ICCAs are areas of land and nature that Indigenous Peoples and local communities protect and manage. These areas are naturally preserved by Indigenous groups or local communities, leading to clear benefits for both nature and cultural traditions. ICCA stands for "territories and areas governed, managed, and conserved by Indigenous Peoples and local communities." Since around 2020, the term "territories of life" has been often used together with ICCAs. In ICCAs, traditional practices (some very old) or new efforts help protect and restore natural resources and cultural values, even when facing new challenges or chances. Some ICCAs are in remote places with little human impact, while others are in areas with many rules and different sizes that have been heavily changed by human activity. ICCAs may or may not match the IUCN definition of a "protected area," but when they do, they can belong to any of the IUCN protected area categories.

Definition

In 2003, the IUCN World Parks Congress defined ICCAs as areas managed by Indigenous Peoples and local communities for conservation and sustainable living. At the 4th World Conservation Congress, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and supporting organizations created the ICCA Consortium. This group continues to support efforts to protect the lands and resources of Indigenous Peoples and local communities worldwide.

This definition is recognized by the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC). This organization manages the ICCA Registry, a database that collects information about ICCAs and the practices used by their custodians to protect nature. The data in the ICCA Registry is provided voluntarily by ICCA custodians or their supporting organizations. While the database is not yet complete, it grows each year and provides important information to support ICCAs globally.

The ICCA Consortium and UNEP-WCMC are working together as part of a larger global effort to highlight the long-term contributions of Indigenous Peoples and local communities to conservation. Their efforts continue to help protect the environment today.

Dynamics

A key part of ICCAs is their variety. The ways that indigenous peoples and local communities protect nature depend on many different meanings and values connected to how people and the environment relate to each other. These practices are shown in different ICCAs around the world. All ICCAs, by definition, protect valuable natural and cultural diversity in a way that is chosen by the communities themselves. However, the beliefs, practices, and systems used in ICCAs are specific to each community's situation. Also, ICCAs are living parts of society and culture, and they change over time as history and society change. Some ICCAs disappear, others stay the same or change form, and new ones may appear. Most systems that indigenous peoples and local communities use to manage natural resources mix old and new knowledge, practices, tools, and values from different sources.

As societies change quickly, some ICCA systems have been taken over by government control or are at risk of being replaced. In some cases, changes have made it hard for communities to manage resources in a way that lasts. In these situations, true ICCAs are only memories or struggling to stay effective. However, in other cases, even big changes have not destroyed ICCAs. More complex ICCAs that can use new conditions and form new partnerships have grown from older ones.

Over the past two hundred years, official policies and practices that focus on conservation and development have mostly ignored ICCAs or actively harmed them. Even now, while some recognition and support are growing, the relationship between government systems and the traditional systems of indigenous peoples and local communities still has many conflicts. Some relationships are respectful, but many are affected by misunderstandings and distrust, which can hurt well-meaning efforts. Even though there is now more interest in ICCAs and community-based conservation, two common stereotypes still exist in conservation discussions: one that sees indigenous peoples and traditional communities as perfectly in harmony with nature, and another that sees people as "parasites" who harm the ecosystems they live in.

Threats

Even though ICCAs are getting more attention in global conservation plans, they are still not properly recognized in many national laws and practices. When ICCAs are not legally protected within a country, they may not be respected by private companies or nearby communities. In these situations, ICCAs can be at risk when their land and water are taken for other uses. To people who are not part of the local community, ICCAs may look like untouched or unused areas, which can make them targets for resource extraction. ICCAs can also be harmed by changes in how people value nature, greater demands on natural resources, and conflicts within the community. Overall, ICCAs face both challenges from outside their communities and from within. Examples of these threats include:

• Activities like mining, logging, and building large farms or factories can take over ICCA lands. Even if local communities have land rights, governments often control resources below the ground.
• Taking land away from communities through government actions, private ownership, or conservation efforts, such as creating protected areas managed by the state.
• Wars, violent conflicts, or the movement of people fleeing violence.
• Disputes with other communities or local governments over land use.
• Recognition that forces outside control, such as top-down rules that weaken traditional community leadership.
• High taxes or other financial burdens that are hard for communities to manage.
• Changes in culture through education or religious programs that do not respect local traditions.
• Conflicts caused by political differences or sudden financial changes that create unfair advantages.
• Illegal hunting or taking of natural resources.
• Pollution from waste, chemical runoff, or invasive species.
• Natural disasters like droughts, floods, fires, or earthquakes, some of which are caused by human activities.

• Changes in culture and values, leading to the loss of traditional knowledge and ways of managing nature.
• Greater pressure on resources, which can replace local traditions with market-based systems.
• Inequalities between different groups within a community, causing conflicts over resources and unfair benefits from conservation.
• People leaving communities due to new job opportunities, conflicts, or political issues.
• Loss of traditional food and medical systems, which weakens communities through poor health.

In reality, threats to ICCAs are not always clearly separate as "external" or "internal," because community members may be involved in outside activities, and outside forces can influence internal issues. For example, new opportunities to use natural resources for profit can bring money for development but also lead to corruption and conflicts. As power imbalances grow in society, many indigenous and local communities have fewer chances to protect their lands. In some countries, these communities are not legally recognized as groups, and they are denied the right to own land or natural resources together. Recognizing the value of ICCAs can help protect human rights and create more fair and sustainable societies.

Legislation

ICCAs cover large areas of land similar to government-protected areas, and many have existed for much longer. However, many ICCAs are not officially recognized by governments and are often overlooked in conservation efforts and policies. A lack of political and legal support can make it difficult for communities to protect ICCAs using traditional methods.

The value of ICCAs is based on the importance they hold for the people and communities who live there. However, their legal recognition and support by society depend on agreements and conventions from international organizations. This process began more recently. At the Vth World Parks Congress in Durban, 2003, experts organized the idea of "governance of protected areas" for the first time. They emphasized that indigenous peoples and local communities, who play a key role in conservation, should be fully recognized in decision-making. At the same meeting, indigenous groups successfully argued that protecting their rights would help improve conservation efforts.

Soon after, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) approved the CBD Programme of Work on Protected Areas (PoWPA) during its COP7 meeting in Kuala Lumpur, 2004. PoWPA promotes a new approach to protected areas, focusing on governance quality, fairness in conservation, and the rights of indigenous peoples.

At the 2008 Barcelona World Conservation Congress, IUCN members passed resolutions supporting ICCAs. Technical guidelines were also created to help protect ICCAs. These guidelines stated that different governance models, including ICCAs, can help build national protected area systems.

CBD COP8 and COP9 reviewed PoWPA and highlighted the need to focus more on governance, participation, equity, and sharing benefits. This was also included in recommendations from the CBD SBSTTA meeting in Nairobi, 2010, which suggested ways to officially recognize ICCAs. These recommendations emphasized that recognition should respect the traditional systems that have helped protect ICCAs over time.

At CBD COP10 in Nagoya, 2010, decision X/31 again emphasized the importance of ICCAs and asked governments to recognize the groups that manage them. COP10 also set goals for conserving biodiversity by 2020. Aichi Target 11 states that by 2020, at least 17% of land and inland water areas, and 10% of coastal and marine areas, should be protected through well-managed systems that include ICCAs. ICCAs are important for achieving this goal because they act as both protected areas and "other effective area-based conservation measures."