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The report analyzes the transition of natural resource management in Senegal from state-led repression to participatory governance. It highlights the emergence of Communal Natural Reserves (RNCs) and the persistence of sacred sites as effective conservation tools, while noting significant gaps in formal legal recognition and threats from globalization and state interference.

The report examines the legal and political landscape of Canada regarding Indigenous peoples' rights to land and conservation. It argues that the Canadian state generally does not recognize ICCAs, instead maintaining a colonial framework that prioritizes Crown sovereignty and resource extraction over Indigenous self-determination. While comprehensive agreements for Inuit and some First Nations provide a level of co-management, most Indigenous peoples face systemic barriers, including the Indian Act and a lack of political will to respect inherent rights. The document highlights the 'duty to consult' as a critical legal tool and provides case studies on Torngat Mountains National Park, Gwaii Haanas, and Ipperwash Provincial Park to illustrate the spectrum from co-governance to violent conflict.

The report analyzes the lack of formal legal recognition for TICCAs in Panama, highlighting conflicts between the National Environment Authority (ANAM) and indigenous peoples. It examines national environmental laws, the Constitution, and comarca-specific laws, noting that while state laws often ignore traditional conservation, indigenous customary laws—such as the Guna's Anmar Igar—effectively protect biodiversity. The document proposes strategies to integrate traditional governance into the National System of Protected Areas (SINAP) and protect indigenous collective rights over natural resources.

The report finds that Suriname lacks legal recognition for indigenous and tribal peoples as collectivities, leaving their traditional land and resource rights unprotected. This legal vacuum allows the state to issue extractive concessions and establish protected areas without the free, prior, and informed consent of local communities, often criminalizing traditional subsistence activities. While the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has issued landmark rulings, such as the Saramaka case, requiring the recognition of collective titles and juridical personality, the report concludes that the Surinamese government has failed to implement these mandates, maintaining a discriminatory legal environment that undermines both human rights and biodiversity conservation.

The report examines the tension between Malaysia's state-led economic development—driven by logging and oil palm expansion—and the customary land rights of Indigenous peoples. It highlights that while Sabah has begun exploring the ICCA concept through the Sabah Biodiversity Strategy 2012-2022, legal recognition of communal tenure remains inconsistent and often subordinated to commercial interests. The document details various community-led conservation efforts, such as the 'tagal' fisheries system and the Bundu Tuhan Native Reserve, while noting that landmark court cases in Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak have provided some legal precedents for native title and proprietary rights.

The report examines the tension between the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997 and other national laws, such as the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 and the NIPAS Act, which often undermine indigenous land tenure and governance. It highlights that while the Philippines has progressive laws on paper, implementation is hindered by the 'Regalian Doctrine' and institutional conflicts between agencies like the NCIP and DENR. The document details the role of ICCAs in biodiversity conservation and provides case studies of indigenous communities, such as the Tagbanwa and Talaandig, struggling to maintain control over their ancestral domains against state-led protected area systems and extractive industries.

The report examines the status of ICCAs in Taiwan, highlighting a systemic lack of formal legal recognition for indigenous customary land and resource rights. While the Basic Act of Indigenous Peoples (2005) provides some theoretical recognition, state agencies—particularly the Forestry Bureau—remain reluctant to share decision-making power. The document details several community-led conservation successes, such as the Danayiku Nature Park and the Smangus village's collective management, and notes a positive shift in judicial trends where courts have begun to recognize traditional territories.

The report analyzes the intersection of Australian law and Indigenous-led conservation, detailing the pathways to land ownership, the evolution of joint management in national parks, and the emergence of Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs).

The report examines Namibia's legal and policy landscape regarding Indigenous Peoples’ and Local Communities’ Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCAs), focusing on the tension between state-owned land claims and community resource rights. It details the formalization of ICCAs through communal area conservancies and community forests, while highlighting the critical lack of secure group land tenure as a primary threat to sustainable management. The document also assesses the impact of state-run protected areas on indigenous groups like the San and Herero, noting a general government policy of providing financial benefits through concessions while denying formal land rights or co-management authority.

The document examines the status of Indigenous Territories and Community Conserved Areas (TICCAs) in Bolivia, highlighting the gap between the country's advanced constitutional protections for indigenous peoples and the actual implementation of state policies. It details the legal evolution from the 1953 Agrarian Reform to the 2009 Constitution, which recognizes Bolivia as a Plurinational State. The report identifies significant threats to biodiversity and indigenous governance, including the expansion of the agricultural frontier, large-scale extractivist projects (mining and hydrocarbons), and the government's failure to conduct prior informed consultation. Through case studies of the TIPNIS and Kaa-Iya, it illustrates conflicts over infrastructure projects and the erosion of co-management agreements between the state and indigenous organizations.

