Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the objectives of the G7 Kananaskis Wildfire Charter, what steps they are taking to ensure direct funding to indigenous peoples and forest peoples provides the flexibility needed to prevent and mitigate wildfires.

Wildfires drove record-breaking levels of forest loss globally in 2024 and overtook agriculture as the leading cause of tropical primary forest loss. The G7 Kananaskis Wildfire Charter recognised the scale of the challenge posed by wildfires and resolved to support efforts to prevent and mitigate their occurrence internationally. Effective responses will be grounded in a whole of society approach, which, depending on the local context, will include governments, civil society, academia, private sector and Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs).

The UK will engage with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Global Fire Management Hub working groups, including on Community-Based Fire Management, to support the wider understanding of the challenges and requirements of IPLCs in responding to wildfires globally. The UK is also working internationally to support efforts to strengthen land and forest tenure rights and forest governance systems, including direct support to IPLC groups. For example, the Amazon Catalyst for Forest Communities (AMCAT) programme supports IPLC-led solutions by providing direct, flexible funding, recognising that local knowledge and tenure rights are critical to effective forest management and wildfire prevention.