If the world is to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, we must support Indigenous Peoples and local communities to strengthen and protect their territories and cultures, and ensure their full and meaningful participation in developing conservation policy.
Target 3 – also known as the 30x30 Target – requires 30% of the world’s land and water, especially areas with important biodiversity and ecosystems, to be conserved by 2030 through protected area systems or “other effective area-based conservation measures” (OECMs), recognition of Indigenous and traditional territories, and respect for the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
To achieve this, we need to almost double the world’s land-based conserved areas and quadruple those at sea from 2020 levels. This offers an opportunity to catalyse much-needed support to protect the land rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities and ensure new efforts do not violate their rights, as many state-protected areas have done in the past.
Related reading
- Establishing a biocultural heritage territory to protect Kenya’s Kaya Forests: mid-term project workshop, Leila Ndalilo, Krystyna Swiderska, Chemuku Wekesa (2023), Workshop report
- Traditional mountain landscapes: crucial for meeting biodiversity and climate targets, Krystyna Swiderska, Alejandro Argumedo, Eric Chavez, Chemuku Wekesa, Yiching Song, (2022), IIED Briefing
- Blog: COP27: vital but at-risk IPLC landscapes urgently need more climate finance, by Krystyna Swiderska and Alejandro Argumedo (November 2022)
- Indigenous knowledge and values: key for nature conservation, Krystyna Swiderska, Alejandro Argumedo, Yiching Song, Ajay Rastogi, Nawraj Gurung, Chemuku Wekesa, Guanqi Li (2021), IIED Briefing
- Biocultural heritage territories: key to halting biodiversity loss, Krystyna Swiderska, Alejandro Argumedo, Michel Pimbert (2020), IIED Briefing