Etoubili and boalôo: Community biocultural mapping reveals historical occupation and enables defense of African rainforests
Words from Serge Ekazama Koto, Massaha’s paraecologist and spokesperson. Read more ▸
Community Fisheries
The Calamian Tagbanwa reclaim and revitalize ancestral waters in the Philippines
As a maritime Indigenous People, custodians and guardians of their ancestral waters in the Western Pacific—the Tagbanwa People of the Calamian Islands are navigating complex legal issues in the Philippines to reclaim, govern, and manage their ancestral domains. Read more ▸
ICCA Consortium Statement for the 2025 UN Ocean Conference
As the 2025 UNOC convenes in Nice, France, from June 8 to 13 under the theme “Accelerating action and mobilizing all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean,” we put forward this statement and reiterate that Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities have an outsized role in governance, conservation, and sustainable use of our oceans. Read more ▸
Ocean Commitment: Documentation of marine and coastal ICCAs–territories of life
As an international association promoting the appropriate recognition and support for territories of life worldwide, we are committed to collectively supporting and facilitating, led by communities and supporting organizations at local and national levels, the documentation of an increasing number of marine and coastal territories of life over the next five years. Read more ▸
Marine and coastal territories of life in Mesoamerica
Pochet Ballester, G., Acosta, M., & Sánchez Campos, R. (2025). Marine and coastal territories of life in Mesoamerica: A legal analysis from the perspectives of small-scale fisheries (V. Solis Rivera, M. K. Uddin, & C. Jarrett, Eds.; L. Åkerson & D. Campos Rubio, Trans.). ICCA Consortium. https://doi.org/10.70841/my6731g Read more ▸
An appeal for solidarity with traditional communities of Kalamos-Kastos islands in the fight against colonial conservation
In our struggle against land and ocean grabs and fortress conservation, we are being intimidated and threatened; we ask for solidarity and support from the ICCA Consortium members and community-based organizations. Read more ▸
Weaving networks as Indigenous women of the sea: everyday political action and resistance from the territorial level
Indigenous women that live in coastal Chile are coming together to defend the sea, protect biodiversity, and exercise their rights. Read more ▸
Alert: Support for Daniel Caniullán Huentel and the defenders who are being threatened in Chile’s coastal and marine spaces
We share this alert about the increasing threats against defenders of coastal and marine spaces in Chile and express our solidarity with Daniel Caniullán Huentel, who is continuously facing intimidation. He’s a lonko (leader) of the Pu Wapi Indigenous community of Melinka in Guaitecas (Aysén region). Read more ▸
Let’s put our People of the Ocean first
To ensure effective, equitable, and sustainable approaches to ocean governance and management, we must first put the “People of the Ocean”—the custodians and guardians of the ocean—first. Read more ▸
Video: Ainu Nation’s lawsuit in Japan over Indigenous fishing rights
The lawsuit, which seeks to allow Ainu People to fish for salmon under their Indigenous rights, is the first of its kind in Japan. Read more ▸
World Oceans Day: The voices of guardians of Territories of Life in Mesoamerica
We invite you to celebrate World Oceans Day 2023 with Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and Afrodescendant communities in Mesoamerica, Read more ▸
In Pictures: Tagbanwa People make progress in securing the future of the territories of life in the Calamianes
In the Philippines, concerns are growing in the context of emerging challenges within the community and attempts of governments and conservation NGOs to establish state-sanctioned “Marine Protected Areas.” Read more ▸
Self-strengthening workshops in Bétynti and Moundé territories of life in Senegal
Workshops like these are laying the foundation for a strong network of ICCAs–territories of life throughout Senegal and Africa by supporting and strengthening the territories at the local level. Read more ▸
Chile: Indigenous Mapuche Williche and artisanal fishing communities join forces to govern and take care of coastal and marine territories of life
In the Aysén region, the latest meeting between the Mapuche Williche People and the local community of small-scale artisanal fishers was held at a critical juncture in which the archipelagic marine ecosystem and those who inhabit it are threatened by salmon aquaculture, overfishing, poverty, and inequity. Read more ▸
Recap of 2022 UN Ocean Conference: the power of collective action and community resilience in the face of local-to-global challenges
The 2022 United Nations Ocean Conference was held in Lisbon, Portugal, from June 27 to July 1, 2022. The ICCA Consortium and several Members and community partners from twelve island and coastal countries attended the conference. Together, we highlighted the self-determined priorities of Indigenous and community custodians of island, coastal and marine territories of life, and of artisanal and small-scale fishers, in a conference that was otherwise focused on status quo approaches to ocean conservation and economic priorities. Read more ▸
Community fisheries and the 2022 United Nations Ocean Conference
During the recent United Nations Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal, the ICCA Consortium supported the participation of various Member organizations, fishers, and representatives of Indigenous and local communities. Vivienne Solís Rivera and Marvin Fonseca (CoopeSoliDar R.L, ICCA Consortium Member) recount how participants from Indigenous and local communities made an impact in securing better recognition of their rights and more holistic conservation of the oceans. Read more ▸
Reflections from the 2022 UN Ocean Conference: A long way to go
Many UN member states participating in the UN Ocean Conference still have a long way to go towards recognizing Indigenous Peoples and local communities as part of the solutions to restoring our aquatic ecosystems. Read more ▸
Video: In Costa Rica, the Cahuita people want shared governance in the national park to continue
Government agencies in Costa Rica have announced a plan that will undermine the shared governance model in the Cahuita National Park. Read more ▸
Local diving and ecological monitoring teams bring new hope for marine conservation in Madagascar
Articles illustrate how communities in southwestern Madagascar’s locally managed marine areas have made progress to build their capacity for ecological monitoring and expansion of the marine reserves. These LMMAs are part of the MIHARI Network (ICCA Consortium Member) and are supported by Blue Ventures (ICCA Consortium Member). Read more ▸
Mangrove, moon, and the tides: the story of progress in the Mumiang Locally Managed Marine Area of the Suluk People
By Neville Yapp with LEAP – Land Empowerment Animals People (ICCA Consortium Member),Persatuan Komuniti Kampung Mumiang, andForever Sabah In the mangroves of the Kinabatangan estuary, fluorescent… Read more “Mangrove, moon, and the tides: the story of progress in the Mumiang Locally Managed Marine Area of the Suluk People” ▸
