On the occasion of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD COP15), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) announced renewed collaboration to support Indigenous Peoples and Local communities in line with the recently adopted Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

The State Secretary of the BMUV, Mr. Stefan Tidow, announced additional funding of 22M EUR for the Phase 2 of the Global Support Initiative to territories and areas conserved by Indigenous Peoples and local communities (ICCA-GSI) in line with the GBF’s Target 3 (protected and conserved areas) and Target 21 (decision-making and governance of indigenous Peoples and local communities) in 50 countries. The announcement was made at the side event From the Aichi Targets to the post-2020 GBF: expanding global partnerships to recognize the role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities’ territories and areas (ICCAs) for biodiversity conservation and human well-being on 14 December 2022.

With funding from the BMUV and delivered through the UNDP-implemented GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP), the ICCA-GSI is multi-partnership initiative that facilitates the implementation of global biodiversity targets at the local, national, regional and global levels. The Phase 1 of the ICCA-GSI was launched at CBD COP12 in 2014 to expand the range, quality and diversity of governance types of protected and conserved areas, while simultaneously enhancing human well-being in 26 countries. In 2020, the ICCA-GSI was extended to support Indigenous Peoples and local communities to cope with and recover from the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in 45 countries across all regions.

At the same CBD side event, the results from the Phase 1 of the ICCA-GSI were presented including examples of multi-actor partnerships established between civil society networks, state parties and UN agencies, in support to ICCAs at national and regional levels, together with integrated reporting frameworks for protected and conserved areas at the global level. Key global partners include the ICCA Consortium, United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), CBD Secretariat, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

As part of the ICCA-GSI collaboration, UNEP-WCMC launched a new digital mapping app called ‘Mapeo for ICCAs’ developed in partnership with Digital Democracy and the Forest Peoples Programme. The app has been designed specifically for the mapping of ICCAs without recourse to the internet, following a beta-testing phase in the Amazon and other remote areas.

UNDP also launched a new ICCA-GSI publication to present the consolidated results achieved from 2014-2022 including the implementation of 644 small grants projects in 45 countries from direct financing support to locally-led action on ICCA self-strengthening, biodiversity conservation, and community empowerment in 45 countries. These projects have benefitted over 758,000 Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and positively influencing over 7.2 million hectares of landscapes and seascapes.The publication also illustrates the work of the collaboration towards: (i) legal, policy and other forms of appropriate recognition and support; and (ii) knowledge production and exchange between civil society initiatives and networks at regional and global levels.

UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner stated that “Germany has played a pivotal role during COP15 with the launch of the NBSAP Accelerator Initiative, as well as in the renewed pledge of financial support to non-state actors as part of the ICCA GSI and the match-making facility, which bodes well to rapidly initiate the implementation of the GBF”.

Please also see the UNDP Press Release.