Indigenous and community conserved area

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Indigenous and community conserved areas (ICCAs), or Indigenous peoples’ and community conserved territories and areas, are spaces de facto governed by Indigenous peoples or local communities with evidently positive outcomes for the conservation of biological and cultural diversity. In ICCAs, the continuation, revival, or modification of traditional practices (some of which are of ancient origin) and/or new initiatives succeed in protecting and restoring natural resources and cultural values in the face of new threats or opportunities. Some ICCAs are situated in remote ecosystems that have had minimum human influence, while others encompass areas of various regulations and magnitudes within regions strongly affected or modified by human occupation. ICCAs may or may not fit the IUCN definition of “protected area” but, when they do, they can fall into any IUCN protected area categories.

The following three characteristics are used to identify an ICCA:^[1]

• A strong relationship exists between an Indigenous people or local community and a specific site (territory, ecosystem, species habitat). This relationship is often embedded in the people's or community's sense of identity and/or dependence for livelihood and well-being.
• The Indigenous people or local community is the major player in decision-making and implementation regarding the management of the site, implying that a local institution has the capacity to develop and enforce decisions (other stakeholders may collaborate as partners, especially when the land is owned by the state, but de facto decisions and management efforts are predominantly taken by the concerned people or community).
• The people's or community's management decisions and efforts lead to the conservation of habitats, species, genetic diversity, ecological functions/ benefits, and associated cultural values, even when the conscious objective of management is not conservation (i.e., it may be livelihoods, security, safeguarding cultural and spiritual values, etc.).^[2]