Stewards in action: Scaling up Indigenous-led conservation on the ground, influencing global policy and enabling direct access to finance
Kick-starting PODONG Indigenous Peoples Initiative in Tanzania
From Indigenous Peoples’ leadership in territorial conservation, through influencing global policy, to catalyzing direct access to finance and advancing gender equality: the PODONG Initiative kick-started in Tanzania as a powerful step toward achieving the Global Biodiversity Framework and the Paris Agreement.
Indigenous leaders from diverse socio-cultural regions, who co-designed, co-developed, and are now co-implementing PODONG, gathered together in Arusha, Tanzania in May 2025, marking the official kick-start of this initiative on the ground, and celebrating the successful completion of its first six months of implementation. Through the spirit of collective action, they worked together to shape the next phase of activities leading up to March 2026.
During the kick-off event, the PODONG family came together—over 50 participants from 13 countries, including Indigenous Peoples from Tanzanian communities where the initiative is already making a significant impact in conservation through scaling-up land tenure security, conflict resolution, and inclusive leadership, particularly of Indigenous women.
Distinguished authorities joined the gathering further strengthening institutional recognition of the vital efforts led by Ujamaa Community Resource Team (UCRT), our implementing partner on the ground. These included Japhet Kulwa, on behalf of the Tanzanian government, Charles Oluchina, Regional Coordinator for IUCN’s ESARO Programme and Tanzania Country Representative, Lucy Mulenkei, Co-chair of the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB), Ramiro Batzin, Co-chair of IIFB and vice-president of and advisor to IUCN, as well as a message from Carol Mundle, Head of Cooperation of Canadian High Commission in Tanzania.
PODONG is proving that when Indigenous Peoples lead in reshaping actions, narratives and implementation approaches, the results are transformational. Longstanding global discussions around biodiversity conservation and climate actions have called for a “ground-to-global” approach and for finance reform to ensure that large-scale funds reach Indigenous Peoples and local communities. PODONG Indigenous Peoples Initiative is actively leading this shift. The initiative embeds Indigenous Peoples and local communities in its governance structure, with Indigenous Peoples and local communities setting priorities and driving decisions while receiving at least 85% of project funds.
“PODONG is more than just a project—it is a movement rooted in the wisdom of our elders and the strength of our communities. It embodies the global effort to honor and uplift Indigenous Peoples’ timeless contributions to biodiversity conservation and climate action, grounded in traditional knowledge systems that have safeguarded the Earth for generations,” said Anita Tzec, IUCN’s Senior Program Manager on Indigenous Peoples and Conservation.
Opening speakers for the kick-start PODONG Indigenous Peoples Initiative — Anita Tzec, Mya Mya Nue, Lucy Mulenkei, and Ramiro Batzin (left to right in front); Paine Mako,Debora Warin, Charles Oluchina and Japhet Kulwa
PODONG Family on the kick-start of PODONG Indigenous Peoples Initiative. Datoga community, Masaai community, IIFB, UCRT, NEFIN, Sotz’il, FPCI, IUCN IP Program and Nature, IUCN ESARO, Tanzanian government.
Looking ahead
When Indigenous Peoples lead, biodiversity conservation becomes more effective, inclusive, and enduring. Co-designed, co-developed, and co-implemented by Indigenous leaders, PODONG is already shifting how conservation is done. From strengthening Indigenous stewardship of unique coastal and reef ecosystems in Panama’s Guna Yala territory, to advancing intergenerational Indigenous-led conservation and governance across diverse ecological zones in Nepal, while significantly scaling up land tenure security for indigenous communities, and influencing global policy and designing a new finance mechanism that works for Indigenous Peoples —PODONG bridges local action with international priorities, highlighting Indigenous innovation and contributing to biodiversity and climate global goals.
As PODONG enters its next six months of implementation, the initiative offers more than a model, it offers a vision of a future where Indigenous knowledge systems, rights, and leadership are at the heart of global conservation efforts, grounded in the ancestral wisdom of those who have long stewarded the Earth.
Strengthening International Indigenous Leadership: IIFB’s Strategic Role in PODONG
Through the Podong Initiative, the IIFB together with IUCN will strengthen the capacity of Indigenous Peoples and local communities leaders, with a strong emphasis on gender equity and inclusion; as well as support indigenous-led actions, and enhance advocacy capacities of Indigenous women and youth. The initiative also includes co-developing policy briefs, co-facilitating high-level events supporting the participation of Indigenous Peoples and local communities at the first meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Article 8(j). Through these actions, the IIFB aims to ensure that the implementation of PODONG is deeply rooted in Indigenous Peoples and local communities’ traditional knowledge, leadership and priorities, with a strong focus on biodiversity conservation and restoration.
About the PODONG Indigenous Peoples Initiative
The PODONG Indigenous Peoples Initiative is a global initiative that aims to recognize and support Indigenous Peoples’ contributions to the conservation of biodiversity and climate solutions through their indigenous knowledge systems, while ensuring their full and effective leadership and access to adequate resources for the implementation and achievement of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Paris Agreement.
PODONG, meaning basket in the Indigenous Marma language of Bangladesh, symbolises harvesting abundance and highly depicts the role and contributions that Indigenous women play in conserving biodiversity and reducing the impacts of climate change in their communities. Co-designed, co-developed and co-implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), IUCN’s Indigenous Peoples’ Organisation Members (IPOs) and the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB), PODONG is being implemented in Guatemala, Panama, Nepal, and Tanzania during its first phase.
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