Tejido de tarejano putumayo cropped to 7x3 - hands and woven material

COP16: UN Convention on Biological Diversity

Indigenous Peoples' Guardianship is the Pathway to Protecting Biodiversity

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To protect 30% of Earth by 2030, Indigenous Peoples’ leadership is essential

Erika Kawarim (Achuar, Ecuador). Photo by Martin Kingman from the short film "Promise" - premiering during COP16 in Cali, Colombia.

As COP16 commences in Cali, Colombia on October 21, it is essential for policymakers to work with Indigenous Peoples in order to achieve the ambitious 30x30 target to protect 30% of Earth by 2030.

In December 2022 at the Convention on Biological Diversity’s COP15, 196 countries adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) – an international framework that includes 23 targets aimed at reversing habitat and species loss. Target 3 – also referred to as 30x30 – specifically calls for the effective protection and management of 30% of the world’s terrestrial, inland water, and coastal and marine areas by the year 2030.

At COP16, taking place between October 21 - November 1, 2024 in Cali, Colombia, leaders and stakeholders will gather to advance discussions on the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and how to ensure that 30% of lands and oceans are protected by 2030.

The 196 countries that adopted the Framework are expected to fulfill their promise to protect the planet’s biodiversity at COP16 while respecting Indigenous territories and ensuring Indigenous Peoples’ rights and effective participation in decision-making. Indigenous Peoples manage and sustain approximately 40% of our planet’s intact ecosystems and landscapes – and their leadership is critical to fulfilling the promise of 30x30.

Featuring voices and images of Indigenous Peoples from four continents and the Pacific Islands, “Promise” is a short video being shared throughout COP16 to drive attention to the crucial role of Indigenous Peoples’ guardianship in protecting Earth’s biodiversity. Co-produced by the Achuar Nation of Ecuador and Nia Tero, and narrated in Achuar with English and Spanish subtitles, the film follows the journey of emerging Achuar youth leader and student Erika Kawarim. Erika grew up learning about the historic United Nations conferences, and the many promises made by leaders and nations to protect her homelands and those of other Indigenous Peoples. She is joined by voices from Indigenous leaders and community members globally, stating the true extent of Indigenous Peoples’ guardianship of the healthiest places on Earth and the galvanizing potential that their deep knowledge systems hold for the planet and for humanity.

Negotiators at COP16 must ensure that relevant indicators for Indigenous Peoples, including land tenure security, Indigenous Peoples’ participation in decision-making, planning, and monitoring of biodiversity conservation efforts, and the protection of traditional knowledge, among others, are included in the Conference's outcomes.

This is the Promise of 30x30.

Join us in supporting Indigenous Peoples’ rights, sovereignty, and guardianship throughout COP16 discussions and outcomes. Learn how you can take action below.

Film credits and sources.

Campaign Partners

Take action

Ways You Can Support Indigenous Peoples' Guardianship to Protect 30% of the Planet by 2030 Throughout COP16

 ______

1. SPREAD THE WORD using our social toolkit

2. ATTEND events at COP16 centering Indigenous Peoples

3. LEARN about Indigenous-led policymaking at COP16

4. SUPPORT Indigenous Peoples' organizations & allies

5. FOLLOW for updates & news from COP16


1. SPREAD THE WORD

Download the social toolkit and share video clips and graphics from "Promise" during COP16. Help us amplify that it is essential for policymakers at COP16 to work with Indigenous Peoples in order to achieve the ambitious target to protect 30% of Earth by 2030.

2. attend COP16 events centering Indigenous peoples

Join us in Cali, Colombia throughout COP16 for panels, discussions, and activations. We'll be adding updates throughout the week, so keep checking back for more ways to support Indigenous Peoples at events during COP16.

October 31

PANEL: Human-rights based approaches to conservation – lessons learned from safeguarding implementation and launch of new web-based assessment tool

Join this COP16 panel at the IUCN Nature Positive Pavillion, moderated by Paul Roughan, Nia Tero's Pacific Strategy Lead, discussing opportunities and challenges in implementing human-rights based approaches and safeguards in conservation.

Date: October 31, 2024

Time: 3:30 - 4:30pm COT

Location: IUCN Nature Positive Pavilion – Small Room & Livestream

Solomon Islands by Dan Lin

October 27

Match of Our Lives

Join us in celebrating nature’s MVP’s in a friendly match between Indigenous leaders from across the globe and a team of Colombian professional women soccer players.

Score a goal for nature and support Indigenous Peoples! Together we can ensure that the guardians of our planet have the tools they need to defend it, because Indigenous Peoples’ leadership is essential to fulfill the 30x30 promise to protect 30% of Earth's lands and waters by 2030.

