I Almost Said "All Systems Go" for a New Voluntary Fund. Then I Read the Fine Print.

How a developing country caveat would exclude Indigenous voices from the Global North

You know that feeling when you're reviewing a treaty text and everything looks good until you spot the landmine buried three paragraphs deep?

Yeah. That happened this week.

I was reviewing language from the BBNJ negotiations (that's Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction for the non-UN nerds), specifically about a voluntary fund to support Indigenous p…