Almost 200 countries are reckoning with the world’s extraordinary loss of the variety of life at the COP15 nature summit in Canada. Here’s why Indigenous involvement is crucial.
At the crucial COP15 nature summit in Canada, almost 200 countries are reckoning with the world’s extraordinary loss of the variety of life. Climate change, mining, urban development and more are threatening Earth’s biodiversity to an extent in human history.
The conference will see countries negotiate a global 2030 plan, called the Global Biodiversity Framework, to set worldwide targets for a range of issues, from establishing national parks to habitat destruction. The framework will hopefully be delivered by next Monday (19 December).
But so far, the draft text is lacking a fundamental element: adequate inclusion of language and perspectives from Indigenous peoples and local communities. Without Indigenous and local community leadership, any biodiversity targets will remain out of reach.
Despite comprising less than 5% of the global population, Indigenous peoples protect an estimated . Yet, the capacity of Indigenous peoples and local communities to continue to exercise this stewardship is being actively eroded . Issues of power and inclusion in the current draft framework must therefore be resolved.
Indigenous land management delivers better outcomes for biodiversity – .
Indigenous peoples influence management of more than a quarter of . Indigenous lands account for of global protected lands. And an estimated is on lands owned, occupied or used by Indigenous peoples.
A involving Australia, Brazil and Canada found total numbers of birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles were highest on lands managed or co-managed by Indigenous communities.
last year looked at tropical forests in Africa, central and South America and the Asia Pacific region. It found deforestation rates on Indigenous lands were between 17 and 26% lower on average, compared to unprotected tropical forests worldwide.
Yet, maintaining and expanding Indigenous forms of land management is threatened by , such as mining, transport, energy production and distribution, and commodity production.
The former Bolsonaro administration’s in Brazil is a clear example. There, the combination of human rights violations and unsustainable extraction led to murders, cultural erosion, and degradation of forest ecosystems.
Meanwhile, in the Pacific Islands, climate change reduces the capacity of local people to care for their ecosystems and threatens their livelihoods. For example, the breeding patterns and habitats of many coastal fish species.
Indigenous and local knowledge to ensuring the resilience of marine ecosystems in the Pacific in the face of global environmental change.
The Global Biodiversity Framework is important because, if concluded, it will set more than 20 worldwide targets for biodiversity.
One key target being negotiated is to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030, commonly referred to as the .
Another addresses inclusion and participation, particularly as it relates to Indigenous peoples and local communities. This target exists thanks to efforts of the .
But considerable disagreement still surrounds the language of targets such as these.
In negotiated text, square brackets are placed around words on which countries do not yet agree. Much of the current text of the framework remains in .
As we enter the final week of negotiations, the extent of remaining disagreement is deeply concerning. There is a risk that, even if the framework is concluded, it will include, at best, heavily watered down targets.
Indigenous representatives have raised about the language and perspectives of Indigenous peoples and local communities in the framework’s draft text.
The highlights issues with the negotiation process as well as the text itself.
For example, the aims to use area-based conservation measures, such as protected areas or parks. Many Indigenous people are about how this target could affect their rights.
Indigenous people worldwide have experienced exclusion from their ancestral homes, often in the name of “” or under the “wilderness”. The rationale is that it’s necessary to to protect land and seascapes rich with diverse life.
For example, in South East Asia the traditional farming method of swidden cultivation has been or disincentivised as part of larger conservation programs, despite the practice supports livelihoods and ecosystem health.
Such exclusion of Indigenous people ignores their important roles securing and maintaining biodiversity over lands and seas for thousands of years.
The negotiation process makes it difficult for key voices to be heard. of the Pacific – such as Fiji, Kiribati and Cook Islands – often have to negotiate as a bloc to ensure their voices and concerns are heard amid competing changes to framework text.
This is even more difficult for Indigenous peoples. During negotiations, countries speak first on which text they’d like amended. This ordering process means Indigenous peoples have two options.
One, they can work with countries to negotiate on their behalf. Or two, they have to wait until all countries have had their turn to speak.
Waiting for other countries to speak can take a long time, often leading well into the night before Indigenous peoples and observers can speak and texts are accepted (if there is agreement).
Encouragingly, Indigenous participation and influence in has increased over time.
There are also positive signs from the – an intergovernmental group of more than 100 countries. This coalition has increasingly shifted its position to acknowledge the people who help conserve nature as the negotiations have progressed.
But Indigenous representation at these forums, including voting for preferred text, remains vital. And Indigenous people’s rights must be reflected in the way targets are set. Different types of around the world must be recognised and, importantly, properly funded and resourced.
Also crucial is for all Pacific nations, including Australia and New Zealand, to ratify the , which deals with the respect for and protection of Indigenous knowledge.
Unless rapid and transformative change occurs across societies and economies, we risk losing much of the . Indigenous leadership is fundamental to stop this from happening.
, Postdoctoral Fellow in Law, ; , Professor of Environmental Politics & International Relations, ; , Associate Professor, ; , Lecturer, ; , Senior Scientia Lecturer (Research), , and , Associate Professor,
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