Indigenous People are the Guardians of Our Planet

Rituraj Phukan

It is a known fact that the world’s major biodiversity hotspots are in areas inhabited or controlled by indigenous peoples.

Traditional Indigenous Territories cover around 22 percent of the Earth’s land surface and hold 80 percent of its biodiversity. Moreover, the greatest diversity of indigenous groups can be found in the largest tropical forest wilderness areas across the Americas, Africa, and Asia.

Indigenous people and communities legally own 11 percent of the world’s forest lands, presenting an opportunity to expand biodiversity conservation efforts beyond protected areas.

Therefore, it was no surprise that the UN Secretary-General António Guterres lauded indigenous peoples for their pioneering efforts in protecting nature and preserving biodiversity at the 2023 session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) last month. The Secretary-General pointed out the crucial role of indigenous people and local communities as guardians of the world’s biodiversity, particularly in regions like the Amazon, the Sahel, and the Himalayas.

The knowledge and practices of indigenous people sustain biodiversity and guide scientific research and management approaches. They are the sustainable stewards of the land, employing practices like selective harvesting, rotational farming, and controlled burning to maintain ecosystem health and productivity.

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Additionally, they collaborate with governments, NGOs, and other stakeholders to actively engage in conservation efforts and advocate for the protection of biodiversity and indigenous rights.

Involving indigenous peoples as experts in biodiversity conservation and natural resource management can result in comprehensive and cost-effective practices worldwide. Territories with secured land rights have demonstrated better conservation outcomes compared to adjacent lands. The Global Biodiversity Framework has recognized the full and effective involvement of indigenous communities in meeting global targets and emerging biodiversity governance.

Indigenous People are the Guardians of Our Planet

Additionally, indigenous people possess traditional expertise in adapting to, mitigating, and reducing climate risks. These resilient communities offer valuable solutions to the climate crisis, given their ancestral knowledge and wisdom, and have a key role in climate change mitigation and adaptation around the world. Preserving vast forested areas not only aligns with climate change objectives but also respects the rights of Indigenous Peoples and conserves biodiversity.

Despite their significant contributions, indigenous peoples are among the most vulnerable groups affected by climate change. However, their ancestral territories often exhibit resilient landscape designs that can withstand the negative impacts of climate change.

Over time, Indigenous Peoples have developed adaptation models and genetic varieties of plants and animals with natural resistance to climatic and ecological variability. The full involvement of indigenous peoples in the climate change agenda has been mandated by the UNFCCC at the Glasgow Climate Conference (COP26).

It is also true that the loss of traditional lands and territories remains a major obstacle to the preservation of biodiversity, leading to ecosystem fragmentation and degradation. Factors such as land grabbing, resource extraction, and the worsening impacts of climate change contribute to this loss of territories, adversely impacting both biodiversity and indigenous livelihoods.

Additionally, indigenous peoples are often marginalized and excluded from decision-making processes related to biodiversity conservation, despite being crucial stakeholders and knowledge-holders.

A flurry of recent reports has once again reiterated that reinvigorating the natural systems is central to stopping and reversing the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss. At the same time, the window for remediation is shrinking rapidly, with one study warning of total ecosystem collapse and the start of the sixth mass extinction on Earth. Trophic rewilding or reintroduction of species is seen as a critical component of the bucket of natural climate solutions.

A key intervention to avoid catastrophic planetary impacts is to empower indigenous people and local communities for the preservation of natural places and restoration of vital ecosystems around the world. Indigenous people hold the key to the successful realization of planetary goals; they represent the convergence of action towards the fulfillment of the Paris Agreement targets, the Global Biodiversity Framework agenda, and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Therefore, it is crucial to recognize and respect their rights to traditional lands and territories while involving them in decision-making processes. It is important to revitalize indigenous knowledge, share best practices, and foster partnerships and collaborations among indigenous peoples, governments, NGOs, and other stakeholders.

It is now well understood that the health and productivity of our planet’s ecosystems, and therefore the safety and well-being of all species including humankind, is connected to our understanding and preservation of the indigenous way of life. Indigenous People are the guardians of our planet. We are nature, we are the Earth.

[Rituraj Phukan is an environmental activist and writer based in Assam, a biodiversity rich, climate impacted province in the far east of India. A commerce graduate, he quit his government job to begin a lifelong engagement with nature, travelling, writing and teaching students about the environment, wildlife and climate change. He is Secretary General of Green Guard Nature Organization, a grassroots civil society group working with fringe forest communities to explore and establish sustainable solutions for management of man-animal conflict. He also serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Walk For Water, a group that is leading a global water conservation movement with a mission to provide universal accessibility to safe water. Rituraj is a Climate Reality Leader trained at Istanbul 2013 and is a Mentor and District Manager with The Climate Reality Project India. Rituraj was a member of the International Antarctic Expedition led by Polar explorer Robert Swan, the first man to have walked to both the poles, in 2013, completing a personal leadership and environment sustainability program called ‘Leadership on the Edge.’ He has also travelled to the Canadian Arctic on an Earthwatch expedition called ‘Climate Change at the Arctic’s Edge’ to participate in ongoing citizen science research about the impacts of global warming on the fragile arctic ecosystems, while based at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre. As the Assam Coordinator for Kids For Tigers, the Sanctuary Nature Foundation initiative for students, he works with schools to sensitize students about the connection between tigers, their forest habitat, climate change and conservation needs and consequences. Rituraj is connected with www.mahabahu.com too.]

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