Categories Blog, Convention on Biological Biodiversity, Global, World

Towards the future Global Biodiversity Framework: ICCA Consortium at UN CBD COP15

In the final stretch of UN negotiations of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, the time is now to recognize Indigenous Peoples and local communities as central to sustaining the diversity of life on Earth

We have reached a critical juncture in shared human history. We have seen all too clearly since the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic how people and nature are interdependent, how our health and well-being are intimately connected with that of the rest of the planet, and how the climate, biodiversity, and social crises are deeply interlinked.

There is growing global consensus around one of the best opportunities to turn the tide and ensure that our species and the billions of others with whom we share the planet continue to co-exist and thrive well into the future. It includes listening to, respecting, and appropriately recognizing and supporting Indigenous Peoples and local communities whose cultures and governance systems have shaped and nurtured the diversity of life on Earth for generations and millennia, and who continue to do so today even in the face of significant threats.

From local to global levels, all actors and duty-bearers in the conservation sector should prioritize strengthening the deep connections between cultural and biological diversity, while respecting, protecting, and fulfilling the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

In the final stretch of UN negotiations of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, the time is now to recognize Indigenous Peoples and local communities as central to sustaining the diversity of life on Earth. One of the biggest opportunities to catalyze transformative changes from local to global levels is to support Indigenous Peoples and local communities to secure their human rights in general, and particularly their rights to self-determined governance systems, cultures, and collective lands, waters, and territories.

Although there are no panaceas, this is arguably a key missing link in efforts to address the biodiversity and climate crises and ensure a safe, healthy, equitable, and sustainable planet for all.

As a non-profit association that supports the global movement for territories of life, the ICCA Consortium has been actively involved in the negotiation of the post-2020 framework and will have a strong presence at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP15) in December 2022 in Montreal.

We have launched a special webpage to share updates about the preparations for and negotiations and events during CBD COP15.

Explore the various sections of the page for information about key events, the main issues for which we are advocating in the post-2020 process, perspectives and experiences of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and their supporting organizations, updates on our engagement in the official post-2020 process to date, the evidence base, and media contacts. This special webpage will be regularly updated in the weeks leading up to and following COP15.

Special Webpage

ICCA Consortium
at UN CBD COP15

Towards the future Global Biodiversity Framework