Souparna Lahiri
COP16 is expected to decide on a new programme of work on Article 8(j) and other provisions of the Convention related to indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs), aligned with the KMGBF, with the full and effective participation of IPLCs, with the development of important elements, listed in the box below.
While the important issue of direct access funding to IPLCs has been taken out of the negotiated text now, we are still waiting for a final agreement to integrate the elements of Biocultural Community Protocols (BCP). IPLCs have their own set of rules and practices to regulate and supervise intra and inter community interactions, relationship with outsiders, and with the territories and areas on which they depend. These are mostly referred to as customary laws and rights which have protected the homelands and territories of these communities, sustaining their traditional practices, knowledge and cultural heritage for generations.
These customary laws and rights, also known as protocols, reflect a symbiotic relationship with land and a responsibility for preserving these lands for future generations. Since Indigenous Peoples often face marginalisation, displacement from their lands, territories and resources, denial of land rights, and adverse impacts from large-scale development, these community protocols can be used as participatory tools help defend their biocultural heritage against these pressures and threats such as from the impacts of mass and elite tourism, and assert their rights over resources and traditional knowledge. They communicate the importance of their lands and resources for a community’s livelihoods and way of life, their roles, particularly that of women, as stewards of land and resources, and their customary rights and how these are recognised in international and national law.
These biocultural community protocols can be further used by the communities to:
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assert and defend their customary rights,
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negotiate access to customary resources, which is gender just,
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promote constructive dialogue and equitable partnerships with others which support the communities’ plans and priorities,
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improve organisational and social dynamics between communities, and
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establish local governance mechanisms, with equitable participation of women, in relation to access and benefit-sharing (ABS) arrangements provided for under the CBD.
To promote and support the conservation, protection and restoration of biological diversity led by IPLCs;
To promote, encourage and ensure the sustainable use of biological diversity, inter alia, to respect and protect the customary sustainable use by IPLCs;
Sharing of benefits from the utilization of genetic resources and digital sequence information on genetic resources, as well as traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources;
To support the transmission and protection of traditional knowledge, including to future generations, and ensure that traditional knowledge and other knowledge systems are valued equally;
To contribute to the implementation of the KMGBF through the full and effective implementation of decisions, principles and guidelines of relevance for IPLCs, and to strengthen the integration of Article 8(j) and other provisions of the Convention:
To enable the full and effective participation of IPLCs, including women, girls and youth from IPLCs, in decision-making related to biodiversity and the implementation of the KMGBF.
To contribute to the enhancement of the rights of IPLCs for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, in line with a human rights-based approach; and
Enabling direct access to funding for IPLCs for the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of biodiversity.