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The adoption in September 2007 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples(UNDRIP) represents a strong breakthrough in setting international standards for Indigenouspeoples’ rights. Since then, the UNDRIP has been taken into consideration by a number ofnational and regional courts’ judgments. Similarly, the growing number of ratifications ofILO Convention 169, in particular in Latin America, has positively impacted the applicationand benchmark value of this instrument in national and regional case law. Other humanrights treaties such as the Convention on the Elimination of all Kinds of DiscriminationAgainst Women have important implications for ICCAs as well.Additionally, there is a growing body of case law – through the Inter-American Court ofHuman Rights (IACHR), the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights, and national courts– that is supportive of a range of Indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ rights based ontheir connection to their territories and unique social, cultural and ecological systems. In therecent case of Sarayaku v. Ecuador (2012), for example, the IACHR ruled that Ecuador had,among other things, breached Sarayaku villagers’ rights to prior consultation, communalproperty and cultural identity by approving a project without their involvement (see theInternational Law and Jurisprudence Report). At the national level, courts in Australia,Botswana, Belize, Canada, and South Africa, among others, have been instrumental in themove towards recognition of Indigenous peoples’ territorial rights.Emerging JurisprudenceMayagna Awas Tingni v. Nicaragua (2001): The IACHR recognized the validity of possessionover land based in Indigenous custom as a foundation for property over these lands, evenwhen a title is lacking. It also underscored the need to recognize and understand the broadrelationship between Indigenous peoples and their lands, which forms a fundamental basisfor their cultures, spiritual life, integrity, and economic survival.Saramaka v. Suriname (2006): Based on the communities’ relationships with their lands andnatural resources, the IACHR ordered Suriname to, among other things: delimit, demarcate,and grant collective title over the territory of the members of the Saramaka people inaccordance with their customary laws; abstain from acts until delimitation, demarcation,and titling has been completed, unless the State obtains the free, informed and priorconsent of the Saramaka people; review existing concessions; grant legal recognition of thecollective juridical capacity of the Saramaka people in accordance with their communalsystem, customary laws, and traditions; and adopt legislative, administrative, and othermeasures as may be required to recognize, protect, guarantee, and give legal effect to theright of the members of the Saramaka people to hold collective title of the territory theyhave traditionally used and occupied.These two judgements, among others, have helped establish the jurisprudence on the rightsof Indigenous peoples and are of utmost importance not just for Indigenous and tribalpeoples of Suriname and of other countries that have accepted the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court, but also for other Indigenous peoples around the world.
2.2 Non-legal Recognition and SupportAt both international and national levels, ICCAs are also receiving much greater non-legalrecognition and support than ever before, six general forms of which are set out below.Administrative and programmatic recognition: ICCAs are provided space in governmentalprogrammes or schemes, with or without specific legal measures to do so. This includes, forexample, recognition in National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans and in nationalpoverty reduction programmes, sub-national programmes and schemes of a similar nature.In Iran, government organizationssuch as the Department of theEnvironment (DOE) and the Forests,Rangelands and WatershedOrganization are members of theNational Steering Committee of theUNDP-Global Environment FacilitySmall Grants Programme (GEF-SGP)and have lent their support andapproval to relevant GEF-SGPprojects focusing on ICCAs. In July2007, the director general of theDOE stated that: “The DOE isresponsible for adding 200,000hectares to the country’s protectedareas before 2020. We should uselessons learned from the pilotprojects in support of ICCAs in IranThe biodiversity-rich rangelands of the Qashqai tribal territory.© Samira Farahani, CENESTAand see how they can facilitate the process for more support and recognition of the ICCAs byapproving suitable policies and laws in this regard.”Financial, technical, and developmental support: Indigenous peoples or local communitiesreceive funding, inputs for building capacity, locally appropriate developmental facilities,facilitation for mapping, or other related activities. This could be provided by eithergovernment or non-governmental actors and includes specific schemes to support ICCAs inseveral countries and through global initiatives such as GEF-SGP.In the Philippines, financial support to the government has enabled the provision oftechnical assistance to Indigenous peoples in the formulation of their Ancestral DomainSustainable Development and Protection Plans (ADSDPP). The support that Indigenouspeoples receive in the delineation of their ancestral domains and the formulation of theirADSDPPs based on their traditions and culture effectively supports their initiatives for ICCAgovernance and management. The Philippine government also launched the NewConservation Areas in the Philippines Project (NewCAPP) “to expand and strengthen theterrestrial protected area system in the Philippines by developing new protected areasmodels … and expand the […] system with the integration of new conservation areas toinclude sites with a comprehensive ecological coverage and strong links to localcommunities and indigenous lands in the surrounding landscape.” NewCAPP is providingdirect funding for ICCA initiatives and related activities.
Page 2 and 3: “First Nations have always practi
Page 4 and 5: CONTENTSEXECUTIVE SUMMARY1. THREATS
Page 6 and 7: Main RecommendationsTo recognize an
Page 9 and 10: 1. THREATS TO ICCAsThere are three
Page 11: constituted areas such as conservan
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Page 18 and 19: Despite this, however, national and
Page 20 and 21: hinders communities’ abilities to
Page 22 and 23: illegal.In Senegal, the marine real
Page 24 and 25: In Namibia, support to conservancie
Page 26 and 27: 5. KEY RECOMMENDATIONS: RECOGNIZE A
Page 28 and 29: Human Rights and Constitutional Ref
Page 30 and 31: . Recommendations for Legislating f
Page 32 and 33: Reform Policies and Laws to Effecti
Page 34 and 35: Create an Enabling Environment for
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