Conservation from the Ground Up with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities
Indigenous Peoples have been the caretakers of their ancestral territories for millennia . They live on and manage more than half of the world ’ s land . They have lived in close relationship with the natural ecosystems around them without destroying the integrity of their environments . But for generations , they have suffered tremendous injustice and worse at the hands of colonial invaders and commercial interests .
Today , exploitation , criminal forces , greed and growing populations encroach on even the most remote terrains where people and wild species struggle to survive — like the fragile rainforests that , for now , are still standing .
Rainforest Trust has been partnering with Indigenous Peoples and local communities for decades to achieve urgent conservation goals in a way that doesn ’ t undermine their rights and customs or dispossess them of their land .
In fact , approximately 40 % of our historical projects include securing land tenure , resource ownership and / or substantial management authority for Indigenous People or local communities . Our goal is now at least 50 % each year . This powerful and ethical approach seeks the prior consent and full engagement of the people who live there and we are fully committed to it .
On the map at right , we summarize our recent impact working with Indigenous Peoples and local communities to create protected areas and undertake land tenure projects across the tropics .
In Colombia , we are working with our Indigenous-led partner Resguardo Kogui Malayo Arhuaco ( RKMA ) to expand the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Park , where the Kogui , Malayo and Arhuaco Indigenous people hold collective property rights under a designation called Resguardos .
However , these rights do not protect against mining , the greatest threat in the region . National park status will protect the territory against mining while maintaining Indigenous ownership and co-management of the land .
In Nepal , we are working with partner KTK-BELT and Indigenous communities to complete a 648,000-acre wildlife corridor that is a mixed mosaic of wildlife buffer zones , government forests , village landscapes , community forests and Indigenous-managed biocultural conservation zones . Local farmers , fisherfolk and herders have contributed their place-based knowledge to achieve conservation that endures .
In August 2022 , Rainforest Trust and our local Congolese partner , Strong Roots , reached a significant milestone with the protection of 636,309 acres in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ( DRC ). The threatened Congo Basin is a hotspot of biodiversity , harboring more than 10,000 species of wildlife and 600 tree species . Read about this success on page 14 of this newsletter .
Often the catalyst to conservation action is a local person or group who recognizes their environment is in danger . They know their lives and livelihoods are in jeopardy should they lose their forest to illegal logging , their water source to mining , or their primary food source to overfishing .
We respect the deep connection Indigenous Peoples have with their lands and waters that has endured for countless generations . We will continue to work directly with local partners around the globe on a reciprocal solution that works : protect the rich biodiversity that is meeting human needs in ancestral territories , and support local people to obtain legal protections to care for their lands and ensure long-term conservation success . top indigenous peoples in colombia santa marta sierra nevada | jaba kamelungui
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