September 2012: The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has released a report highlighting the values and benefits of indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ conserved territories and areas (ICCAs). It stresses that formal recognition of ICCAs should be appropriate to the local situation and adequate to local requirements.

Published in cooperation with the ICCA Consortium, Kalpavriksh and Natural Justice, the report is titled “Recognizing and Supporting Territories and Areas Conserved by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities: Global Overview and National Case Studies.” It was circulated as CBD Technical Series no. 64.

The volume is based on a range of past studies on ICCAs conducted in several regions of the world in the last two decades, and more recently on 19 country-level case studies.

The publication intends to: provide a glimpse of the range, diversity, coverage and values of ICCAs, and the socio-cultural, economic and political contexts important for them; provide an understanding of the status and processes of recognizing and supporting ICCAs, at both international and national levels, and suggestions on giving them appropriate recognition and support; help CBD Parties implement their commitments under the Programme of Work on Protected Areas (PoWPA) and achieve relevant Aichi Targets; help CBD Parties implement their commitments under other relevant international agreements, including the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP); and strengthen the efforts of civil society organizations, including those of indigenous peoples and local communities (ILCs), in obtaining appropriate recognition and support for ICCAs. [Publication: Recognizing and Supporting Territories and Areas Conserved by Indigenous and Local Communities: Global Overview and National Case Studies]