternative law solutions to bridge the two worlds: through basic human rights, ancestral domain law, and Indigenous People’s Collective Titles

- The hardest part of this work: bringing communities together to heal stories and land

- The key to climate change: land rights in conversation with stewards of the land

As always, send any feedback and ideas to impactjourneypodcast at gmail dot com.