COP15 biodiversity deal is ‘new era’ for Indigenous-led conservation

The agreement made at the COP15 biodiversity summit balanced a recognition of the importance of Indigenous peoples and territories for conserving biodiversity without imposing on Indigenous sovereignty over those lands

By James Dinneen

A global agreement reached this week to halt and reverse biodiversity loss could usher in a new era of Indigenous-led conservation as the world seeks to conserve 30 per cent of the globe’s land and oceans by 2030.

The agreement, adopted at the COP15 biodiversity summit in Montreal on 19 December, includes language recognising the role of Indigenous people as “custodians of biodiversity and partners in the conservation” of nature, and says Indigenous rights and …