A new resource for African environmental defenders

On International Human Rights Day, Natural Justice (ICCA Consortium Member) and the International Land Coalition present “African Environmental Defenders”, a resource for African land and environmental defenders. It aims at providing funding support in emergency situations.  Read more ▸

The Geneva Declaration – Companies Must Commit to Zero Tolerance Against Killing and Violence in Supply Chains

Representatives from indigenous peoples, afro-descendant, and peasant communities from 16 countries issued the Geneva Declaration, an urgent call for action that demands governments and companies end the violence, killing, and deliberate criminalisation of people defending their rights, their lands and their communities. Forest Peoples Programme (ICCA Consortium Member) participated in this process.  Read more ▸

Water Flowing Up the Mountain: Development Devours Forest Reserve

A forest reserve outside Zambia’s capital has been shrunk significantly to make way for housing and lifestyle developments. Even worse, these new developments are pumping sewage into the Chalimbana River and contaminating the fish and water that local communities rely on. Local activists, like Robert Chimambo (ICCA Consortium Honorary member), are struggling to protect the river and forest, and hope to turn this territory into a community protected forest area.  Read more ▸

Earth Vikalp Sangam: Proposal for a Global Tapestry of Alternatives

“Globally, there is a visible counter-trend to the destructive process of ‘development’ that the forces of capitalism, statism, and patriarchy have imposed”. In this article, Ashish Kothari (Member of the ICCA Consortium Council of Elders) introduces a new global initiative, attempting to weave together the various movements seeking alternatives to mainstream development.  Read more ▸

ICCA Consortium Policy Brief no 7 – Meanings and More…

In 2018, the Council of the ICCA Consortium decided to develop a lexicon of meaningful concepts and terms frequently used in its work, policies, and communications with its Members and Partners. Many of us felt that such a reference compendium would be particularly useful because the Consortium has highlighted and adopted new ways of referring to phenomena which had not been heretofore conceptually analysed. First among them are the very ICCAs—territories of life that are at the heart of the Consortium’s work…  Read more ▸

The Territory of the Shuar Arutam People is a Territory of Life!

After a community consultation process, the Government Council of the Shuar Arutam People (ICCA Consortium Member in Ecuador) formalized the resolution to register their territory in the International WCMC ICCA Registry. “We made this decision with the strength of the Arutam, our supernatural protector principle,” said Josefina Tunki. Read more ▸

ICCA Consortium Policy Brief no 6 – Nourishing Life -Territories of Life & Food Sovereignty

The ICCA Consortium is delighted to release its new Policy Brief, which highlights and documents the profound significance of ICCAs—territories of life- and their contributions to the food sovereignty of the peoples and the communities themselves. This is a call for movements that foster food sovereignty and movements strengthening territories of life to exchange knowledge and support each other!  Read more ▸

A Major Victory for Land Rights Defenders

In 2013, the World Bank launched its Enabling the Business of Agriculture Project, with the aim of guiding pro-business reforms in the agriculture sector by “scoring” countries on the “ease of doing business”. After five years of campaigning and advocacy on the part of land rights defenders, the World Bank has dropped a land indicator that aimed at privatizing the commons in the Global South. ICCA Consortium Honorary member Anuradha Mittal explains the process that led to this major victory, and the future perspectives of the campaign.  Read more ▸

Pan-African Alliance Seeks to Protect Territories of Life With a Revolutionary Tool

Among the many existing tools for documenting ICCAs, the one proposed by InsightShare proves to be a powerful way for communities to create participatory media that reflects their unique concerns and amplifies their unique voices. InsightShare shared examples of effective uses of video during the Video4Change gathering, attended by 40 indigenous activists and video practitioners, including Ivan Vaalbooi and Lesle Jansen from Natural Justice (ICCA Consortium Member).  Read more ▸

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