Match of Our Lives COP16

October 22 - October 26

Our Village COP16 with If Not Us Then Who

If Not Us Then Who’s Our Village and the Climate and Entertainment Pavilion are bringing a dynamic mix of talks, rituals, films, photo exhibits, and cultural showcases to the heart of Cali’s cultural action during COP16. This program bridges the gap between political discussions on biodiversity and ground-level solutions, sparking ideas for the future while inviting decision-makers to commit to centering frontline voices in these crucial biodiversity conversations.

INUTW Our Village COP16 Social Graphic

More Events

Attend even more panels, discussions, and gatherings about Indigenous-led policy at COP16 in Cali, Colombia and beyond. View additional offerings at the links below, and check back for updates to join and support Indigenous Peoples in-person and virtually.

All COP16 Events

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October
28,
2024

October 28, 2024

Indigenous Peoples’ Guardianship: Advancing Indigenous Self-Governance for Territorial and Cultural Protection of Mother Earth

Join us for a private dialogue between government ministerial delegates and Indigenous authorities about Indigenous Peoples’ Guardianship, ancestral knowledge and governance systems, which are key to biodiversity flourishing and protecting Earth.

Details
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October
31,
2024

October 31, 2024

IIFB Press Conference on COP16 Outcomes and Perspectives from Indigenous Peoples and Local communities

The IIFB will present their perspectives on the outcomes of the COP16 negotiations and implementation priorities, highlighting Indigenous Peoples and local communities' contributions as custodians of biodiversity.

Details
Green texture

October
31,
2024

October 31, 2024

Human-rights based approaches to conservation: Lessons learned from safeguarding implementation and launch of new web-based assessment tool

Join this COP16 panel at the IUCN Nature Positive Pavillion, moderated by Paul Roughan, Nia Tero's Pacific Strategy Lead, discussing opportunities and challenges in implementing human-rights based approaches and safeguards in conservation.

Details

3. LEARN ABOUT Indigenous-LED POLICYMAKING at COP16

Throughout COP16, follow and amplify movements and messages from Indigenous leaders and Indigenous-led organizations. Learn about what is at stake for Indigenous Peoples at COP16 and join us in supporting Indigenous-led policymaking.

What is COP16?

COP16 is the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, also known as the "United Nations Biodiversity Conference." 

COP16 takes place in Cali, Colombia from October 21 through November 1, 2024. This year’s theme is “Peace with Nature” – a call to nations to act with urgency in addressing the global crisis of biodiversity loss.

COP16 is the first Biodiversity COP since the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) at COP15 in December 2022 in Montreal, Canada.

At COP16, governments will be tasked with reviewing the implementation progress of the GBF. Parties to the Convention are expected to show the alignment of their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) with the Framework. COP16 will further develop the monitoring framework and advance resource mobilization for the GBF. 

Among other tasks, COP16 is also due to finalize and operationalize the multilateral mechanism on the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of digital sequence information on genetic resources.

Source: Convention on Biological Diversity

What is the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity?

The International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB) is a collection of representatives of Indigenous governments, Indigenous non-governmental organizations and Indigenous academics and activists who organize around the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and other major international environmental meetings to help coordinate Indigenous strategies at the global, regional and national levels.

Their main objective is to facilitate and support the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in the CBD to ensure that the rights of Indigenous Peoples and their contribution to nature are recognized and respected during the negotiation, adoption of the decisions of the CBD and its protocols, and its implementation.

Learn more on the IIFB website.

What is the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and Why is It Important for Indigenous Peoples?

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) was adopted in December 2022 at the United Nations’ COP15 in Montreal, Canada. The GBF is a series of targets and goals reached at COP15 following intense negotiations with nations and other actors, including Indigenous rights advocates. In total, over 190 countries signed on. 

The International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB) was instrumental in pushing for inclusion of language protecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities. The GBF recognizes Indigenous Peoples’ work, knowledge, and practices as key to biodiversity protection in various targets. Implementation must respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights, ensure their free, prior, and informed consent and their effective participation in decision-making.

One of the main targets of this landmark agreement, known as 30x30, is to protect 30 percent of Earth’s lands and waters by 2030. With that target only six years away following COP16, nations must act quickly and work with Indigenous Peoples who have long cared for thriving ecosystems in the lands and waters they call home. 

"The GBF text provides a strong basis for countries to walk hand in hand with Indigenous Peoples in addressing the biodiversity crisis and in ensuring that the negative legacy of conservation on Indigenous Peoples will be corrected." - Jennifer "Jing" Tauli Corpuz (Kankana-ey Igorot, Philippines), Nia Tero's Managing Director of Policy

How Does the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) Support the Rights of Indigenous Peoples?

