First published on 09/25/2016, and last updated on 03/25/2018
By: Yolanda Sikking, Global Forest Coalition
The Global Forest Coalition (GFC) has joined with other partners to create the Community Conservation Resilience Initiative (CCRI). The CCRI will promote the full implementation of the CBD’s 2011-2020 Strategic Plan and Aichi Targets. Their oversight will include assessing the resilience of community conservation initiatives in over 60 communities in 20 countries. The CCRI Steering Committee met on April 28 – 30, 2016, as the Subsidiary Bodies on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) and Implementation (SBI) of the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) held their joint meeting in Montreal, Canada.
The overall objective of the meeting was an in-depth review of the CCRI projects implemented in 2015, including the opportunities and challenges encountered along the way. The Committee also discussed strategies to strengthen activities for the CCRI project partners in the coming year, 2016-2017, including the ongoing challenge of continuing the CCRI work post-funding. The participants looked at their communications strategy and considered ways to share and expand the positive outcomes of the CCRI into national, regional and international arenas. They identified the full participation of women in the CCRI as a key challenge, and they resolved to apply a renewed and sharper focus on this issue within the CCRI and its partners, in the coming year.
The meeting in April included a side event, also organized byt the CBD SBSTTA-20, entitled “‘Indigenous Peoples’ and Local Communities’ Recommendations for Appropriate Recognition and Support of ICCAs and other Community Conservation Initiatives’”. These discussions delved into key issues relating to community conservation under the CBD, Indigenous Peoples’ and Community Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCAs) in global databases, along with the unique and invaluable role of Indigenous Peoples, Local Communities and women in these spheres. This side event highlighted the ways in which recognition and support of ICCAs and community conservation can contribute to the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, in particular to Target 11. The participants considered the various forms of support that the communities and their conservation initiatives still need in order to remain resilient. Specific examples of community conservation practices and traditional knowledge were shared, drawn from the experiences of the Guna indigenous people in Panama and the Udege communities in Russia. These communities also spoke of the threats facing their communities, livelihoods and conservation approaches, and of the kinds of support that they still need. At this smaller event, and throughout the SBSTTA and SBI meetings, these groups joined the ICCA Consortium and members of the newly established CBD women’s caucus and other allies to speak with one voice, advocating for the importance of community conservation and traditional knowledge.
