Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and Environmental Governance

The document highlights the critical role of Indigenous Peoples in Southeast Asia as environmental stewards, noting that their lands overlap with 40% of global protected areas and that deforestation rates on their lands in Southeast Asia are half those on other lands. It criticizes the ASEAN declaration on environmental rights for omitting Indigenous Peoples, arguing that this lack of recognition leads to 'development aggression,' criminalization of land defenders, and the erosion of traditional knowledge. The brief specifically notes the vulnerability of Indigenous women and the overlooked contributions of marine-based 'Sea Nomads.' It concludes by recommending that ASEAN and its Member States formally adopt the terminology and protections of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) to improve biodiversity and climate outcomes.

• Indigenous Peoples are highly effective environmental stewards; globally, their lands overlap with 40% of protected areas, and in Southeast Asia, deforestation rates on Indigenous lands are half the rates found on other lands.
• The ASEAN declaration on environmental rights fails to address the rights of Indigenous Peoples, including their ancestral lands and the role of their knowledge, which may undermine regional environmental governance effectiveness.
• Lack of legal recognition of Indigenous Peoples in ASEAN countries leads to human rights violations, including the criminalization and displacement of people through the creation of state-protected areas and carbon trading deals without Free, Prior and Informed Consent.
• Environmental and land defenders in Asia face extreme violence; between 2012 and 2023, 468 defenders were murdered, with the highest numbers in the Philippines (298), Indonesia (20), and Thailand (13).
• Indigenous women are disproportionately affected by resource scarcity and land loss, increasing their vulnerability to gender-based violence and economic dependence on men.
• Traditional sustainable practices, such as rotational farming, are often misrepresented as harmful and are criminalized in Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.
• Marine-based Indigenous Peoples, such as the Sea Nomads in the Coral Triangle (covering Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Timor Leste), possess critical knowledge for managing marine biodiversity and responding to disasters.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2025). Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and Environmental Governance. https://www.sei.org/publications/indigenous-peoples-rights-environmental-governance/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and Environmental Governance. 2025. https://www.sei.org/publications/indigenous-peoples-rights-environmental-governance/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and Environmental Governance |date=24 January 2025 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/indigenous-peoples-rights-environmental-governance/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2025indigenous, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and Environmental Governance}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/indigenous-peoples-rights-environmental-governance/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }