First published on 12/14/2012, and last updated on 07/19/2022
The 11th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 11), held in Hyderabad, India, in 2012, furthered the recognition of ICCAs in a broader range of topics. Parties adopted explicit references to ICCAs in its Decisions on Article 8(j) and related provisions, sustainable use of biodiversity and the Global Taxonomy Initiative, in addition to protected areas.
The Decision on protected areas invited Parties to strengthen recognition of and support for community-based approaches to conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in situ, including ICCAs and other indigenous and community initiatives that fulfil the objectives of Aichi Target 11, and to support the use of the ICCA Registry hosted by UNEP-WCMC (Decision XI/24, para 1(e)). Notably, this acknowledges the potential contributions of ICCAs to meeting Aichi Target 11. The Decision also invited Parties to give due attention to the conservation of wild relatives of cultivated crops and wild edible plants in protected areas and community conserved areas (Decision XI/24, para 1(f)), marking the first time that ICCAs were referenced in a CBD Decision in relation to agricultural biodiversity. Finally, it requested the Executive Secretary, in partnership with relevant organisations, to continue supporting implementation of national action plans for PoWPA and progress towards Aichi Target 11 and related targets, including through activities such as (inter alia) supporting the developing of local registries of ICCAs and the ICCA Registry hosted by UNEP-WCMC (Decision XI/24, para 10).
Perhaps most importantly, the Decision on Article 8(j) and related provisions, COP 11 urged Parties (including through the Global Environment Facility and Small Grants Programme) and invited other donors to support indigenous and local communities to document, map and register their ICCAs and to prepare and implement their community conservation plans; it also called for support to be provided to countries to strengthen their recognition of ICCAs (Decision XI/14/A, para 9). This is significant because it provided for practical local action defined by communities themselves as well as national recognition and targeted international financial support, in essence, adopting a more sophisticated, multi-faceted and integrated approach to recognising and supporting ICCAs. Given the topic of the Decision, it also implied that these forms of support contribute to implementation of Article 8(j) and related provisions, the cornerstones of indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ rights in the context of the CBD.
In the Decision on sustainable use of biodiversity (bushmeat and sustainable wildlife management), COP 11 recognised how the Satoyama Initiative is creating synergies among existing regional and global initiatives on human-influenced natural environments, including (inter alia) community conservation areas developed and managed by indigenous and local communities (Decision XI/25, para 7). Although this is a fairly weak reference to ICCAs and did not accord any substantive recognition beyond what exists in other Decisions, it did establish a useful linkage to the Satoyama Initiative, which is named after a customary Japanese practice akin to an ICCA. The Initiative also has significant government support and a growing network of partner organisations around the world.
The final explicit reference to ICCAs at COP 11 was found in the Annex to the Decision on the Global Taxonomy Initiative, Action 9 of which called for all-taxa inventories to be undertaken in targeted national, regional and sub-regional priority areas such as (inter alia) community conserved areas (Decision XI/29, Annex/D, para 6, Action 9). This implied recognition of ICCAs as refuges of biodiversity as well as associated traditional knowledge.
All COP 11 Decisions are available online.
