IUCN to create new category of membership for Indigenous peoples organizations

The creation of a new membership category for indigenous groups was not the only resolution approved by IUCN Members to draw strong praise from indigenous leaders.
 
The organizations members passed Motion 26, which calls for businesses to respect all categories of protected areas as no-go areas for environmentally damaging industrial activities" and highlights the need for respect of Indigenous peoples right to free, prior, and informed consent.
 
 IUCN Members also voted to approve Motion 48, which encourages governments, the private sector, and international financial institutions to avoid loss and degradation of primary forests and to meaningfully engage and support indigenous peoples and local communities in their efforts to conserve primary forests, including intact forest landscapes.

A report released in July by Victoria Tauli‑Corpuz, the UNs Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, helps show why the motions to treat protected areas as "no-go zones" for industrial activity and to protect primary forests, in addition to the vote to give indigenous peoples an equal footing within IUCN, have great potential to boost conservation efforts in the future.



Culled from Mongabay