Protected area policy

Many protected areas worldwide overlap with ‘territories and areas conserved by Indigenous peoples and local communities’ or ‘ICCAs’ (Indigenous peoples’ and community conserved areas’). These overlapped ICCAs include conserved commons, sacred places and Indigenous and community protected areas. Appropriately recognising and respecting overlapped ICCAs in protected area governance, management and practice can strengthen conservation, affirm rights and promote equitable protected area governance.

Deforestation and forest degradation are two of the main causes of the progressing loss of terrestrial biodiversity and are continuing at an alarming rate worldwide, especially in tropical countries. The underlying drivers of forest destruction vary from region to region, but can be linked mainly to human activities such as land use pressure and related policies.