Securing land and territorial rights for Indigenous Peoples and local communities under the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration

Up to 2.5 billion women and men depend on the land and natural resources held, used or managed in common. They are farmers, pastoralists, fisherfolk, and forest keepers. They protect more than 50% of the planet’s land surface, but governments recognize their ownership rights over just 10%. Together with our members, representing over 70 million land users in 84 countries, ILC is promoting a power shift in land governance in favor of Indigenous Peoples and local communities who live with nature. ILC’s goal is for Indigenous Peoples and local communities to have secure land and territorial rights. We believe such rights are critical pillars of ecosystem restoration while also celebrating their unique role as ecosystem stewards of vast stretches of our planet, often holding critical biodiversity hotspots. This session is a strategic opportunity to engage Indigenous leaders in the UN decade of Ecosystem Restoration and to identify elements for an action plan to further secure land and territorial rights as demanded by UNDRIP as a critical pillar of meeting the UN Decades’ restoration objectives.