Indigenous and community conserved area

[2] In ICCAs, the continuation, revival, or modification of traditional practices (some of which are of ancient origin) and/or new initiatives succeed in protecting and restoring natural resources and cultural values in the face of new threats or opportunities.

It is not yet comprehensive but continues to grow each year, providing a much-needed evidence base to promote the recognition and support of ICCAs worldwide.

The ICCA Consortium and UNEP-WCMC are working as part of a broader global effort to highlight the vital contributions that Indigenous Peoples and local communities have made to conservation throughout history and continue to make today.

The conservation practices of indigenous peoples and local communities depend on an astonishing variety of meanings and values underpinned by the relationship between humans and the natural environment, and find their expression in different ICCAs all over the world.

Most systems by which contemporary indigenous peoples and local communities govern and manage their natural resources are a blending of old and new knowledge, practices, tools and values of different origin.

Yet in others, even powerful change has been unable to destroy them: more complex ICCAs, capable of taking advantage of new conditions and establishing new alliances have emerged from the pre-existing ones.

For instance, a main driver of change that powerfully combines external and internal threats are new opportunities to access and use natural resources for profit-making activities.

Shortly after the Durban Congress, the Convention on Biological Diversity, at its COP 7 meeting in Kuala Lumpur (2004), approved the CBD Programme of Work on Protected Areas (PoWPA).

PoWPA supports a “new approach” to protected areas, calling for attention to governance types and quality, equity in conservation, and indigenous peoples’ rights.

[11] At CBD COP 10 in Nagoya (2010), decision X/31 stressed again the role of indigenous (peoples) and community conserved (territories and) areas and invited Parties to recognise their organisations and contributions.