Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities’ Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCAs) cover 12-22% of the earth’s territory. There is convincing evidence that ICCAs not only sustain many unique cultures and livelihoods, but that they are also far more effective at forest conservation and restoration than conventional protected areas. It is also broadly recognised that Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) play a central role in the implementation of ecosystem conservation and restoration strategies on the ground. Together with other members of the ICCA Consortium we promote the legal and political recognition of ICCAs and the autonomous governance structures and rights of the communities that manage them.

The Community Conservation Resilience Initiative

Conserving biocultural diversity and respecting and promoting the rights and role of Indigenous Peoples, local communities and women in nurturing biocultural diversity is of fundamental importance to reducing and reversing deforestation and biodiversity loss in general.

The aim of the Community Conservation Resilience Initiative (CCRI) is to contribute to the implementation of the CBD’s 2011-­2020 Strategic Plan and Aichi Targets by providing policy advice on effective and appropriate forms of support for community conservation (see CCRI methodology). The project is documenting and reviewing the findings of bottom-­up, participatory assessments in 22 countries (see map below) of the resilience of community conservation initiatives and the support that should be provided to strengthen these initiatives. The results of the assessments are being widely disseminated and fed into the deliberations of the Convention on Biological Diversity and related international policy processes through an active outreach and advocacy campaign. You can view and download all of the CCRI publications to date here. The project will run until April 2019, and numerous CCRI projects have already led to inspiring results, teaching us a great deal about the best ways to design, develop and implement community conservation projects.

The CCRI was established by an informal alliance of national and international Indigenous Peoples’ organisations, non-governmental organisations and social movements that shared a joint belief in community governance and rights-based approaches to ecosystem conservation and restoration. Aside from the Global Forest Coalition key partners include Natural Justice, the International Alliance of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Tropical Forests, the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee and the ICCA Consortium.

You can access resources on this campaign, and view and download all CCRI publications to date.

Where did CCRI assessments take place?

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