documentation-pra-apac-2025-final-c491e7e507c606ea.pdf

This guide, produced by the TAFO MIHAAVO-Natural Justice joint initiative with support from GIZ, outlines the process of 'auto-renforcement' (self-strengthening) for Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs), referred to as 'territoires de vie' (life territories), in Madagascar. It provides a framework for local communities to autonomously document their territories, strengthen their governance, and seek recognition through national and international registries to improve the sustainable management of their natural resources and cultural heritage.

• The 'auto-renforcement' process is a collective effort by communities to develop their autonomy and capacity to manage their 'territoires de vie' and natural resources, integrating cultural, socio-economic, and environmental aspects. This process is guided by principles of community leadership, Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC/CLIP), empowerment, and the inclusive participation of women, youth, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
• The self-strengthening process follows a structured sequence of actions: collective consultations to define objectives, auto-delimitation of the territory through participatory mapping, auto-documentation of community and territorial data, auto-identification as an ICCA, the identification and implementation of self-strengthening actions, and final auto-evaluation.
• Communities can voluntarily register their territories in the International ICCA Registry to increase recognition, improve access to technical and financial support, and influence policy frameworks. In Madagascar, a national registry is being developed by TAFO MIHAAVO. Additionally, communities may seek recognition as 'Other Effective Means of Conservation' (OECM/AMCE) through peer identification or government verification.
• The guide identifies several challenges to community self-strengthening, including a lack of sectoral coherence in governance (where FPIC may be recognized in some sectors but ignored in others), the need for sustainable financing to avoid external dependency, the difficulty of intergenerational transmission of traditional knowledge, low literacy levels, and the risk of 'elite capture' where local leaders dominate decision-making.
• Case studies illustrate the application of the process: in Andranobe (Vakinankaratra), the community documented a 1,500-hectare area including a lake and forests to create a biocultural community protocol; in Anjà (Haute Matsiatra), the community used auto-evaluation to confirm the success of its community-based tourism and governance model; and in Soanavelandrazana (Itasy), the process focused on protecting 4,520 hectares of Tapia forests and traditional silk production.

APA

Natural Justice (n.d.). documentation-pra-apac-2025-final-c491e7e507c606ea.pdf. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Documentation-PRA-APAC-2025-final.pdf

Chicago

Natural Justice. documentation-pra-apac-2025-final-c491e7e507c606ea.pdf. n.d. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Documentation-PRA-APAC-2025-final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Natural Justice |title=documentation-pra-apac-2025-final-c491e7e507c606ea.pdf |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Documentation-PRA-APAC-2025-final.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{naturaljusticenddocumentationpraapac2025finalc491e7e507c606eapdf, author = {{Natural Justice}}, title = {{documentation-pra-apac-2025-final-c491e7e507c606ea.pdf}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Documentation-PRA-APAC-2025-final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }