Indigenous territories & peoples are key to achieving COP16’s 30x30 target (commentary)

It is just a few days until the beginning of COP16 when countries worldwide will meet to discuss biodiversity protection in Cali, Colombia.
These discussions cannot happen without considering the role of Indigenous communities in protecting biodiversity and thriving ecosystems, argues a new op-ed by the Solomon Islands Minister for Environment and Colombia’s Technical Secretary at the National Commission of Indigenous Territories.
“We Indigenous peoples are the best protectors of the environment, and against all odds, we are resisting colonial processes and threats…The negotiators at COP16 must ensure full, effective, and equitable inclusion of Indigenous peoples,” they argue.
This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

It is time to recognize that the Western conservation model has serious historical flaws and cannot achieve global targets alone. We, Indigenous peoples, offer another way.

It is just a few days until the beginning of COP16 when countries worldwide will meet to discuss biodiversity protection. The Conference of the Parties (COP) under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will take place from October 21 to November 1, 2024, in Cali, Colombia, with a focus on the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF).
The outcomes of COP16 have the power to change how countries worldwide deal with biodiversity protection. A key pillar of the KMGBF is the aim to protect 30% of the planet’s lands, waters, and seas by 2030.

COP16 occurs as the world faces extreme events fueled by climate change. What scientists were predicting for a “distant” future is happening now, and it is happening faster than expected. Biodiversity is not in a better place today: According to a global report, one million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction.

Canangucho, the fruit of the moriche palm, Wuasipungo Indigenous territory, Colombia. Image courtesy of J.J. Javier via Nia Tero. — Canangucho, the fruit of the moriche palm, in the Colombian Amazon. Image courtesy of J.J. Javier via Nia Tero.

The discussions at COP16 cannot happen without considering the role of Indigenous communities in protecting biodiversity and thriving ecosystems. Approximately 40% of Earth’s remaining intact ecosystems are sustained by Indigenous peoples. Globally, biodiversity thrives on Indigenous-governed lands, which play a vital role in protecting biological diversity through land stewardship, management practices, and traditional knowledge.

Lands managed by Indigenous communities tend to present better conservation results even when compared with other models of protected areas. We can see this happening, for example, in the Amazon rainforest, where deforestation rates in Indigenous territories are lower than in other state-protected areas.

Despite all this evidence, most governments around the world ignore that recognizing Indigenous territories is the most effective solution to protect thriving ecosystems. On the contrary, too many times, Indigenous peoples have been forcibly removed from their ancestral lands in the name of conservation. These violent displacements not only lead to human rights abuses but also tend to dismantle Indigenous knowledge systems that have protected fauna and flora for millennia.

In Colombia, for instance, the country that will host this year’s COP, legal precedents indicate that Indigenous communities struggle to secure land rights and authority over their territories, a challenge also seen in other South American countries. The U’wa Indigenous peoples’ case, brought to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in 2020, exemplifies this challenge. In addition to facing threats from oil companies, the U’wa had to contest the establishment of the “El Cocuy” National Park, a protected area created within their territories that jeopardized their autonomy, government, and the right to use and manage their own lands.

Target 3 of the Global Biodiversity Framework, often referred to as 30×30, offers a third pathway for protecting Mother Earth through recognition of Indigenous and traditional territories, while Target 22 acknowledges the relevance of ensuring Indigenous participation in decision-making processes with respect to cultural rights, territories, resources, and traditional knowledge. It also emphasizes the importance of ensuring the effective protection of environmental defenders.

Mount Popomanaseu and surrounding mountains on Guadalcanal, within Sky Islands of Solomon Islands. Image courtesy of Jovi Totorea / IKI.

These targets were achieved thanks to the tireless work of the Indigenous representatives who participated in previous CBD COP meetings. However, none of this will make a difference if we don’t see these targets being implemented and put into practice.

We Indigenous peoples need not only to be heard – we need to be part of decision-making at all levels. We need recognition, legal protection, sovereignty, and direct access to increased resources to continue the work that we have been doing since time immemorial.

Every time our agency and self-determination are undermined — whether by extractive industries or well-meaning conservationists — biodiversity suffers.

Indigenous perspectives integrating social, ecological, and spiritual dimensions contribute to more sustainable land and biodiversity management outcomes than Western reductionist approaches.

We offer another way, one that preserves culture-based livelihoods and traditional occupations and honors the deep connection between people and their environment. Our knowledge systems and stewardship practices are protecting thriving ecosystems worldwide. When connected with recognition and support, the results are even better.

For instance, in the Solomon Islands, in the Southwest Pacific, an initiative is being implemented to help protect some of the largest remaining forests in the region. The Sky Island Pledge prohibits logging and mining exploitation in forests above 400 meters. Based on Indigenous values of people working together and in unity with the land against the ongoing pressures of resource exploitation, the pledge has been recognized as a mechanism to achieve global environmental targets. By 2020, the initiative had already protected more than 20% of the land area of Solomon Islands from logging, a milestone on the way toward the global 30×30 target. It also helps strengthen community forest protection through monitoring systems that combine Indigenous knowledge with satellite data.

In Colombia, Indigenous peoples are monitoring the landscapes inside their territories to spatialize, analyze, and influence decision-making regarding their territories. The Observatory of Territorial Rights from the Indigenous Peoples of the National Commission of Indigenous Territories (Comisión Nacional de Territorios Indígenas) has developed innovative geographic monitoring systems that are key tools to defend Indigenous territorial rights and bring visibility to how their territories are critical to protecting all forms of life. These systems also promote dialogue and contribute to the development of public policies that benefit Indigenous peoples.

A canoe of Indigenous design in Colombia. Image by J.J. Javier via Nia Tero. — Traditional canoe of Indigenous peoples, Colombian Amazon. Image by J.J. Javier via Nia Tero.

We Indigenous peoples are the best protectors of the environment, and against all odds, we are resisting colonial processes and threats from land grabbers, corporations, and even some governments that are complicit in the violence committed against us.

A recent Global Witness report has shown that 85% of murders of land and environmental defenders in 2023 were concentrated in Latin America: 43% were Indigenous and 12% were women. Colombia had 40% of all reported cases, followed by Brazil, Honduras, and Mexico. The numbers are likely much higher since many cases are underreported.

Environmental defenders are not only protecting their homes but also the biodiversity within their lands. Without proper safety measures for these individuals and communities, the global push for conservation will fail.

The negotiators at COP16 must ensure full, effective, and equitable inclusion of Indigenous peoples in the implementation of the KMGBF. This means monitoring land tenure security, participation in decision-making spaces, and the protection of traditional knowledge, among other relevant indicators.
Indigenous stewardship is not just an alternative; it is the key solution and pathway to meet the 30×30 biodiversity target.

Hon. Trevor Mahaga (Bugotu People) is Solomon Islands Minister for Environment, Climate Change, and Disaster Management, and Ricardo Camilo Niño Izquierdo (Arhuaco People) is Technical Secretary at the National Commission of Indigenous Territories of Colombia.

Related audio from Mongabay’s podcast: National Geographic photographer Kiliii Yüyan discusses how Indigenous communities’ traditional ecological knowledge is key to conservation, listen here:

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