Custodians of Life: Indigenous Defenders of Sacred Natural Sites and Territories

This session brings together Indigenous voices from four continents to show how biodiversity conservation, the rights of indigenous custodians and the rights of Nature, go hand in hand. It reveals why protecting indigenous sacred natural sites and territories must be at the heart of conservation measures – for ecosystem connectivity, climate change resilience, cultural heritage, Indigenous knowledge and flourishing biodiversity – and for reimagining conservation. Speakers from a breathtaking diversity of landscapes – the Altai mountains, the African Great Lakes, Benin's sacred forests, the watersheds of northern Colombia and California, and the Brazilian rainforest - remind us of the urgent need to safeguard “sacred natural sites and territories and areas conserved by indigenous peoples and local communities (ICCAs)“ and respect “all categories of protected areas as 'no-go' areas for environmentally damaging industrial activities and infrastructure development” (WCC-2016-Rec-102).