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework contains strong language on respect for the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs), and notes their important roles and contributions as custodians of biodiversity and as partners in conservation, restoration and sustainable use.

Indigenous Peoples’ rights are explicitly mentioned in one of four goals and seven of twenty-three targets in the GBF, as well as in paragraph 8 on considerations for implementation, and in two COP decision paragraphs. Within the targets specifically, Indigenous Peoples' rights are mentioned in the preamble, in the considerations for implementation, spatial planning (Target 1), area-based conservation (Target 3), customary sustainable use (Targets 5 and 9), traditional knowledge (Goal C, Targets 13 and 21), participation and respect for the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities to lands, territories and resources (Target 22), and in direct access to biodiversity finance (Target 19f).

Here are examples of the targets and goals in which Indigenous rights are explicitly included in the Global Biodiversity Framework: 

  • Target 1: Notes that efforts to reduce threats to biodiversity "respect the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.”
  • Target 3: Also known as 30x30, Target 3 explains that by 2030 at least 30% of lands and waters be protected “recognizing Indigenous and traditional territories” and “respecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, including over their traditional territories.”
  • Target 5: In addressing overexploitation, this target also includes language about “respecting and protecting customary sustainable use by Indigenous Peoples and local communities.”
  • Target 9: Affirms the sustainable use of wild species, noting that must protect and encourage “customary sustainable use by Indigenous Peoples and local communities.”
  • Target 19: Considers financial resources for implementation and includes verbiage about enhancing the role of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, Mother Earth-centric actions and traditional approaches.
  • Target 21: Calls for biodiversity-inclusive decision-making by which includes the knowledge and contributions of Indigenous Peoples and local communities - accessed only with their free, prior and informed consent.
  • Target 22: This section on rights states that the implementation of the GBF must “Ensure the full, equitable, inclusive, effective and gender-responsive representation and participation in decision-making, and access to justice and information related to biodiversity by Indigenous Peoples and local communities, respecting their cultures and their rights over lands, territories, resources, and traditional knowledge, as well as by women and girls, children and youth, and persons with disabilities and ensure the full protection of environmental human rights defenders.”
  • Paragraph 4: “Urges Parties and other Governments, with the support of intergovernmental and other organizations, as appropriate, to implement the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), and, in particular, to enable participation at all levels of government, with a view to fostering the full and effective contributions of women, youth, Indigenous Peoples and local communities…”
  • Paragraph 6:Reaffirms its expectation that Parties and other Governments will ensure that the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities are respected and given effect”

Sources: 

1. Q&A with Jennifer (Jing) Tauli Corpuz on COP15 Goals and Outcomes

2. Celebrating the Relationship Between Indigenous Guardianship & Biodiversity

What are the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity’s COP16 Priorities?

A crucial advocate for Indigenous representation in the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and at COP16 is the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB).

The IIFB’s main objective is to facilitate and support the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in the CBD to ensure that the rights of Indigenous Peoples and their contribution to nature are recognized and respected during the negotiation, adoption of the decisions of the CBD and its protocols, and its implementation.

One central theme for Indigenous Peoples going into COP16 is emphasizing in these global spaces the importance of Indigenous Peoples’ traditional knowledge. The implementation of the provision known as Article 8(j) reinforces the value of Indigenous knowledge and the rights of Indigenous Peoples in biodiversity conservation.

The final text of the GBF adopted at COP15 recognizes Indigenous Peoples’ work, knowledge, and practices as key to biodiversity protection in various targets. The implementation of this deal must respect Indigenous territories, ensure their rights and their free, prior, and informed consent and Indigenous People’s effective participation in decision-making. 

Here are the five identified priorities of the IIFB for COP16:

1. Presentation of NBSAPs 

  • Emphasize the importance of updated National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) for the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. 
  • NBSAPs are commitments made by the nations who signed on to the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework to 1) develop national strategies, plans or programs for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and 2) Implementation via integration of these goals and targets 
  • Showcase how these strategies reflect national commitments to protecting biodiversity and achieving sustainable development goals. 

2. Biodiversity Financing 

  • Highlight the urgent need to close the $700 billion biodiversity financing gap. 
  • Focus on mobilizing financial flows to align with the Global Biodiversity Framework. 
  • Encourage private sector engagement and innovation in financing mechanisms for biodiversity conservation. 

3. Monitoring Framework Development 

  • Communicate the development of a robust monitoring framework that ensures transparency and accountability in implementing biodiversity commitments. 
  • Share progress on resource mobilization to support the Global Framework. 

