045 - Recognising and supporting indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ rights and roles in conservation
045 - Recognising and supporting indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ rights and roles in conservation
NOTING that functioning ecosystems are essential for maintaining life on Earth;
RECOGNISING that lands and waters conserved by indigenous peoples and local communities are some of the most diverse on earth, holding an estimated 80% of the planet’s biodiversity; and that per The state of Indigenous Peoples’ and Local Communities’ lands and territories report (2021), indigenous peoples and local communities own or govern at least 32% of global land and related inland waters.
RECOGNISING that, as per the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Ecosystem Services Panel (IPBES) report and other scientific sources, Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 was insufficient to protect biodiversity globally or to secure ecosystem services essential for humans and other forms of life; and that a more ambitious target, including promoting diverse and effective governance types, involving those from indigenous people and local communities needs to be set in the Post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework;
RECALLING Resolution 5.097 Implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Jeju, 2012), which calls for ensuring that the principles of UNDRIP are observed in the work of the Union;
RECALLING Resolution 4.048 Indigenous peoples, protected areas and implementation of the Durban Accord (Barcelona, 2008), which calls for recognition of indigenous peoples’ rights and collaboration to ensure free, prior and informed consent in the establishment of protected areas, as per the Durban Accord (2003);
REITERATING the importance of appropriate recognition of, and support for, territories and areas conserved by indigenous peoples and local communities (ICCAs – territories of life) in collective governance, management and conservation of biologically diverse landscapes expressed in previous IUCN Resolutions and Recommendations, including inter alia:
a. Resolution 5.094 Respecting, recognizing and supporting Indigenous Peoples’ and Community Conserved Territories and Areas (Jeju, 2012); and
b. Resolution 6.030 Recognising and respecting the territories and areas conserved by indigenous peoples and local communities (ICCAs) overlapped by protected areas (Hawai‘i, 2016); and
WELCOMING the work to develop the ‘Land Rights Standard’ for best practice for recognising and respecting indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ land and resource rights in landscapes (Global Landscape Forum, 2019);
1. REQUESTS the Director General to assemble a task force coordinated by the Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP), with the participation of the IPO Members of IUCN, to develop guidance and strategies for all Members to support indigenous and local community-led conservation efforts with reference to material already available, considering the diverse and unique knowledge systems of indigenous peoples and local communities, including the diversity of systems of knowledge with and about the environment;
2. ENCOURAGES State and Government Agency Members to ensure that existing and new protected and conserved areas are governed and managed by indigenous peoples and local communities, or – at the very least – to ensure full, equitable and effective participation of indigenous peoples and local communities in decision making, the free, prior and informed consent, as called for by UNDRIP, and the appropriate recognition of customary and local governance authorities of indigenous peoples and local communities in the establishment, expansion, governance and management of protected and conserved areas;
3. REQUESTS IUCN and its Members to ensure decision-making processes concerning protected and conserved areas are inclusive and equitable, with effective representation and participation of indigenous peoples and local communities, including in the establishment, amendment, or expansion of protected and conserved areas that may affect them; and
4. REQUESTS IUCN and its Members to support indigenous and local communities for developing and implementing sustainable development initiatives that empower and help them generate income and other benefits for supporting their livelihoods while sustainably using and protecting their natural resources.
