Many of the world’s most biodiverse areas are found within the ancestral lands of Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLC) and comprise of diverse ecosystems maintained through customary laws, spiritual values and traditional practices.
Vanuatu and Fiji showcased IPLC leadership in protecting and managing high biodiversity areas in a range of initiatives in their countries, sharing with a global audience today on the margins of the Sixteenth Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP16), in Cali, Colombia.
Acting Director for the Vanuatu Department of Environment, Rolenas Tavue Baereleo highlighted the importance of leadership of indigenous peoples and use of traditional knowledge across biodiversity action.
“The Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) will only succeed if it genuinely includes the knowledge, leadership, and rights of Indigenous and local communities. The world’s most biodiverse areas are in their hands, and without their full participation, we cannot hope to achieve our global biodiversity goals”.
“Vanuatu, like many other Pacific nations, has a wealth of indigenous knowledge that has preserved biodiversity for generations. These practices with a respect for nature and sustainable use are precisely what the GBF needs to achieve its ambitious targets”, she said.
Representatives of the Government of Vanuatu and the Oceania Office of the International Union for Conservation of Nature also shared key community-led initiatives demonstrating leadership in the use of traditional practices in the protection of cultural and natural heritage.
Despite their significant contributions, IPLC areas remain largely overlooked by national governments, facing increasing threats from development pressures. In response, various governments and non-governmental organisations are implementing innovative strategies to empower IPLCs, support their collective governance systems, and protect their land rights alongside the biodiversity they steward.
The Government of Vanuatu is facilitating this through the integration of informal and formal resource management areas through the registration of Community Conservation Area’s. This is an opportunity for supporting community led conservation areas by empowering IPLC’s to manage their resources. This approach also promotes collaboration in biodiversity conservation between the government and communities and ensures the sustainable use of natural resources for livelihoods and economies.
Dr Sivendra Michael, Permanent Secretary for the Fiji Ministry of Environment, shared how Fiji is approaching traditional resource management to ensure effective national biodiversity conservation management.
“We must ensure traditional knowledge is respected and afforded the same level of respect as the science. There is an increasing need to invest in locally led research, which combines traditional ecological knowledge with scientific enquiry, and the Government of Fiji has pledged to support this in its revised National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan,” said Dr Michael.
“The journey of our locally managed marine areas in Fiji is a testament to the resilience of our communities and wisdom of our elders. While we celebrate our success, we must also remain vigilant against the ongoing challenges faced by the triple planetary crisis – climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.”
Community managed areas not only contribute to conservation goals but also play a crucial role in achieving the GBF’s ambitious target of protecting 30 percent of the planet by 2030, as well as several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and commitments under the Paris Agreement.
“By embracing our unique Pacific identity and harnessing our traditional knowledge, we can ensure the sustainability of our natural assets for generations to come”, said Dr Michael.
The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), as the mandated inter-governmental organisation created by the Pacific Island countries for the protection of the Pacific environment, has been providing support to all the Pacific delegations at COP16.
“The Pacific region has extensive traditional and local ecological knowledge in marine, reef, and coastal areas. Pacific peoples have stewarded many customary-use areas for centuries and it is for this reason that indigenous and traditional knowledge must be considered across all biodiversity efforts and the Secretariat remains committed to supporting the Pacific islands in ensuring this”, said SPREP Biodiversity Adviser Amanda Wheatley.
At COP16, Parties will consider creating a new programme of work and other provisions aimed at enhancing the role of indigenous peoples and local communities within the global Convention. Establishing globally agreed ways to work with indigenous peoples and local communities is crucial for building the necessary support for their continued sustainable management of healthy ecosystems, ensuring that traditional knowledge contributes to biodiversity conservation, and securing sustainable outcomes that respect and empower stewards of the environment.
Fourteen Pacific Islands countries are Party to the CBD, they are contributing to a unified One Pacific Voice on collective issues at COP16, these are Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.