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, as per the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, there are 370 million indigenous people worldwide who make up 5% of the global population but govern and manage at least 20–25% of the Earth’s land surface, and 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;
RECOGNISING that, as per the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Ecosystem Services Panel (IPBES) report and other scientific sources, Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 in its current form is insufficient to protect biodiversity globally or to secure ecosystem services essential for humans and other forms of life;
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 ‘Gold Standard Principles’ 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 working group coordinated by the Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP) to develop guidelines and strategies for all Members to support indigenous and local community-led conservation efforts with reference to material already available;
2. ENCOURAGES State and Government Agency Members to ensure that protected and conserved areas are established, governed and managed by indigenous peoples and local communities, or – at the very least – to ensure full and effective participation, free, prior and informed consent, and 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, including those aiming to contribute to achieving the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 and/or the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework; and
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 of new protected and conserved areas, as well as the expansion of existing such areas, that may affect them.
