Abstract:

Approximately 370 million indigenous peoples live in over 90 countries around the world. Many of these peoples have survived due to their relative isolation, in territories that are increasingly recognized as physically and biologically outstanding on a global scale. In fact, a significant fraction of the world’s priority areas—based on biodiversity and ecosystem importance—overlap with indigenous peoples’ lands, territories and resources. For example, indigenous peoples in parts of North and South America, central Africa, Russia and Southeast Asia inhabit the world’s remaining large boreal forests and rain forests. These areas play a critical role in the carbon cycle and also serve as reservoirs of irreplaceable biodiversity and ecosystem services. This remarkable convergence presents both an enormous opportunity, as well as a challenge for conservation efforts.