A new initiative has launched on sidelines of COP28 in Dubai that will seek to combine Indigenous knowledge and mapping technology to help governments in their efforts to protect 30% of their terrestrial and marine areas by 2030.
Conservation group IUCN, the Indigenous Information Network (IIFB), and technology firm Esri have banded together to set up Act30, they announced, and are now calling on governments worldwide to join the initiative.
“No one knows better than Indigenous peoples and local communities that our collective future relies on a healthy planet,” said IUCN Director General Grethel Aguilar.
“The Act30 partnership will help place their wisdom at the centre of decision-making, scaling up vital conservation measures to protect 30% of the world’s lands and seas by 2030. We must listen to their voices if we want to overcome the pressing challenges facing Earth.”
The partners will combine the IUCN Green List Standard, traditional knowledge, and Esri’s geographic mapping tools to identify high-impact, ecologically representative locations suitable for protection so nations can make sure their conservation efforts to meet their Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) targets are effective.
At the biodiversity COP in Montreal last year, countries agreed to ensure 30% of land, seas, and freshwater areas is protected by 2030.
However, currently only 15% of land and 7.4% of oceans are under protection.
The process of determining which areas to protect to ensure optimal conservation outcome is challenging, and a recent study by environmental consultancies Climate Focus and Parabukas found that governments tend to ignore the input from indigenous peoples and local communities when designing strategies and policies despite their knowledge having been proved to lead to more effective strategies.
“Act30 comes at a crucial time for biodiversity conservation. It will be Indigenous peoples, local communities, women, and youth who are the real changemakers. If governments work with us, we will make progress in fulfilling the Global Biodiversity Framework target,” said Lucy Mulenkei, co-chair of IIFB Kenya.
The founders have identified 14 initial priority countries that they will open dialogues with early next year.
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