The document examines the systemic lack of legal recognition for Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (TICCAs) in Chile. It argues that the Chilean state prioritizes individual property and extractivist economic models over communal indigenous land rights, often criminalizing social protests. While international instruments like ILO Convention 169 and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples are ratified, their domestic implementation is described as precarious. The report highlights a tension between state-managed protected areas—which often exclude indigenous populations—and community-led initiatives like the Mapu Lahual and Quinquén projects. It concludes that deep legal reforms are necessary to transition from an exclusionary 'Yellowstone model' of conservation to one based on shared governance and the restitution of ancestral lands.

The report examines the tension between India's centralized conservation laws, such as the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972, and the rights of forest-dependent communities. It highlights the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006 (FRA) as a critical tool for securing community tenure and management rights. The document details various types of CCAs, including sacred groves and community-managed forests, while criticizing the 'ecodevelopment' model and the lack of legal recognition for marine and wetland conservation initiatives. It concludes with recommendations for legal reforms to prioritize site-specific, decentralized governance and the recognition of customary laws.

The report examines the legal and institutional landscape of Fiji regarding Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs), highlighting a significant gap between customary stewardship and formal legal recognition. While 87.9% of land is i Taukei (indigenous) owned, marine and freshwater tenure is vested in the State, creating contradictions with traditional 'i qoliqoli' fishing rights. The document details the growth of Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs) and the challenges posed by political instability, overlapping agency mandates, and the prioritization of extractive industries like mining over conservation. It argues for a comprehensive national protected area legislative framework to formally recognize ICCAs and protect them from encroachment.

The document outlines a methodology for creating Biocultural Community Protocols (BCPs), which are community-defined instruments used to communicate local values, customary laws, and priorities to external actors. It provides a structured approach across four parts: understanding the toolkit and the role of the facilitator, documenting the community's biocultural foundations, implementing the protocol through dialogue and negotiation, and reflecting on outcomes to revise the protocol. The guide emphasizes endogenous development, legal empowerment, and participatory methods—such as community mapping, participatory video, and 'Forum Theatre'—to reduce power asymmetries between local communities and entities like governments, corporations, and NGOs.

The document is a practical guide for creating biocultural community protocols—instruments that document a community's customary laws, values, and decision-making processes to manage interactions with external actors. It emphasizes an endogenous development approach, where change is initiated and controlled from within the community. The toolkit provides a wide array of participatory tools for mapping resources, analyzing power dynamics, and engaging in legal advocacy. It outlines a four-part process: understanding the community and facilitator's role, documenting the community's foundations, implementing the protocol through engagement and negotiation, and continuously reflecting on and revising the instrument.

The document examines how community protocols and FPIC processes empower indigenous and local communities to protect their land, resources, and traditional knowledge. Through various case studies in countries such as India, Peru, Ghana, and Cameroon, it argues that these tools are most effective when they are bottom-up processes designed and controlled by the communities themselves rather than imposed top-down by governments or corporations. The report highlights the role of the Nagoya Protocol and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in providing international legal support for these tools, while noting that national implementation often remains inadequate.

The working paper by Elisa Morgera examines the legal and policy implications of climate change's impact on biodiversity and the effects of mitigation and adaptation measures. It specifically analyzes the 'unprecedented and far-reaching decisions' regarding climate change made during the CBD COP X in October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan, and discusses the resulting legal rapprochement between international biodiversity and climate change law.

On November 12, Canada endorsed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), having previously been one of four states to vote against its 2007 adoption. Natural Justice notes that despite this endorsement, Canada was criticized at the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP10) in Nagoya, Japan, for attempting to remove all references to UNDRIP from the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing negotiations, leading to Canada receiving the 'Dodo Award' for its failure to evolve.

A civil society statement warns that the CBD COP is heading for failure, comparing it to the Copenhagen climate summit, due to Northern governments' refusal to accept legally binding commitments on Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) and financial obligations. The statement calls for an ABS Protocol with strong enforcement to stop biopiracy and protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities.

The document argues that traditional knowledge (TK) is often viewed as a commodity in Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) agreements, which can erode the biocultural relationships and spiritual values of indigenous and local communities (ILCs). To counter this, the authors propose a 'TK Commons'—a system where non-commercial users (such as researchers and students) access knowledge via licenses based on the community's 'biospiritual virtues'. This framework emphasizes reciprocity, non-appropriation, and the continuous growth of a knowledge community rather than individual ownership. The report details a potential online licensing system to manage these interactions, ensure enduring recognition of source communities, and facilitate the flow of new research back to the ILCs.