Soon or later, ICCA custodian communities end up engaging in advocacy work to obtain appropriate recognition and support for their ICCAs. This may require supporting the adoption and improvement of new laws and policies, and/or the effective implementation of existing ones, and/or relevant reforms and redress initiatives.
Ideally, ICCA custodian communities do this work as part of national ICCA networks and with the support of partners, among which organisations with legal expertise are particularly important. Among the crucial tasks of the national ICCA networks is to identify the specific forms of legal, policy and social recognition, and support that are appropriate in their specific contexts. And also, of course, to identify those that are inappropriate or damaging.
Among possible partners, ICCA custodian communities can link with the ICCA Consortium ICCA Working Group on Law and Policy, which addresses advocacy at international level in several topical areas.
Read more in the publication: ICCA Self-Strengthening ICCAs – Guidance on a process and resources for custodian indigenous peoples and local communities, Module 7.
First published on 03/01/2017, and last updated on 11/06/2017