4. Multilateral Mechanism for Benefit-Sharing 

  • Promote the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of genetic resources. 
  • Explain the significance of finalizing a multilateral mechanism at COP16 for digital sequence information on genetic resources. 
  • Address how this mechanism supports global biodiversity efforts and fosters international cooperation. 

5. Indigenous Peoples and Article 8(j)

  • Reinforce the importance of Indigenous knowledge and the rights of Indigenous Peoples in biodiversity conservation. 
  • Emphasize COP16’s efforts to strengthen the participation of Indigenous Peoples in decision-making, especially regarding the fair sharing of benefits derived from the use of their knowledge and practices. 
  • Focus on the creation and operationalization of a subsidiary body on Traditional Knowledge under Article 8(j) to ensure meaningful involvement and recognition of Indigenous contributions to biodiversity. 

Head to the IIFB's website for more information and updates.

4. SUPPORT Indigenous Peoples' Organizations & Their Allies

Throughout COP16, follow and amplify movements and messages from Indigenous-led organizations and their allies. Learn more about these organizations across regions and globally at the links below, and how you can support them year-round.

Africa

Namibia 

  • NNDFN - Nyae Nyae Development Foundation of Namibia 

Kenya 

  • ILEPA – Indigenous Livelihoods Enhancement Partners 
  • IMPACT – Indigenous Movement for Peace Advancement and Conflict Transformation 
  • Kivulini Trust 

Democratic Republic of Congo 

  • ANAPAC - Alliance Nationale d'Appui et de Promotion des Aires et territoires du Patrimoine Autochone et Communautaire en République Démocratique du Congo 
  • Strong Roots 

Americas

Brazil 

  • CIRConselho Indígena de Roraima
  • FOIRNFederação das Organizações Indígenas do Rio Negro
  • UNIVAJAUnião dos Povos Indígenas do Vale do Javari
  • Hutukara Associação Yanomami
  • APIAMArticulação das Organizações e Povos Indígenas do Amazonas
  • COIAB – Coordenação das Organizações Indígenas da Amazônia Brasileira
  • PodaáliFundo Indígena da Amazônia Brasileira
  • APIB – Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil
  • IEPE – Instituto de Pesquisa e Formação Indígena
  • ISA – Instituto Socioambiental
  • AmazoniAlerta

Canada

Colombia

  • OPIAC – Organización Nacional de los Pueblos Indígenas de la Amazonia Colombiana
  • Gaia Amazonas

Ecuador

Guatemala

Guyana

Nicaragua

  • Gobierno de la Nación Sumu Mayanga

Peru

  • ORPIO – Organización Regional de Pueblos Indígenas del Oriente
  • AIDESEP – Asociación Interétnica de Desarrollo de la Selva Peruana
  • GTANW – Gobierno Territorial Autónomo de la Nación Wampis
  • Peru Equidad
  • IDL – Instituto de Defensa Legal

Suriname

United States

Regional

  • RMIB – Indigenous Women’s Network on Biodiversity

Asia

Indonesia

Thailand 

  • KNCE - Karen Network for Culture and Environment

Nepal

  • NEFIN - Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities

Australia

Europe

Pacific

Solomon Islands 

  • IKI - Island Knowledge Institute
  • MMGB – Mai Maasina Green Belt

Papua New Guinea

  • CELCOR – Center for Environmental Law & Community Rights
  • Project Sepik
  • BRG – Bismarck Ramu Group
  • PEDF - Pihi Environment and Development Forum

Vanuatu 

Kanaky / New Caledonia

Palau

Cook Islands

Rapa Nui / Eastern Islands

Organizations Working Globally

Photo of hands holding smoking bundle by Kamikia Kisedje

5. FOLLOW FOR NEWs & updates from cop16

Stay up-to-date with the latest news from COP16, actions you can take throughout the week, and messages you can share from Indigenous leaders, Indigenous-led organizations, and their allies.  

News Updates

Coverage from COP16 & Global Policy Forums

Read the latest news and coverage from COP16 and related policy forums by and about Indigenous Peoples and the critical role of Indigenous leadership in achieving 30x30 - protecting 30% of Earth by 2030.

October 22, 2024

PR Newswire

Indigenous Peoples' leadership at COP 16 is essential to reach the goal of protecting 30% of Earth by 2030

Read

October 18, 2024

Mongabay

Indigenous Territories & Peoples are Key to Achieving COP16’s 30×30 Target (commentary)

Read

September 23, 2024

TIME

Indigenous Peoples Are Key to Navigating the Climate Crisis. We Deserve a Seat at the Table

Read

Follow Nia Tero’s social channels throughout COP16 for the latest news from Indigenous leaders and allies in Cali. Together, we can amplify the critical role of Indigenous Peoples' leadership in achieving 30x30.

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