Asia

PACOS Response to COVID-19 Pandemic in Malaysia

In Malaysia, Consortium Member PACOS Trust is supporting isolated Indigenous communities as they face the COVID-19 crisis. Anne Lasimbang tells us which strategies they have employed to date, and how they plan to move forward during the recovery phase.  Read more ▸

How is the Indigenous Obu Manuvu Community Facing the COVID-19 Crisis in the Philippines?

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The Indigenous Obu Manuvu community of Davao City on Mindanao Island, Philippines owns over 13,000 hectares of ancestral forests. By engaging the Obu Manuvu “Pusaka” cosmology, they manage these ancestral forests as an ICCA to benefit biodiversity, regional economy and, more importantly their well-being and culture. This video highlights the value of their historical experiences with epidemics and how their time-tested adaptations helped them cope. Read more ▸

Second South East Asia Regional Assembly from 1-4 June

The gathering provides an online venue for sharing and learning from each other about the territories of life in the region. This year’s gathering has the further aim of continuing the ICCA Consortium’s regionalisation process in Southeast Asia. Check the programme!  Read more ▸

COVID-19 Places Iran’s Nomadic Pastoralists at a Crossroads

Nomadic pastoralists in Iran play an important role in national food security and sovereignty. Since the arrival of COVID-19, they have been deeply concerned about the impact that the pandemic is likely to have on their society and way of life. UNINOMAD, ICCA Consortium Member, outlined its members’ concerns and proposed solutions in a letter sent to key national authorities on 10 March 2020.  Read more ▸

2020: Super Year for Women in Biodiversity?

“It is time to go beyond a focus on women’s vulnerabilities to the recognition of women as agents of change and active participants in caring for the environment, restoring and recovering biodiversity, and healing our relationship with nature.” On Earth Day, our Honorary member Cristina Eghenter offers her reflections on women in conservation.  Read more ▸

The ICCA Consortium Urges Authorities to Immediately Release and Drop Charges Against Indigenous and Peasant Leaders in Assam, India

Indigenous peoples’ rights and peasants’ rights activists Pranab Doley and Soneshwar Narah were arrested on 7 April 2020 in Assam, India. The arrests appear to be politically motivated with the intention of intimidating and silencing these community leaders, who have dedicated their lives to social justice and supporting Indigenous peoples, forest dwellers and peasant communities. Read more ▸

One Earth: People of Color Protecting Our Planet

One Earth profiles Black, Indigenous and People of Color who live and work as environmental defenders. Here, twenty short biographies introduce readers to diverse environmental defenders from around the world. Our dear Ghanimat Azhdari is among these young inspiring people interviewed by the author, Anuradha Rao, who describes the experience of writing this book and her meeting with Ghanimat.  Read more ▸

Inclusive Development, an Imperative for the Future: Building Broader Partnerships for Better Informed Decisions

There is ample evidence that more inclusive approaches to conservation and sustainable development lead to greater success, both in human and environmental terms. Five different ways to build, broaden and strengthen appropriate and genuine partnerships – including through recognising ICCAs–territories of life – are described in this article by Marc Foggin, representative of ICCA Consortium Member Plateau Perspectives.  Read more ▸

A Photographic Journey: the Tsum Territory of Life in Nepal, Himalaya

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Concluding a collective process spanning five years, this photo story presents the Tsum territory of life, highlighting its institutions and practices of biocultural conservation, as well as the external and internal threats to the land, and the responses of the Tsumba people, guided by their determination to sustain their territory for current and future generations. Read more ▸