Indigenous-Led Conservation

Umiviit, Greenland

I recently wrote a short piece on how Indigenous communities in the Arctic are leading conservation efforts.

"From a global perspective, Indigenous communities are increasingly shaping the conservation of lands, waters, and species around the world, both through science and through policy. One-quarter of all land on earth is owned, managed, used, or occupied by Indigenous peoples, representing 35% of all formal protected areas across the world and 35% of all remaining terrestrial areas experiencing low human impact (IPBES 2019). Indigenous relationships to wild living resources are increasingly grounds for establishing new protected areas and developing new policies and practices for partnering wildlife conservation with Indigenous use. This can be controversial as our communities continue to sustainably hunt and fish the charismatic species that have become the global mascots for climate change including seals, whales, walrus, and polar bears. Over decades of gains for Indigenous communities in research, policy, and law regarding our rights to sovereignty, co-management, and food security, and an ongoing social shift in perspectives, approaches, and solutions for combating biodiversity loss, we are collectively pushing the envelope of what is possible in Arctic conservation efforts."

You can find the full piece here.