The ICCA-GSI Newsletter – Issue 10, January 2025

Defending Earth’s Defenders: Strengthening Matsés protection in Peru’s Amazon

Globally, there are approximately 200 groups of Indigenous Peoples who currently live in voluntary isolation or are undergoing initial contact with the outside world. In Peru, the Matsés native community are among the Indigenous Peoples living largely in isolation - in remote forests rich in natural resources. Yet, accelerating rates of deforestation in the Amazon Basin destroy their environment that they have protected for generations. Thus, the Matsés improved their governance systems, leadership, and technical skills to further protect their territory. They are now the first indigenous community in Peru to register their territory in the Global ICCA Registry, acknowledging their vital role as stewards of their land, biodiversity, and culture as well as contributing to global biodiversity targets.

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Almonds and Joy: Conservation and sustainable use of almonds in Bolivia’s Chiquitano forest

The nókümonísh (almond in the Indigenous Chiquitana language) is one of the most traditional seeds of the Chiquitana region in Bolivia. Until recently, it was nothing more than a vague memory in the minds of older adults, with many local families unaware of the different ways in which this typical fruit of the forest can be used. Now, the chiquitana almond (Dipterix alata) is a product that has great economic potential for local communities, besides being a key element in the life cycles of local flora and fauna, as part of the regional ecosystem.

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Advancing the monitoring of Indigenous Peoples’ roles in biodiversity conservation and rights to biodiversity

Through the ICCA-GSI, UNDP and GEF Small Grants Programme joined UNEP-WCMC, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and other experts in workshops throughout 2024 to assess and provide recommendations on the traditional knowledge indicators in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). UNEP-WCMC, one of the ICCA-GSI global partners, hosted the workshops that resulted to new recommendations on traditional knowledge indicators being accepted by a subsidiary body of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity , and now included in the monitoring framework for the GBF to measure progress against its targets and goals.

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Enhancing ICCA Registry to provide visibility to vital conservation efforts of Indigenous Peoples and local communities

The ICCA Registry is an online reporting platform for strengthening evidence on the conservation importance of ICCAs, alongside increasing global understanding and recognition of these vital areas and their custodians’ conservation practices. Through the culmination of many years of work with Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPs and LCs) and their supporting partners, the ICCA Registry was upgraded in 2024 to host a new interactive map displaying the reported ICCAs and a dashboard summarizing the latest ICCA Registry data. This upgraded platform marks a significant milestone in helping to give visibility to the valuable conservation efforts of IPs and LCs that have reported data, and who work hard to conserve and secure their territories and areas.

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ICCA-GSI at the Convention on Biological Diversity COP16

A series of events were organised by the ICCA-GSI at the 16th meeting of the Conference of parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP16) which took place in Cali, Colombia, in October 2024. These side events showcased the crucial role that Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities play in achieving key Global Biodiversity Framework Targets 3, 21, 22, and 23 through the stewardship of their conserved territories and areas, and highlighted the significance of expanding financial and governance support for ICCAs through multi-actor partnerships. Three recent ICCA-GSI publications on situations of overlap between ICCAs and protected areas, on the ICCA-GSI COVID-19 Response initiative, and on Territories of Life, were also launched at the side events.

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IKI News: Protecting biodiversity through indigenous and local approaches

The involvement and active participation of Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPs and LCs) has been key to the successful implementation of 655 community-based projects during Phase 1 of the ICCA-GSI. The self-identified priorities of IPs and LCs have been the benchmark for initiatives to combat various site-specific threats. A number of project activities were used to achieve legal support for the recognition and preservation of the ICCA, biodiversity and traditional knowledge protection, poverty reduction, amongst others. As a result, more than 11.3 million hectares of indigenous and community territories have been positively impacted, benefiting more than 1.9 million IPs and LCs, 52% of whom are women.

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Exploring voluntary commitments by non-state actors in advancing OECMs at CBD COP16: Insights from China and international perspectives

Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) are widely recognized as innovative conservation tools that can significantly increase the area of effective conservation and help achieve the GBF Target 3, also known as ‘30×30 target’, making them one of the key discussion points at CBD COP16. ICCA-GSI partners including UNDP, GEF SGP, ICCA Consortium, IUCN joined several government representatives from China and Europe in this CBD COP16 side event on October 25, 2024. Through the assessment of status, sharing of lessons and case studies, and policy dialogues, the side event explored how non-state actors can participate in and support OECMs to contribute to the ‘30×30’ target.

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ICCA-GSI at the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) COP16

During the UNCCD COP16 held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a workshop was organised to support Phase 2 of the ICCA GSI which will be delivered as co-financing to SGP 8th Operational Phase (OP8). The workshop reviewed the participation of fifty SGP countries in Phase 2 of the ICCA GSI, including the expected results with respect to ecosystem restoration as relevant to the cross-cutting priorities of the CBD, UNCCD and UNFCCC, as well as the GBF target 3 to protect and conserve 30% of land and seas by the year 2030.

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