Lima, Peru, September 13, 2024 – The International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity took part of the Regional Dialogue on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) for Latin America and the Caribbean, a meeting held between September 11 and 13, 2024 that aimed to define the OECM 2025-2030 Collaborative Agenda.
This agenda prioritizes key actions to strengthen biodiversity conservation at the regional level and support the implementation of Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
The meeting brought together more than 70 representatives of civil society, indigenous organizations, international organizations and conservation experts from 16 countries. Among other participating organizations, were the World Wide Fund for Conservation (WWF), the Red de Mujeres Indígenas sobre Biodiversidad from Latin America and the Caribbean (RMIB-LAC), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and its World Commission on Protected Areas (IUCN WCPA), in coordination with Re:Wild, Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Bezos Earth Fund, the Environmental Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The reflections shared focused on the challenges and advances of the OMEC framework, concerns and proposals of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
During the event, special attention was given to the protection of indigenous and traditional territories, recognizing their essential role in biodiversity conservation, as well as the complementarity between protected areas, OECMs and indigenous and traditional territories.
“Indigenous territories face constant threats, but we are ready to face them together with the rest of the world. We cannot discuss the issue of conservation without considering that human life itself is at risk,” said Ramiro Batzín, Co-Chair of the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB) and Vice-President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
This Dialogue identified priority actions to be developed between 2025 and 2030 on the following aspects: i) Enabling conditions and capacity building, ii) Regulatory frameworks, iii) Marine and freshwater OECMs, iv) Incentives and non-financial benefits, v) Outreach and communication, vi) Free, prior and informed consent and safeguards, vii) Monitoring of effective conservation, viii) Strengthening governance in reported OECMs and ix) Long-term financing.
The OECM 2025-2030 Collaborative Agenda for Latin America and the Caribbean will be presented at the Sixteenth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP-16) and other international events, with the purpose of assisting actors in the region in the identification, recognition, reporting and monitoring of OECM in an effective, inclusive and respectful manner of the rights of the custodians of nature.
