Rights for Indigenous Peoples and local communities to ensure the well-being of forests and biodiversity

The document argues that the well-being of forests and biodiversity depends on the recognition and enforcement of the collective rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs). It focuses on the role of Indigenous and Community-Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCAs) and Community Forest Management (CFM) as essential tools for stopping deforestation and protecting biodiversity. The brief outlines key rights—including self-determination, free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), land tenure, and gender justice—and provides specific policy recommendations to prevent the displacement of IPLCs by extractive industries or state-led conservation schemes.

• Indigenous and Community-Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCAs), also referred to as Community Forest Management (CFM), are vital for biodiversity conservation and climate justice, serving as tools to stop deforestation and human rights violations.
• IPLC territories are under constant threat from mining, logging, underground extraction, and conservation schemes that lead to the expulsion and displacement of peoples, often due to a lack of public policies that recognize their collective rights.
• The right to self-determination is the fundamental norm for Indigenous Peoples, enabling them to determine their political status and pursue economic, social, and cultural development; its denial is linked to atrocities and negative impacts on well-being.
• Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) processes are frequently violated because they are often conducted unilaterally by governments or companies, lack adequate information, and the final decisions of the IPLCs are not always respected.
• Securing land and territory rights is essential for biodiversity conservation; however, conflicts often arise from the imposition of individual property rights and a lack of legal demarcation of collective IPLC territories.
• A rights-based approach to conservation must prevail to prevent the expulsion of IPLCs for the creation of protected areas, as traditional restoration practices based on traditional knowledge are more effective and sustainable than exploitation-based models.
• Traditional knowledge is a collective, inherited part of IPLC identity and must not be subject to intellectual property systems or used for private economic profit.
• Gender justice is critical to forest protection because women are often at the forefront of defending biodiversity but suffer disproportionate impacts from forest loss and face structural barriers to land rights and decision-making.

APA

Rojas, I. (2024). Rights for Indigenous Peoples and local communities to ensure the well-being of forests and biodiversity. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/FOEI-8J-SP-WEB-V3.pdf

Chicago

Rojas, Isaac. Rights for Indigenous Peoples and local communities to ensure the well-being of forests and biodiversity. Friends of the Earth International, 2024. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/FOEI-8J-SP-WEB-V3.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Rojas |first1=Isaac |title=Rights for Indigenous Peoples and local communities to ensure the well-being of forests and biodiversity |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=October 2024 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/FOEI-8J-SP-WEB-V3.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rojas2024rights, author = {Rojas, Isaac}, title = {{Rights for Indigenous Peoples and local communities to ensure the well-being of forests and biodiversity}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2024}, month = oct, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/FOEI-8J-SP-WEB-V3.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }